Filipinos can fly’ - SPORTING CHANCE By Joaquin M. Henson

New York Mets outfielder Benny Peter Agbayani, Jr. was quoted in Filipinas magazine (April 2000) as saying "Filipinos can fly." It was his candid retort to fans who often wonder how such a squat and stocky baseball player can be so quick.

That’s right. Agbayani, 28, is of Filipino stock and proud of it. In his personal website, Agbayani said his grandfather Ambrosio came from Ilocos Norte. His father Benny, Sr. is the dance director of the Hawaii Ballroom Dance Association. A Filipino senior citizen working as a D.I.? So what else is new?

Agbayani’s mother Faith works in a phone company. If Agbayani traces his Filipino heritage from his father’s side, his mother must be part Samoan, Portuguese, German, and Spanish because the Mets’ rising star is all of that. A D.I. for a father and a phone operator for a mother. How Filipino can you get? Filipinos love to dance and talk on the phone, right?

Filipinas writer Emil Guillermo said Agbayani sometimes encounters people who inquire about his roots. "They ask, ‘What are you, Latino?,"’ related Agbayani. "But then, it’s the eyes. And they say, ‘Are you Asian?"’

Guillermo wrote, "Of course, Filipinos would know Agbayani as a bonafide Filipino name from Ilocos. But Filipino ‘invisibility’ in general makes the error an easy one to make. Though it seems not to matter much in the Mets locker room with Latinos, Asians, blacks, and ethnic whites present. It’s about as diverse as a clubhouse gets in the major leagues."

Agbayani said he knows young Filipino baseball fans are watching his every move on the field. "I hope they see me play and know that if I can do it, they can, too," noted Agbayani in Filipinas, a monthly magazine published in South San Francisco mainly for Fil-Ams.

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Last year, I tried to get in touch with Agbayani by phone. I was in New York covering the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals and my pal, Alex Wolff of Sports Illustrated, referred me to the Mets’ Public Relations Officer Rafael Morffi. After several conversations, Morffi arranged for Agbayani to phone me in my hotel room between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. for an interview.

As it turned out, I wasn’t in my room during the appointed hour. Sam Unera had whisked Andy Jao and me to Pennsylvania to watch a United States Basketball League (USBL) game that night. But I advised the hotel phone operator to forward Sam’s cellular phone number in case Agbayani called. The call never came.

The next day, I phoned Morffi to ask what happened. He said Agbayani called but no one answered. Did the hotel phone operator forward Sam’s number? Did Agbayani call at all? I never found out for sure. Anyway, Morffi said he couldn’t arrange for another try because Agbayani would be on a hectic road trip. Morffi wasn’t too cooperative – he wouldn’t even send me publicity materials on Agbayani. So much for the Mets’ Public Relations Office.

Agbayani was born in Hawaii and his parents live in Aiea, near Pearl Harbor, a block away from the Little League field where he played as a boy. He was seven years old when Little League coach Alfredo Batalon, also of Filipino descent, spotted him playing catch with an aunt and uncle. It was Batalon who taught Agbayani his first lessons in baseball. To this day, Agbayani said he owes a lot to Batalan and Charlie Hall, his high school coach at St. Louis in Honolulu.

In high school, Agbayani weighed 155 pounds and excelled in all sports. He specialized in football and soccer. After graduating at St. Louis, Agbayani was snubbed by the University of Hawaii and wound up playing football as a wide receiver at Oregon Tech. He later transferred to Hawaii Pacific, the same school that produced former Sta. Lucia "Fil-Am" Rob Parker. Eventually, Agbayani turned to baseball.

"I just thought of the longevity," explained Agbayani in Filipinas. "I came back to Hawaii Pacific, played baseball there, and hit the weight room." He grew to six feet and bulked up to 225 pounds.

Agbayani was the California Angels’ 25th pick in the 1992 free agent draft but never made it to the team. The next year, he was the Mets’ 30th choice in the free agent draft. Agbayani played for minor league teams in Pittsfield, Sta. Lucia and Binghampton before moving to Norfolk, the Mets’ farm affiliate, in 1996.

From the minors, Agbayani had several call-ups to the majors in 1998. But in 11 games, he hardly made waves, hitting .133 with no homerun, a single run, and two hits in 15 at-bats.

In 1999, Mets manager Bobby Valentine gave Agbayani another chance. This time, he made sure he wouldn’t be brought down to the minors again. Agbayani cracked 10 homers in his first 73 at-bats, becoming the fastest player in Mets franchise history to achieve the feat. The previous mark was 90 at-bats set by Ron Swoboda in 1965. He ended up smacking .286 with 14 homers, 79 hits, 42 runs, and 42 RBIs in 276 at-bats. Agbayani was almost the hero in Game 6 of the National League title series between the Mets and the Atlanta Braves. He scored a run to make it 9-8 for the Mets in the 10th inning but the Braves tied the count and went on to win, 10-9, in the 11th. A Mets win would’ve forced a Game 7.

This season, Agbayani was back on the Mets’ roster, earning the league minimum of $200,000. He raised his batting clip to .289 with 15 homers, 59 runs, 60 RBIs, and 101 hits in 350 at-bats. In his first 10 games of the playoffs, Agbayani batted a lofty .361. In fact, he has compiled hits in every game in the playoffs so far. His most memorable connection was the winning homer he swatted in the bottom of the 13th as the Mets repulsed the San Francisco Giants, 3-2, in Game 3 of their division duel.

In the raging Subway Series, Agbayani was the hero of the Mets’ 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 3. He cracked an RBI double to snap a 2-2 tie and towed the Mets to their first win of the Finals.

Agbayani said he rooted for the Yankees in the World Series last year but would rather play for the Mets. "I’m content where I am," he added.

Wearing No. 50 to honor Hawaii as the US’ 50th state, Agbayani said, "I am very proud of my heritage. I wish more could follow in my footsteps. I want to bring pride and respect to those back home."

Agbayani is the 22nd Hawaii-born major leaguer but probably the first Fil-Am to break into the pros since Bobby Balcena played seven games for the Cincinnati Reds in 1956.