1. Mr. April: Jilenko Saranillo, 1B, Quezon City United.
What has he done? Oh, not much. Just hit .373 with seven homers and 18 RBIs in the first month of the Philippine Baseball League. He also drew 20 walks to post an OBP of .525.
2. Cy April: Nestor Eniquez, SP, Davao Winds.
Eniquez ran his April record to a perfect 5-0 with a 1.54 ERA and struck out 27 hitters in 41 innings. He made it very clear as he mowed his way through Bonifacio League hitters in April.
3. Philippine Cup (in April) winner: Ilagan Harpies.
With the lineup scoring at will – most HRs and Runs Scored – Harpies are looking to win the first ever Philippine Cup, its May and Ilagan has a five games and a half lead in the Rizal League. Surprised? Don’t be, as they finish first in almost all but four categories in pitching and batting combined in their league.
4. April's Child: James Laygo, CF, Legazpi Armada.
Opening the gates of baseball, Laygo led the forces of Armada with a .338 average in April and added 8 RBIs just for fun.
5. Who the heck? Ralph Calma, 1B, Ilagan Harpies.
A 10th round draft choice in the inaugural draft and he led the Majors with .394 average. He is not your typical first baseman who hits for power but he is really gifted making contact with the ball.
6. April management: Luzvimindo Formentera, Ilagan Harpies.
Formentera is doing a wonderful job of managing his team by garnering the best record in baseball. In the process he's stunning the Rizal League.
7. The injury bug: Joselito Espineda, SS, Legazpi Armada.
Legazpi fans would miss their starting shortstop after suffering an injury that will keep him out for three months. It really hurts them the most as they’ll probably lose some more ground from their already-rival, Ilagan Harpies.
8. April's magic moment: April 27, 2003, Don Millon goes 5-for-5.
It was a sensational day at the plate for him. He left them shell-shocked with 5 hits in 5 at-bats in an explosive display of hitting.
9. On the record:
"I’ve been busting my ass every game and we’re not getting anywhere. It’s a slow start for us. Hopefully, we could catch up soon." –- Antipolo Shootout catcher Philam Baronia after his team fell to 6-15 on April 30.
*I changed the format to monthly updates because I forgot to have a schedule that have interleague play. So, I'll just cruise the initial season until next year or until we get to 2007. I haven't decided yet but we'll see.