OUR OPINION
Winter baseball goes for another homer
THE ISSUE
Hawaii Winter Baseball returned over the weekend for the second straight year and seventh season overall since its birth in 1993.
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Winter baseball reached second base in Hawaii this past weekend, a revival after nearly a decade-long hiatus. Four players chosen in the first round of major league drafts will be joined by prospects from both the United States and Japan in what promises to be another successful year.
The Hawaii Winter Baseball League saw play from 1993 to 1997 before being shut down because of lack of a significant investment by Major League Baseball. Duane Kurisu, president of the league during those years, kept the offices open.
A part-owner of the San Francisco Giants and a member of the Star-Bulletin's board of directors, Kurisu gained financial support from Japanese baseball to revive the league. Last year, the league fielded four teams, each with 30 players from the United States, Japan and Korea.
Featured this year in a league that once boasted future Seattle Mariners all-star Ichiro Suzuki, is Matt Wieters, an All-America catcher for Georgia Tech who earned a $6 million signing bonus with the Baltimore Orioles in August. Eight players from last winter reached the majors this season.
While a new playing surface is being installed at Les Murakami Stadium, players this winter will grace Hans L'Orange Field at Waipahu, Iron Maehara Stadium on Maui and Wong Stadium in Hilo.
Oahu Publications, Inc. publishes
the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, MidWeek
and military newspapers
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Black, Dan Case, Dennis Francis,
Larry Johnson, Duane Kurisu, Warren Luke,
Colbert Matsumoto, Jeffrey Watanabe, Michael Wo
HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN
Mary Poole, Editorial Page Editor
(808) 529-4748;
mpoole@starbulletin.com
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin (USPS 249460) is published daily by Oahu Publications at 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. Periodicals postage paid at Honolulu, Hawaii. Postmaster: Send address changes to Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802.