page_title: Baseball in the Philippines
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: Baseball in the Philippines / Early history
caption_attribution_description: "Company B, Second Regiment, U.S. Marines, Olongapo, Philippine Islands. March 1903." From the Presley M. Rixey Collection (COLL/1046), Marine Corps Archives &amp; Special Collections OFFICIAL USMC PHOTOGRAPH
context_page_description: Baseball was introduced in the Philippines during the American colonial period. Baseball was a national pastime in the country. The sport has become a re-emerging sport in the recent years. National policy and programs on baseball are, since 2018, directed by a renewed organization recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee—the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, reestablished the same year.
context_section_description: Baseball was introduced in the Philippines by the Americans. The first baseball game in the Philippines was played in September 1898 weeks after the Battle of Manila, a match between Astor Battery led by George Wetlaufer and a regiment from the American Army. From 1899 to 1900, baseball clubs were established by local Filipinos. The sport's introduction aided the American colonial government's assimilation efforts. General Otis planned to eliminate local cockfighting through the introduction of the sport. A baseball league composing of six clubs was established. Then, Governor General William Howard Taft encouraged baseball in the archipelago. Baseball grew to be a popular sport in the country.
  Arlie Pond was instrumental to the growth of baseball in the country.
  Baseball's popularity saw a decline from 1898 to 1923 because of claims of neglect by the Department of Public Instruction. Prior to 1998, sporting officials claimed that the department, through the Bureau of Education, had supported baseball in the country with the goal of eliminating cockfighting in the country. Teachers who were brought from the United States to the country had no experience in baseball and even in basic athletics. The Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation favored indoor baseball over its outdoor counterpart. In 1923, the Manila League was the only flourishing league in the country.
caption: Company B, 2d Regiment Baseball Team in the Philippines, March 1903. The Americans introduced baseball in the Philippines as early as the 1890s.
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