GUAM BASEBALL ON GUAM LIVE

By Robert Balajadia

As Guam gets ready to dive into one of, if not the biggest, concert of 2014 in Guam Live on June 6th, the venue of the concert couldn’t be any less celebrated than by the players in the Budweiser Baseball League  who have to put their semifinals on hold for two full weeks.

Paseo Stadium will open its doors to host Guam Live right in the middle of the BBL playoffs. Preparation and set up for the event took a week to put together and the following week wold be to take everything down.

The baseball community was obviously not happy about the news and players chimed in on their feelings about their season being put on hold.

“Paseo is a baseball stadium, not an event center. Yes, places like Yankee Stadium hold concerts and other events within its confines, but these places were built for those types of things. Paseo was built for one reason, to play baseball. I would say that this year is the best the field has looked in a while, and that isn’t saying very much at all,” explained Bank of Guam’s Mike Bautista.

The timing of the event put on hold a much anticipated Game 2 between the Jr. Nationals and BOG A’s after the Nats’ stole Game 1 from the A’s in the bottom of the 9th inning.

The Orioles moved within one game of advancing to the Finals putting the five-time defending champion Braves on the brink of elimination.

“I feel its not fair to us athletes as we have no other alternate field to play on plus Paseo is our home its our baseball holy grounds,” explained Bank of Guam’s Roke Alcantara. “Our league is going to end near the Micro Games date which a bunch of us players are gearing up for.”

Another collective feeling of disappointment expressed by Guam Baseball was the fact that they weren’t included in anything related to the event.

“Guam’s National Baseball Team should be afforded the respect and opportunities such as selling at the concession in efforts to raise funds to support our team and it’s expenses,” expressed Orioles pitcher Eric Cepeda.

A’s Mike Bautista. (GSPN file photo)

“Why aren’t BBL players doing the security for the event or at least given free tickets?” added Orioles Kin Fernandez.

The season is scheduled to resume on June 13 with Game 2 between the Jr. Nationals and A’s. Players have no choice but to wait until then to resume action and many are worried that they will not come back to the same field.

“I just hope they don’t ruin the field, the season’s almost over. Kind of wish they waited till baseball was over,” said BBL announcer Mark Colby

It’s no secret that Paseo Stadium and the BBL are no longer the hot spots for fans. The facility itself could use a face lift especially after the Guam Live event.

“I think the best resolution to the problem is to create a private-public partnership. This would create a win-win situation for all parties interested,” said Bautista on the beautifying the stadium. “If someone wants to use the field, they would have to put money into it to develop it. Not only can we create lasting relationships with the community, but this may just be what baseball on island needs to jump start it’s revival.”

“I just hope that after the event the Paseo Stadium gets a little bit of a facelift as the facility itself is depreciating and local officials need to do something to preserve it for us athletes, the fans, and its future,” added Alcantara.