No homegrown Filipino has reached Main League Baseball.
Certain, there’s Claudio Manela, a pitcher from Cavite whose Negro League stint with the Cincinnati Cuban Stars within the Twenties is now acknowledged as a part of MLB historical past.
There’s additionally Bobby Chouinard, who holds the excellence as the primary participant born within the Philippines to see motion within the MLB since its racial integration in 1947 when he made his debut for the Oakland Athletics in 1996.
A number of gamers of Filipino heritage have made it to the MLB as properly, together with present New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe, three-time World Sequence champion and two-time Cy Younger Award winner Tim Lincecum, former Cincinnati Redlegs outfielder Bobby Balcena, former San Francisco Giants pitcher Geno Espineli, and former Florida Marlins outfielder Chris Aguila.
Aiden Lazaro, a 13-year-old standout from Ateneo highschool, hopes to interrupt new floor for the nation.
“My greatest dream is in fact to play within the MLB, to get drafted by a crew and to hopefully play within the majors,” Lazaro advised Rappler.
As lofty as that dream could also be, Lazaro seems to be on the correct path.
Lazaro gained the Most Runs Batted In (RBIs) honors when he represented the Philippines within the 2024 U-12 Asian Baseball Championship in Japan, after which a 12 months later, helped Nationwide Capital Area seize the gold medal within the 2025 Palarong Pambansa in Ilocos Norte.
Beginning his baseball journey on the age of 5, Lazaro additionally made Ateneo’s juniors roster for the UAAP final 12 months, turning into the one Grade 7 pupil to earn a spot.
These accomplishments have led to Lazaro being accepted to IMG Academy, a famend personal sports-focused boarding college and coaching heart in Florida, United States, which has produced round 150 college students who had been drafted to knowledgeable league within the final 10 years.
A few of IMG Academy’s most notable alumni embrace tennis icons Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, golf champion Nelly Korda, and NBA gamers Dwight Powell and Zach Edey.
And it additionally helps that Lazaro has the unwavering assist of his mom Shelly, who accompanied him to the US for the primary part of his athletic growth program at IMG Academy.
“I actually love the coaching there as I used to be capable of prepare with very top-tier coaches and play with superb gamers. After the coaching, I used to be feeling very pleased with myself that I used to be capable of prepare, take classes from superb coaches and play with superb teammates from the US,” Lazaro mentioned.
‘Lengthy shot’
Whereas Shelly believes in Aiden, she additionally acknowledges that making the MLB is a “lengthy shot,” particularly for a participant coming from a rustic the place baseball stays within the shadows of extra well-liked sports activities.
That perspective prompted Shelly to mood her son’s expectations as he launched into his coaching at IMG Academy.
“If you ask all baseball gamers, all of them dream to get to the MLB. It’s everybody’s dream. For Filipinos and for Asians, it’s actually a protracted shot. I’m not delusional or I don’t have all these fantasies. My purpose is to actually simply assist Aiden,” mentioned Shelly.
“My dream for Aiden, and I’ll assist him all the way in which, is for him to achieve the farthest that this ability, ardour, and potential can realistically take him. Wherever it could take him, whether or not it’s the MLB or… the farthest that he’s meant to attain, primarily based on what he’s obtained.”
However Shelly’s optimism grew as Aiden obtained glowing suggestions from IMG Academy coaches.
Native coaches, based on Shelly, describe Aiden as a participant who’s superior for his age. These from the IMG Academy share the identical view.
“After I was listening to that and I used to be listening to all these suggestions from the coaches, in my thoughts, ‘Oh, so it’s not a distant chance. Oh there’s hope.’ Sort of made me actually excited of what’s going to occur subsequent. It’s nonetheless a protracted journey. It actually gave me hope, seeing him prepare there and seeing how the coaches objectively evaluated his abilities and his dedication.”
Agency perception
Aiden considers himself able to taking part in any place, however he primarily performs catcher and shortstop.
And he patterns his sport after a few of the finest within the historical past of the game, together with legendary Puerto Rican catcher Yadier Molina, a two-time World Sequence champion throughout his 19-year stint with the St. Louis Cardinals; present Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith, a three-time World Sequence winner; and present Kansas Metropolis Royals ace shortstop Bobby Witt Jr, a two-time Gold Glove and two-time Silver Slugger awardee.
Curiously, the catching coach at IMG Academy — based on Shelly — sees plenty of Molina in Aiden.
“That’s the primary time I heard the identify Molina, as a result of the coach mentioned… ‘You already know Aiden, it’s actually as much as you. You may go so far as you’d wish to take your self. It’s actually as much as you.’ It’s actually as much as him. If he desires to be within the MLB, he could make it to MLB, for so long as he doesn’t cease coaching, he doesn’t cease working arduous,” Shelly mentioned.
Though he is aware of he nonetheless has a protracted option to go, Aiden trusts in his capability to get the place he desires to be.
“I agree with my mother that I’ll strive my finest to get so far as I can with my abilities, however I additionally assume that it may very well be attainable, particularly with the alternatives and assets given,” he mentioned.
“Sooner or later, I can think about, and hopefully, that I will probably be taking part in on the college-slash-D1 stage and even taking part in already within the MLB, maybe the Triple-A or Double-A.”
Aiden has returned to the nation to proceed his research at Ateneo as a Grade 8 pupil, however he’ll carry on working with IMG Academy underneath a hybrid setup.
“He loves representing the college and the Philippines. So we’re fortunate that we have now that possibility. In the meanwhile, he’ll nonetheless be doing the lecturers right here, he’ll nonetheless be a pupil of Ateneo,” mentioned Shelly.
“Faculty break, vacation, at the least a two-week trip that’s not going to be in battle with any native tournaments, college, stuff like that, we fly. So we will probably be actually shuttling between Manila and Florida.” – Rappler.com
