sports

This year’s junior baseball tournament, won for the third year in a row and the 15th time in 18 seasons by Panama Metro, was both entertaining baseball and studded with more professional prospects that we have seen in this annual event in many years. In the semifinals Metro beat Chiriqui in Panama and when on their home field in David Chiriqui turned the tables and dominated Metro. It was like that for the first four games of the finals, too, whereupon Chiriqui took a 3-2 lead in game five and then got blown out by a series of Metro offensive explosions in the sixth and seventh games.

There are always at least a few Major League Baseball scouts who come down here for this tournament. NCAA programs, which offer a better business deal than a minor league contract to most young baseball talents, are not so well represented. Most of Panama’s major league baseball players have shone in the junior tournament, but most of those whom the scouts have signed to minor league contracts never made it to the top, or only made it for a brief stay. There are, of course, famous exceptions.

This time they didn’t concentrate the talent in the final round by allowing the teams that go on to a next round of play to pick up players from the eliminated teams. Nevertheless, it’s reported in the dailies and on Panamanian TV that by the tournament's end, Metro’s shortstop Kevin Ramos, catcher Danilo Carrillo and all three starting outfielders --- Luis Durango, Cirilo Cumberbatch and Concepción Rodríguez --- had signed with various Major League Baseball organizations; while on the other side of the field Chiriqui pitchers César Flores, Joseph Guerra and Angelo Morales had also accepted professional contract offers.

The tournament’s most valuable player, Panama Oeste shortstop Alfredo González, won 13 of the 18 sports reporters’ votes, but under this year’s rules was not seen in the final round. Nevertheless, with his league-leading .571 tournament batting average he looks like the big fish for some scout to catch out of this year’s abundant school.





Also in this section:
First cayuco race is February 15 at Amador
Outstanding talent in this year's junior baseball tournament

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