Audie Maratita sweeps Masters League MVP awards

The Pirates’ Audie Maratita was hailed not only as the 2023 Tan Holdings-SBL Masters League’s regular season most valuable player, but also the championship series MVP after leading his team to the Promised Land.

Maratita’s neck glistened with his five medals during the championship awards ceremony last Wednesday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

Maratita was the regular season’s second batting leader with a .645 batting average from 20 hits out of 31 at-bats. Not only that, he claimed the most RBIs with 20, the most doubles at eight, and was one out of just four other batters with a homer.

He then claimed the championship series MVP award after a dominant performance of a .538 batting average from seven hits out of 13 at-bats, and racked up two doubles, two home runs, and 10 RBIs over the best-of-three finals.

Not only was the MVP award announced, but also two Golden Glove awards for the championship game. For the infield, the award went to Pirates shortstop Jerome Delos Santos. The Golden Glove award for the outfield was given to Dodgers right fielder Ed Manibusan.

The regular season leaders were also awarded, starting with the batting champion, the second place Dodgers’ Glen Camacho. He boasted a .652 batting average from 15 of 23 hits.

The runs scored champion was Derek Aguon with 23, and the triples champion was Cartfield Sablan with three.

Over on the bump, the pitching champion was the Pirates’ Pete Sablan. He pitched 11 innings over four games, had the lowest ERA of 1.91, a record of 2-0, 14 hits against him, and three earned runs.

Blue Jays’ Kevin Kapileo was the strikeout king by a landslide with 51 strikeouts.

Maratita immediately gave thanks for his award after the ceremony. “I want to give thanks to the Lord and my teammates. They were really good,” said the 44-year-old. He dedicated his award to his late mother and father, and his wife, Alfreda Maratita.

On how he felt when his team won the championship, he said, “It was all teamwork—from pinch runs, to good base running, good catching, and good pitching thanks to Pete [Sablan]. Everybody’s been hitting.” He said that they’ll definitely be back next season to defend their title.

As for what he thought of the Masters League, “it’s fun. The crowds—everybody came out. Thanks to the fans. Without them, we’re nothing here.”