PQ “It would be nice to revamp the whole system and actually have an academy.” – Keith Hattig, former Major League Baseball player

With the first Guam Major League season in almost three years finishing in October 2018, and Guam winning bronze in the World Baseball Softball Confederation U18 Oceania Regional Qualifier last week, Guam baseball seems as though it's on the way up.

But it isn't.

The history of America’s favorite pastime is rich on island. Old-timers tell stories of when fans packed the stands at Paseo, watching favorites such as Ronnie Tavarez crush home runs or a young Keith Hattig dazzling at shortstop.

In 1984, it seems as though everyone attended the game where Richard Martinez’s grand slam earned him the nickname “Son of Slam.”

Future generations will tell stories of Tommy Morrison, Rico Castro and Paul Pangelinan, just to name a few, who forever made their mark in the friendly confines of Paseo. These stories will stoke the flames for generations to come, perhaps inspiring others to live out their dreams on the diamond.

The sport’s decline

In recent years on Guam, enthusiasm for baseball has declined. Dropping from over 20 teams in 2010 to nine teams in 2019, participation in the Little League Youth ages 9-12 division has dwindled.

Vacant for almost three years, due to the Festival of Pacific Arts and concerts ruining Paseo Stadium, the iconic landmark was left to wither and die.

If it wasn’t for Guam’s youth leagues and the once-beautiful Paseo Stadium, players, such as Hattig, may never have played on a much larger stage.

Hattig, the first Guamanian to sign a pro contract when he did so in 1993 with the California Angels, proved that Guam has talent that can play at the next level and beyond.

“It would be nice to revamp the whole system and actually have an academy,” Hattig said. It would "really put the passion and fire back in these boys to play baseball – to dream."

Hattig, one of 18 local coaches attended the WBSC Oceania Level 1 coaching clinic in January 2018, is taking the first step to right Guam’s sinking baseball ship. Hosted by WBSC Oceania development officer, Ray Brown, 17 other community leaders joined in what can be seen as only the start of unity.

Perhaps, someday, Guam will have a National Baseball Academy – something it is sorely lacking.

Coming to the island since 1995, Brown has witnessed Guam’s steady decline.

“Guam baseball needs John Salas and Bill Bennett, along with Rico (Castro), Joe (Tuquero) and Keith (Hattig), involved in this,” Brown said. “The island needs that expertise in the game to step up to the next level, now.”

With not as many seeds to grow the sport today, compared with when Guam was in its heyday, excitement for the sport needs to start at the grassroots level. It needs to start with a parent and child playing catch in the backyard and talking about baseball at the dinner table. It needs to start from deep within the villages.

“I was concerned with the lack of defensive skills, base-running and overall knowledge of the game,” Brown said. “The national program needs to be a year-round program, and players need to commit.”

Robert Steffy, Guam Major League Inc. president, supports a unified baseball community.

“I think that would be wonderful, to have an academy program, if it’s unified and brought everyone together,” Steffy said.

He added that one of the challenges has been overcoming players’ commitments to outside leagues and restrictions all-star teams place on their athletes.

“We need something consistent for the kids,” said Guam U18 head coach Pat Leon Guerrero. “GML can’t be all we use to develop our young players.”

Others have done it, why not Guam?

The models for success are out there.

Ryan Flynn, who helped grow baseball on Guam from 1999 to 2002, hopes that Guam steps up to the plate and starts taking baseball seriously, again.

Flynn said you have to “get people to work together and put a plan together, but it takes accountability, discipline and commitment to make it happen.”

Depending on funding, if Guam takes the necessary steps, there’s no reason why it can’t become a regional powerhouse such as Australia.

Australia U18 head coach Steve Fish, who wants to see baseball in the region flourish, said it can be accomplished only by “working together.”

“The goal is to build baseball Oceania and put everybody in a position to have a chance to play collegiate baseball,” he added.

Professional scouts, in attendance at the WBSC tournament, pointed out the importance of players developing more power in their swings and their arms. Such skills come only from playing more games and year-round training.

“Kids in the U.S. play 100 games a year,” said American Samoa U18 head coach Brent Garing. “The advantage the bigger countries have is that they play more.”

On Guam, the high school baseball season lasts only around 2 1/2 months, consisting of about a dozen games.

The “only way to get better is to play more games,” Garing added.