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| FilAm Baseball Player Espineli |
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FILAM Eugene “Geno” Macalalag Espineli is a Giant in more than one way. Standing 6’ 4” the 25-year-old pitching reliever for the San Francisco Giants baseball team is tall for a Filipino, whose average heights are almost a feet short. With that height, you’d think he’s better off as a shooting guard or small forward in a basketball league.
“I was never good in basketball,” he said to the Asian Journal as the Giants were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles.
The tan skin Giant is one of the few Major League Baseball players with Filipino heritage. Along with teammate starting pitcher Tim Lincecum, who is half Pinoy, Chris Aguila formerly of the New York Mets, and Jason Bartlett of the Tampa Bay Rays, there aren’t a lot of Filipinos playing in America’s past time.
It’s a reason why Espineli takes a certain pride of being a full Filipino in the Major Leagues.
“Since I’ve been here, I realized how great it is to be a different culture and different race it just shows that all cultures can play this sport and any sport,” said Espineli.
Baseball’s done a great job of reaching out to all the different cultures, added Lincecum, who dedicated a game to his Filipino grandfather after his passing last year.
“It’s great that baseball’s expanding their horizons and they are all over the world,” he said.
Both Espineli’s parents are from the Philippines. His mother is originally from Lumban, Laguna. He said he’s been to the home country a few times, the last time being when he was 13 years old.
“I remember the scenery and small villages in the mountains, and the trees and that it was pretty hot when I was there,” he said.
Espineli was born and bred in Houston, Texas. Espineli said he was only one of two Filipinos in his High School. Growing up, baseball was the game the kids played in his neighborhood so naturally he gravitated towards the sport and dreamt about playing professionally in the Major Leagues.
And about two weeks ago, his dream came true.
“This is something that I’ve been working for my whole life,” he said about being called up to play for the Giants.
After playing college baseball for the University of Texas and Texas Christian University, the San Francisco Giants drafted the left-handed pitcher in the 14th round of the 2004 draft.
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