Fil-Am Major League Baseball player to visit the country

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino athlete in a major American sport is flying to the Philippines this week. No, not Manny Pacquiao. US-raised Filipino Geno Espineli, a relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants in US Major League Baseball, will visit the country in a five-day tour that begins on Friday. Espineli, who was born in Houston to Filipino parents, will be involved in a series of activities that includes holding baseball clinics and returning to his roots in Laguna province. The 26-year-old was drafted 14th overall by the Giants in 2004, but was relegated to San Francisco's minor-league team. Espineli was even invited to join Team USA for the Beijing Olympics but he opted to play for the Giants when he was elevated to the majors on July 20, 2008. Espineli is the first full-blooded Filipino to see action in the MLB in 52 years or since the Cincinnati Reds outfielder Bobby Balcena in 1956. Besides holding a clinic for the baseball and softball communities in Alabang, Espineli is scheduled to attend the championship games of the Muntinlupa Kids Tournament of Champions organized by the Junior Baseball and Softball Foundation. He has also been invited as the guest of honor of Baseball Philippines' Championship Series, where he will throw the ceremonial pitch for the opening game on Saturday at the Rizal Baseball Field. Later, he will appear in the Philippine Basketball Association, where he will be featured during the half-time show. Also on his agenda is a visit to his mother's hometown of Lumban, Laguna and to the nearby Pagsanjan Falls which continues to be one of the country's top tourist attractions. A reception in Espineli's honor will be hosted by US Ambassador Kristie Kenney at her residence. The six-foot-four Espineli played 15 games in the recently concluded MLB season. He went 2-0 with a 5.06 ERA (nine earned runs, 16 innings pitched). The highlight of Espineli's Giants stint was his first MLB victory, a 6-4 win over the Washington Nationals on July 23. "I was expecting the old-fashioned corny pie in the face and I got a 20-beer drenching," Espineli told the Associated Press after the win. "It feels good to get it under your belt, especially being out there for just my second outing. I was still feeling the nerves. ... I'm still soaking it in. It's gone by pretty fast. I'd still like to get a couple of innings under my belt to calm the nerves." Espineli will return to the US on December 17. - GMANews.TV