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Truly Pinoy: Japan Baseball superstar Benny Agbayani
Benny Agbayani was born December 28, 1971. He is a professional baseball player. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii of Filipino parents, where he attended Saint Louis School and Hawaii Pacific University. He also attended Oregon Institute of Technology.
He was originally drafted by the California Angels but did not sign. Agbayani was later drafted in the 30th round by the New York Mets on June 3, 1993. He has since been part of the Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Kansas City Royals ball clubs. Currently, he plays for the Chiba Lotte Marines in the Japanese Pacific league.
In five Major-League seasons, Agbayani compiled a career batting average of .274 with a career slugging percentage of .445 with 39 home runs and 156 RBI in 383 games. He is a 1989 inductee of Hawaii's athletic Hall of Honor. Despite having only limited and occasional success in the bigs, Agbayani was a popular figure with fans, particular in New York, where his successes were often met with "Benny, Benny!" chants.
On October 26, 2005, Agbayani and the Chiba Lotte Marines swept the Hanshin Tigers in 4 games during the Japan Series. This was the Marines' first title in 31 years. On November 13, 2005, they won the Asia series after defeating the champions of Korea, China, and Taiwan, and Agbayani was named MVP. Agbayani's manager with Chiba Lotte was his manager with the Mets, Bobby Valentine.
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