Philippine Hall of Fame: It’s not Papa

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine baseball legend Filomeno “Boy” Codinera must be laughing in his grave calling this one a strike.

During the enshrinement of the newest members of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame Thursday evening at the PICC, organizers made a shameful mistake.

They had mistaken the late baseball player for someone else. The wrong image appeared in the official invites, posters and the framed photographs of the awardees that were displayed at the lobby.

Anybody who knew Codinera, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 77, would say that organizers, who prepared long for the event, got it all wrong as far as the photograph is concerned.

“Hindi si Papa ito (It’s not Papa),” said one of his sons, Jerry Codinera, who accepted the prestigious award for the famous outfielder and coach.

But the younger Codinera, who built a colorful career of his own in professional basketball, took it in stride, and injected some humor on the situation.

“Sa ilong pa lang, alam mo nang hindi si Papa (By the nose alone, you know it’s not Papa),” he said with a smile.

The young Codinera knew it was an honest mistake on the part of the organizers, and thought that the person that appeared in the photograph was Jose “Pepe” Pinga, another great Filipino baseball player in the sixties.

During a short acceptance speech, he thanked the Philippine Sports Commission for honoring his late father, who during the 1968 World Men’s Softball Championships in Oklahoma, established a record by hitting seven consecutive doubles.

The Guinness Book of World Records recognized the feat.

“Natatawa siguro si Papa ngayon (Papa must be laughing now),” said the legend’s daughter-in-law, Joy Codinera, who graced the affair.

Inducted to the Hall of Fame along with Codinera were nine other great names in sports, including Lydia de Vega Mercado and Josephine H. dela Vina of track and field, Paeng Nepomuceno, Olivia “Bong” Coo and Julieta M. dela Rosa of bowling, Benjamin Arda of golf, Loreto Carbonell and Ambrosio Padilla of basketball and Ernesto Salavarria of boxing.

It was a great, memorable evening for Philippine sports.

Except for that one “honest mistake.”