Ray takes over the SSA

After manning the press box for Tan Ge Softball Field at the Oleai Sports Complex for years as his father’s protégé, Ray Palacios finally ascended to the proverbial throne of the Saipan Softball Association last week during a meeting of the minds in the conference room of the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Many who know Palacios agree that he is closer to the pulse of the sport than many doctors are to their patients in surgery, and that is one of the reasons why a number of league officials, supporters, and players chose him to write the prescriptions for the underhanded hurlers and lords of longball.

Palacios has officially taken over for former SSA president Robert A. Guerrero as of last Thursday’s meeting, and has already turned his focus toward looking for a supporting cast. Currently he is the only one running the show, so Palacios said that he needs to consult the books in order to put a board of directors.

“Right now it’s only me, so I need to look up the by-laws and see if I can simply appoint a board of directors or if they have to be nominated and voted in,” he said.

In his first night on the job, Palacios returned to keep score in the Island Wide Softball League, and went above and beyond by putting down his pen and chasing down the homerun balls that cleared the fence. With the playoffs winding down, the new president was worried about conserving the balls for the championship round.

His work would have been much easier had the protective nets been in place, but they have been out of whack ever since last year’s double-dose of typhoons shredded the mesh and tangled the lines.

“That’s one of the things I am planning on taking care of. I will be talking to Tony Rogolifoi about getting those nets repaired. That’s about all we need [at Tan Ge Field]. Just the nets and the lighting,” he said

Palacios also noted that repairing the damaged scoreboard would be a priority as well, but the man who has scored more games than players have partaken said that the key to repairing it is to move the tally taker altogether.

“They need to move it to face the same direction as the one on the baseball field because when the storms come in, all of the water gets in there and burns out the lights,” said Palacios.

While the cosmetics are something to be cared for, Palacios is most concerned with getting some supporters lined up to get ready for the 2006 Micronesian Games. He said that the next season of softball will start next month and finish sometime between January and February leaving plenty of time for the future all-star teams to practice for the competition.