Maehara Stadium (Wailuku, HI)

E ho’omau ’ia ka mo’olelo.
“History will continue to be made.”

Maehara Stadium, August 2024 (Courtesy of Jake Rinloan)

 

Since its opening in 1973, Maehara Stadium has been the premier baseball park on the island of Maui. Cherished by communities on Maui, neighboring Hawaiian islands, and beyond, it has hosted countless events – mostly amateur and professional baseball games for youth and adults. In this small venue in the mid-Pacific, important history was made – especially for women in baseball. Inspired by “Maui’s Mr. Baseball” – Ichiro “Iron” Maehara – numerous other volunteers to this day embody the Aloha Spirit and uphold Maehara Stadium as a forum for Hawaii’s rich baseball traditions.

Local politician Mike Victorino – father of major-league star Shane Victorino – summed it up in 2009. “Iron Maehara Stadium has been a crown jewel for our baseball.”1

The Man, the Stadium, and Its Volunteer Corps

Ichiro Maehara2 was born in 1909, just a few miles from the site that would eventually include a stadium named after him. The eldest of 10 children, he grew up in the Puunene Sugarcane Plantation Camp.3 His father was a Japanese language teacher and later served as the principal of the Puunene Japanese Language School.4 His mother was also a teacher.5 As a boy, Ichiro loved sports and earned the nickname “Iron” because he could play every position on a baseball diamond.6

During Maehara’s youth, almost every community in Hawaii had a company baseball team.7

Why were there so many teams there early in the 20th century? Because the islands have an incredibly rich baseball history dating back to at least the 1850s.8

Maehara gained a reputation as an outstanding player for the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S). He was the idol of Wally Yonamine, who was born on Maui in 1925 and went on to become a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.9 More than a star player, Maehara was also generous with his time and helped younger players on the HC&S team.10 His abilities in baseball were further recognized in the 1930s when he made barnstorming trips in Asia with the Honolulu Asahis.11

During World War II, Japanese-Americans in Hawaii were monitored closely. During this time, Maehara played against military teams that included Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.12 Exhibition games were common in Hawaii in the years after the war. Maehara became friends with many major-league ballplayers. Guests at Maehara’s house included Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe, Johnny Mize, Duke Snider, Enos Slaughter, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Bob Feller, and others.13

Maehara became a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968, becoming one of the few Japanese-Americans to work as a professional scout. He remained on the Dodgers’ payroll until 1997, when he retired from that role at age 87.14 His biggest scouting accomplishment was bringing Sid Fernandez to the Dodgers. Fernandez, a left-handed pitcher, played 15 seasons in the National and American Leagues. He retired with a 114-96 record and a career ERA of 3.36. He was an NL All-Star in 1986 and 1987. As of the end of the 2024 season, no other pitcher born and raised in Hawaii had more wins in the majors than Fernandez. In addition, Maehara discovered Hawaiian prospect Onan Masaoka,15 who also pitched for Los Angeles. He recommended signing Shane Victorino as well; Victorino was drafted in June 1999 by the Dodgers.16  

In the 1960s and 1970s, Japanese professional baseball clubs came to Maui for training and exhibition games. Maehara served as a contact person and interpreter for clubs including the Tokyo Orions, Yakult Swallows, and Hanshin Tigers.17

Over many years, Maehara was a tireless volunteer for Maui County baseball.18 His volunteerism included being active in Little League, AJA League,19 and the Maui Senior Little League as a league officer and coach.20

Maehara worked for the HC&S Company for 42 years, retiring from his division supervisor position in December 1970 to become the Director of the Maui County Parks and Recreation Department.

During his tenure with the county, Maehara oversaw the design and construction of a baseball stadium within the War Memorial Complex21 in Wailuku. Part of the larger Keopuolani Regional Park, the War Memorial Complex already included a swimming pool, gymnasium, sumo ring, Little League baseball diamonds, and a football and track stadium.22

The new 1,500-seat baseball stadium opened in January 1973. The $557,000 project23 was designed by Wilson Okamoto and Associates of Honolulu and was built by Fong Construction Company. For nearly a quarter of a century the ballpark was called the War Memorial Baseball Stadium.24 In 1997, the stadium was renamed Ichiro “Iron” Maehara Stadium in honor of “Maui’s Mr. Baseball.”

Sid Fernandez, who sat next to Maehara during the dedication ceremony, said, “As a baseball man, he helped a lot of people. I’m glad they [named the stadium for him] while he was still alive. It was well deserved for what he has done for the community and baseball here.”25

On April 6, 1998, Maehara died of cancer at age 88. He was survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Florence, son Paul, and daughter Gayle.26 At Maehara’s standing-room-only funeral at a church in Kahului, Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ general manager, said, “We will miss him greatly. He was a special person as a scout and as a human being. You simply don’t replace a man like Iron.”27   

The stadium is located at 225 Kanaloa Avenue in Wailuku. It is at the northern end of the War Memorial Complex with a large parking lot to the south. Parking is shared with the War Memorial Football and Track Stadium to the southwest. To the east, across Kanaloa Avenue, is the Maui Nui Botanical Garden. Residential neighborhoods are to the north and west.

The stadium features a covered grandstand with a splayed “U” footprint. Under the grandstand roof, there are three seating areas, each with rows of metal bench seating. Each of the three sections seats approximately 500 spectators. Portable bleachers are sometimes used on the left- and right-field lines to provide additional seating capacity. Field dimensions are 340 feet up the left-field line, 400 feet to straightaway center, and 330 feet up the right-field line.

Concrete-block restroom buildings are located on either side of the center section. A view of nearby mountains can be seen from the first-base side and from the third-base side fans have a view of the distant ocean. The metal roof is cantilevered with its rear carried by precast H-shaped concrete columns.  As of 2024, all of these structures are from the original 1973 construction.28

Immediately behind the home plate backstop is the Glenn H. Otani Score Booth. This is a concrete-block building that is used by the official scorer; the outfield scoreboard is operated from there. The score booth also has space for members of the press and two broadcast booths, one for use by the home team and another for the visiting team.29

The score booth’s namesake, Glenn Otani, graduated from Maui High School in 1969 and was involved with baseball on the island for several decades. He volunteered in many different capacities, including coach, manager, board member – and perhaps his favorite role: scorekeeper.30

Otani was a fixture at Maehara ballgames and was the official scorekeeper for Maui County’s high school games. Since 2000, he was the scorekeeper for all the Hawaii High School Athletic Association tournaments at Maehara Stadium, sometimes putting in 12-hour days.31  

The dugouts have concrete roofs, walls and floors. As of 2024, the home dugout is on the first base side. The floors are slightly below ground level. Both dugouts have two rows of two aluminum bench seats with backrests. The dugout entrances feature lava rock walls next to the concrete entry ramps.

In 2009, an equipment storage building was added to the northeast portion of the 12.6-acre stadium property. Other relatively recent renovations as of 2024 include a new scoreboard behind the left-field fence, light pole replacement, and radar detectors for off-the-bat exit velocities.32 As of September 2024, new ADA-compliant concrete ramps were being installed. 

The Maui County Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for maintaining Maehara Stadium’s natural grass field – noted for its beauty33 – with a heavy reliance on volunteers. One of those people, Warren Shimabukuro, took it upon himself to be the “unofficial groundskeeper” of the ballfield from the 1970s till shortly before his death in 2023 at age 89. He worked as a state building inspector and besides his family, baseball at Maehara was his greatest joy.34 Shimabukuro also helped with scorekeeping and whatever else might be needed around the stadium.

Joey Vierra, a University of Hawaii baseball standout and two-time Triple-A All-Star, has spent a lot of time at Maehara Stadium as a player, coach, and broadcaster.35 He said Shimabukuro was the first to arrive at the ballpark and the last to leave. “I don’t think anybody is really going to match up to this guy. … We truly lost a piece of history. He was a baseball man, he really was.”36

Is Maehara Stadium a hitter’s or a pitcher’s park? It’s debatable because the ballfield is influenced by wind more than most parks on the mainland.

Dean Yamashita, a longtime Maui baseball coach and volunteer, explained that when the predominant trade winds from the north are blowing, hitting to the left side of the diamond is enhanced. When the wind direction is from the south, known as “Kona winds,” hitters to right benefit.37

Thanks to dedicated volunteers, employees, advocates, and coaches, Maui has a rich baseball tradition that includes professional leagues, collegiate club, high school baseball,38 Pony and Colt Leagues, Little League,39 PONO Baseball,40 AJA Baseball, American Legion ball, and the Maui Adult League.41 All these levels of baseball have been played at Maehara Stadium. 

Hawaii has sent nearly 50 players to the major leagues as of 2024. Four big-leaguers were born on Maui: Kurt Suzuki, Victorino, Kanekoa Texeira, and Tony Rego.42 Suzuki held annual All Pono Baseball Clinics for kids ages 8 to 12 at the stadium for several years. He paid for dozens of youngsters from Molokai and Lanai to attend.43

Maehara Stadium Has Hosted Two Professional Teams

The Maui Stingrays played from 1993 through 1997 in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League (HWB). This was a developmental league, considered to be at the Class A to Double-A level, partly funded by Major League Baseball. The league’s season ran from October to December; it provided another fall-winter option to the Arizona Fall League and various Latin American winter leagues. Maui was one of four teams in the HWB; other teams were based on other Hawaiian islands.          

In addition to players from the US mainland, the HWB also featured many players from Japan and Korea. The owner of the league, Duane Kurisu,44 wanted to see Korean, Japanese, and North American players intermingling and learning about each other’s cultures. “The players from different countries were mixed and they played together for their adopted cities in Hawaii,” he said. “We carried a vision that went beyond baseball. We felt that our role could be to develop the tools of Aloha, which included characteristics like trust, confidence, character and community.”45

Kurisu added, laughing, “We also forced the umpires to wear Aloha or Hawaiian shirts, but it only lasted half a season. They were reprimanded by the umpire association or someone.”46

There were other uniquely Hawaiian twists that occurred during the HWB years, such as fans singing, “Buy me pineapple and crackerjack, I don’t care if I never get back,” during seventh-inning stretches.47

HWB alumni who played at Maehara Stadium include Ichiro Suzuki,48 Buster Posey, Todd Helton, Daniel Murphy, Lorenzo Cain, Gabe Kapler, Chris Widger, R.A. Dickey, Hawaii native Benny Agbayani, Jason Giambi, and many other future big-leaguers. 

The inaugural HWB season, in 1993, was disappointing for the Stingrays. Despite having a roster that included Derek Lee, Chris Singleton, and Doug Mirabelli, they finished in last place with a 18-32 record. The Hilo Stars won the pennant.

History was made in the 1994 season when Lee Anne “Beanie” Ketcham and Julie Croteau joined the Stingrays. They became the first women to play in a professional league that was affiliated with Major League Baseball. Ketcham was a right-handed pitcher; Croteau, a lefty, played first base. The previous summer they had barnstormed with the Colorado Silver Bullets, an all-women baseball team managed by Phil Niekro that competed against men’s amateur and semipro teams.49

During their time with Maui, Ketcham50 finished the season with a 6.75 ERA and five strikeouts over eight innings. Croteau51 went 1-for-12 at the plate, but she was better known for her defense, making no errors over 11 games.52 “I could play side-by-side with any of these players defensively,” Croteau said.53 

Ketcham and Croteau’s Maui teammates included Craig Counsell, Quinton McCracken, and eight other future big-league players. Their opponents on other HWB teams were of similar quality. The trailblazing women’s play at this level of professional ball was commendable, especially considering the small number of male players who are able to reach a league of this caliber.     

“Playing baseball in Hawaii was the best job I’ll ever have,” Croteau said.54 She has fond recollections of talking in-depth with teammate Bryan Rekar about hitting and pitching nuances, and doing defensive drills with Counsell. Her favorite memories were when tennis great and women’s rights advocate Billie Jean King came to Maehara to watch her and Ketcham play, and in another game at Maehara, hitting a single and scoring a run.55

Croteau mentioned that the HWB was the highest level of play she attained, and it had “the highest level of support and acceptance for women” compared to earlier chapters of her playing career. The Stingrays “were a great bunch of guys,” she said. “It was a wonderful, positive experience to cap my playing career.”56

One highlight for Ketcham was striking out Aaron Boone. Years later Boone recalled, “She struck me out, on TV.” The third strike was a breaking ball. After the punchout on local television, Boone threw a tantrum in the dugout and threw his batting helmet in the trash can. As a young girl, Ketcham dreamed of pitching for the New York Yankees, so the memorable strikeout felt great – not only at the time but also years later when Boone played for the Bronx Bombers and became the Yankees’ manager.57

For the 1994 season under manager Gene Glynn, Maui had a 30-22 record and won the most games in the HWB, but came in second place. The Kauai Emeralds had a slightly better winning percentage of .580 (29-21) because Kauai had more rainouts.

In 1995, the Stingrays had only a 25-28 record but won their two-team Volcano Division by two games. They came to life in the postseason and beat the Honolulu Sharks for the league title.

The 1996 season was strikingly similar to 1995. The Honolulu Sharks were far-and-away the best HWB team with a 36-16 record. Maui managed to break .500 with a 25-24 record. In the championship, the Stingrays stung the Sharks once again to claim the league title. Future major-league player and manager Mark Kotsay was on the Maui roster in ‘96. 

The 1997 season resulted in a 25-29 record for the Stingrays under manager Joe Ferguson. David Lee played for the Stingrays that year, as did Calvin Pickering and Eugene Kingsale. The Honolulu Sharks were the ’97 champions. That was the HWB’s final season, owing to a disagreement with Major League Baseball regarding continued funding for the league.58   

After a gap of 13 years, professional baseball; returned to Maui and Maehara Stadium, featuring a team with a Hawaiian name: Na Koa Ikaika59 Maui – i.e., “Maui Strong Warriors.” This club played in three different independent leagues60 during its four-year tenure.

In 2010, Maui was one of 10 teams in the Golden Baseball League. This ambitious circuit encompassed three countries: six US teams, three Canadian teams (Calgary, Edmonton. and Victoria) and one Mexican team (Tijuana). The Na Koa Ikaika went 56-26 in the regular season and won the South Division. After beating the Calgary Vipers in the playoffs, they lost to the Chico (California) Outlaws in the finals.

For the next two years, the Na Koa Ikaika played in the 10-team North American League.

In 2011, Maui had a 29-40 record. Late in the season, the Na Koa Ikaika acquired female knuckleball pitcher Eri Yoshida61 from Chico. She started one game – at Maehara Stadium, in front of 934 fans – on August 9, 2011, earning a win while yielding four hits and one earned run over five innings while facing three former major-leaguers and four other players with Triple-A experience. The diminutive 19-year-old (5-feet-1) struck out only one batter but managed to get out of trouble in the first inning by picking off Todd Linden at first base. The final score was Maui 4, Edmonton 1, With this victory, Yoshida became the first woman to win a professional game since Ila Borders in 1999 in the Northern League.62

In 2012, Yoshida’s record with Maui was 4-6 with a 5.56 ERA. In 45⅓ innings of work, she got 12 strikeouts while giving up 41 hits, 28 walks, 28 earned runs, and two home runs. The “Knuckle Princess” had family ties to Maui and said she was “very comfortable there.”63     

August 23, 2012 was a low point for the Na Koa Ikaika, but a high point for old guys everywhere when 65-year-old pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee of the San Rafael (California) Pacifics became the oldest person to win a professional baseball game as the Pacifics defeated Maui 9-4.64  

The 2012 season resulted in a 36-30 record and Maui came in second in the Northern Division behind San Rafael. The league championship was won by the Edinburg (Texas) Roadrunners over the Fort Worth Cats.      

In 2013, Maui played in the Pacific Association, which included another Hawaiian team and three California ballclubs. In their final season, the Na Koa Ikaika went out on top. They had their best season since their inaugural year, finishing with a 46-29 record and winning the Association championship over San Rafael.

Hopena (Conclusion)

As of 2024, Maehara Stadium continues to host high school competition in the Maui Interscholastic League, as well as American Legion ball. Recent news (October 2024) regarded the launch of test plots for Reef-Friendly Landscaping. This would have appealed to Warren Shimabukuro, who was devoted to “sprucing up the best natural grass baseball field in the state”65 – and to Ichiro Maehara, whose duties for HC&S included irrigation division overseer. As Maehara’s youngest sibling Patrick noted, “He was a community-oriented person, always doing things to help others.”66

Last revised: December 9, 2024

 

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Dean Yamashita for his insights about Hawaiian culture and the Maui baseball scene.

This article was reviewed by Kurt Blumenau and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Larry DeFillipo.

 

Sources and Photo Credits

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, StatsCrew.com and sabr.org.

The photo of the stadium was taken by the author on August 26, 2024.

The baseball card images were downloaded from Trading Card Database.

 

Notes

1 Budget and Finance Committee, Council of the County of Maui, Minutes, February 17, 2009: 44. Accessed December 7, 2024, https://www.mauicounty.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/11656. Mike Victorino was then a county councilmember; in 2018, he was elected as Mayor of Maui County.

2 Maehara is pronounced “my-HAR-uh.”

3 Maui County Council Resolution No. 96-63, August 7, 1996. This Resolution officially recognized Maehara’s lifetime of volunteerism in baseball. It was passed unanimously by all nine County Council members.

4 “Reconnaissance Level Survey for Ichiro “Iron” Maehara Baseball Stadium,” prepared on behalf of the Maui County Parks and Recreation Department by FAI Architects, October 2023. The objective of this survey was to ascertain if the ballpark meets criteria for State and/or National registration as Historic Places, a process still underway as of October 2024.

5 Rod Ohira, “Services Tomorrow for ‘Iron’ Maehara, the ‘Mr. Baseball’ of Maui,” Honolulu Star Bulletin, April 9, 1998. Accessed August 25, 2024, https://archives.starbulletin.com/1998/04/09/news/obits.html.

6 Ohira, “Services Tomorrow for ‘Iron’ Maehara, the ‘Mr. Baseball’ of Maui.” Other sources say the nickname “Iron” came from Maehara’s childhood love of a movie-serial: “The Iron Claw.”

7 J.G. Floto, “Iron Maehara,” thediamondangle.com, January 13, 2002, Accessed September 10, 2024, https://webarchive.org/web/20110614230524/http://www.thediamondangle.com/archive/nov2/maehara.html

8 Bruce Allardice, “The First Multiracial Ballgame: Not in Philadelphia in 1869 but in Hawaii, Two Years Earlier,” Our Game, January 7, 2019. Accessed September 30, 2024, https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/the-first-multiracial-ballgame-32ea57419a1d. One well-documented example of a 19th century game was played in 1867, in the then independent Kingdom of Hawaii, under King Kamehameha V. The game, on the island of Oahu, was between teams known as the “Pioneers” and the “Pacifics,” A description of the gameday activities and the box score were published in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser on August 31, 1867.

9 Frank Ardolino, “Wally Yonamine,” The National Pastime, Society for American Baseball Research, 1999 edition: 10.

10 Floto, “Iron Maehara.”

11 Maui County Council Resolution No. 96-63. Maehara was the only player from Maui; all of his teammates were from Oahu. Asahi means “morning” or “rising sun” in Japanese. The Honolulu Asahis played from 1905 through the 1970s and was Hawaiian baseball’s top drawing card before the Hawaii Islanders Triple-A club grew in popularity during the ‘70s. “Fabled Asahi Ball Club Celebrates Centennial,” Honolulu Advertiser, September 12, 2005. Accessed September 30, 2024, http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Sep/12/ln/FP509120333.html.

12 Robert Collias, “Who Deserves to be in a Maui County Sports Hall of Fame?” Maui News, May 17, 2023. Accessed August 25, 2023, https://www.mauinews.com/sports/local-sports/2023/05/column-who-deserves-to-be-in-a-maui-county-sports-hall-of-fame/.

13 Maui County Council Resolution No. 96-63.

14 Floto, “Iron Maehara.”

15 Ohira, “Services Tomorrow for ‘Iron’ Maehara, the ‘Mr. Baseball’ of Maui.”

17 Maui County Council Resolution No. 96-63.

18 Maui County consists of the inhabited islands of Maui, Lanai and Molokai, together with the uninhabited islands of Kahoolawe and Molokini. Maehara’s volunteer efforts were centered on his home island of Maui, but also included work on the neighboring islands of Lanai and Molokai.

19 AJA stands for Americans of Japanese Ancestry. AJA baseball originated in 1908 during the Hawaiian plantation era when different ethnicities had their own teams and leagues. AJA baseball has a rich history; for over a century, AJA baseball has been played in the Hawaiian Islands every year except 1942-47. There are AJA leagues for adults on the four major Hawaiian Islands (Kauai, Oahu, Maui and the Big Island). A state tournament is played each year to determine which island’s top team is the overall champion. The tournament site rotates between four islands, so every fourth year Maehara Stadium hosts this tournament.

20 Maui County Council Resolution No. 96-63.

21 The War Memorial Complex was named in honor of Maui residents who have given their lives in military service. The parking lot and facilities were used as a shelter and donation site after the devastating 2023 wildfires on Maui. Kyle Chinen, “War Memorial Sports Complex Turned into Shelter and Donation Site,” Hawaii News Now, August 16, 2023. Accessed September 10, 2024, https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/17/war-memorial-sports-complex-home-baldwin-bears-turned-into-shelter-donation-site/.

22 The “War Memorial Football Stadium and Satoki Yamamoto Track and Field Facility” was completed in 1969 and seats 23,000 spectators. It hosted college football’s all-star game, the Hula Bowl from 1998 through 2005. High school football and soccer (Maui Interscholastic League) games are played there regularly. It is the largest high school football stadium in the US. The stadium’s track is open for public use. Numerous track and field meets, including state high school championships, have occurred at this facility. Tony Adame, “Biggest High School Football Stadiums,” stadiumtalk.com, April 18, 2024. Accessed October 9, 2024, https://www.stadiumtalk.com/s/biggest-high-school-football-stadiums-a2ac244928744050.

23 “County Opens New Park,” Maui News, January 30, 1973, B1.

24 “Reconnaissance Level Survey for Ichiro “Iron” Maehara Baseball Stadium.” For continuity within this article, the ballpark is referred to as “Maehara” during the years prior to it being named for Ichiro Maehara.

25 Ohira, “Services Tomorrow for ‘Iron’ Maehara, the ‘Mr. Baseball’ of Maui.”

26 “Ichiro ‘Iron’ Maehara,” Find A Grave. Accessed August 25, 2024, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/145592263/ichiro-maehara.

27 Floto, “Iron Maehara.”

28 “Reconnaissance Level Survey for Ichiro “Iron” Maehara Baseball Stadium.”

29 Nathan Fernandez, Recreation Leader, Maui County Parks and Recreation, phone interview, August 30, 2024.

30 Robert Collias, “Otani Remembered Fondly for his Dedication to Baseball,” Maui News, August 15, 2020. Accessed August 30, 2024, https://www.mauinews.com/sports/local-sports/2020/08/otani-remembered-fondly-for-his-dedication-to-baseball/.

31 Collias, “Otani Remembered Fondly for his Dedication to Baseball.”

32 Nathan Fernandez, phone interview.

33 Rob Collias, “Yearlong renovation of War Memorial Stadium could pave way for Hula Bowl, concerts, rodeos,” Maui Now, November 10, 2024. Accessed December 7, 2024, https://mauinow.com/2024/11/10/yearlong-renovation-of-war-memorial-stadium-could-pave-way-for-hula-bowl-concerts-rodeos/. Robert Collias, “Juniors state tournament provides a look into future of baseball in 808,” Maui News, July 19, 2023. Accessed December 7, 2024, https://www.mauinews.com/sports/local-sports/2023/07/juniors-state-tournament-provides-a-look-into-future-of-baseball-in-808/.

34 Collias, “Shimabukuro Remembered as Kind, Dedicated Baseball Ambassador,” Maui News, July 5, 2023. Accessed August 25, 2024,  https://mauinews.com/sports/local sports/2023/07/column shimabukuro remembered as kind dedicated baseball ambassador/.

35 Vierra was also a minor league baseball teammate of basketball icon Michael Jordan when they both played for the Double-A Birmingham Barons in in 1994. Robert Collias, “Vierra Recalls Time with Jordan,” Maui News, May 13, 2020. Accessed October 2, 2024, https://www.mauinews.com/sports/local-sports/2020/05/vierra-recalls-time-with-jordan/.

36 Collias, “Shimabukuro Remembered as Kind, Dedicated Baseball Ambassador.”

37 Dean Yamashita, phone interview, October 29, 2024.

38 The Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) is the governing body for high school sports in Maui County. There are 14 MIL schools, 12 on Maui and two from the neighboring islands of Lanai and Molokai. As the first Executive Secretary of the MIL (1960-84), Kenji Kawaguchi was considered the father of league. Many state high school championship tournaments have been held at Maehara.

39 Hawaii in general, and Maui in particular, have had great success with Little League teams going deep in postseason tournaments. At Maehara Stadium there is a “Home of the 2019 Senior Little League World Series Champions” plaque. This team, representing the Central East Maui Little League and Wailuku, went all the way in 2019 beating Willemstad, Curacao in the Senior Little League World Series in Easley, South Carolina. The 2019 championship team was managed by Craig Okita with help from coaches Shane Awai and Dean Yamashita. In 1987, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2024, Maui County-based Little League and/or Senior Little League teams won the Western State regionals and advanced to the World Series tournament rounds. All of these teams were based in Wailuku, except for the 1987 team which was from Molokai.

40 Pono is the Hawaiian word for goodness, righteousness and excellence. It is often used in the context of leading a “pono life,” a life of integrity and high moral character. PONO Baseball on Maui consists of 150 – 200 players (ages 4 to 18) in both competitive and recreational leagues: the Central East Maui Little League and the Maui Bronco League. “I use baseball as a way to teach life lessons,” said coach Dean Yamashita. “We want to set them up for life after baseball. We expect them to be pono.” Dean Yamashita, phone interview.

41 The Maui Adult League formed in 2009 to “provide men aged 25 and older competitive recreational baseball programs.” The league plays at Maehara and four other fields. The league had between two and six teams in its early years; by the summer of 2011, it had eight teams. “Maui Adult Baseball League,” playpaani.com. Accessed September 25, 2024, https://www.playpaani.com/League/Show/maui-adult-baseball-league-wailuku-hi.

42 21st century baseball fans may not be familiar with Tony Rego. He was born in 1897 when Hawaii was an independent republic. The “Mighty Midget” was only 5-feet 4. He beat long odds getting to the majors, playing as a catcher for the St. Louis Browns in 1924-25.

43 Robert Collias, “Suzuki: ‘Right Time’ to Call it a Career,” Maui News, September 28, 2022. Accessed August 25, 2023, https://www.mauinews.com/sports/local-sports/2022/09/suzuki-right-time-to-call-it-a-career/.

44 Kurisu is a businessman and minority owner of the San Francisco Giants.

45 Matt Monagan, “Baseball in Hawaii? As Cool as it Sounds,” mlb.com, December 23, 2023. Accessed August 19, 2024, https://www.mlb.com/news/hawaiian-winter-league-look-back.

46 Monagan, “Baseball in Hawaii? As Cool as it Sounds.”

47 Monagan, “Baseball in Hawaii? As Cool as it Sounds.”

48 Ichiro Suzuki’s 1993 HWB season served him well. The next year in Japan, as a 20-year-old, he led the JPL with a .385 batting average and became the first Japanese player to reach 200 hits in a single season.

49 The Silver Bullets were the first and only women’s pro baseball team since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League of the 1940s and ‘50s. During the Bullets inaugural season in 1994, Croteau posted a .989 fielding average and was one of only two hitters on the team with more walks than strikeouts. Ketcham was the ace of the pitching staff with a 4.80 ERA and seven complete games. In 77 1/3 innings she had 63 strikeouts and 21 walks. She led the team to its first-ever victory in May while striking out 14 batters. This is believed to be the first win by a professional women’s baseball squad over an all-male team (Silver Bullets 7, Richfield Rockets 2). Ketcham also shutout a men’s all-star team in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

50 Ketcham, an Alabama native, was the only girl on her hometown Little League team. As a starting pitcher in high school, she had a 12-5 record one season on the otherwise all-male team. She earned a softball scholarship to Oklahoma State University. She played shortstop on four straight conference championship softball teams at OSU. Along with pitching for Maui, she played three years professionally with the Colorado Silver Bullets. In 1996, her final season with the Bullets, she had a 2.27 ERA over 43 2/3 innings. As of 2024, Ketcham works as a prosthetist in the United Kingdom.

51 In addition to her historic achievements with the Maui Stingrays, Croteau was a trailblazing baseball pioneer on other fronts. It began at an early age: After a successful Little League career, she and her parents unsuccessfully sued Osborne Park High School in Manassas, Virginia for the right to play on the boy’s team. She was the second woman to play in a men’s NCAA baseball game when she played for St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 1989. (Susan Perabo was the first; she played for Webster University in 1987. Perabo’s accomplishment appears on a plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame. During her collegiate career, Perabo played in four games and had five hitless at-bats. Croteau was the first woman to start for a NCAA team, get hits and play on a regular basis.) Croteau was the first female coach in a men’s NCAA Division 1 baseball program when she joined the staff at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1995. In 2006, she was the manager of the US Women’s National Baseball Team. Croteau led that team to the Women’s Baseball World Cup gold medal making her the first woman to manage a women’s baseball team to gold in international baseball competition. “Our Museum in Action: Julie Croteau’s Mitt,” National Baseball Hall of Fame. Accessed October 1, 2012, https://support.baseballhall.org/campaign/julie-croteau-mitt-b-29-95/c230267. Croteau’s smooth fielding also earned her a role in the 1992 Penny Marshall-directed movie A League of Their Own, the story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, starring Geena Davis, Madonna and Tom Hanks. Her collegiate baseball glove and a photo of her are enshrined at the Baseball Hall of Fame. As of 2024, she works as the Director of Strategic Communications for the Stanford Cancer Institute at Stanford University.

52 Monagan, “Baseball in Hawaii? As Cool as it Sounds.” As per box scores and articles in the Maui News, Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Star-Advertiser between October 14 – 21, 1994, Ketcham was the first of the two women to appear in a game when she pitched the final inning of the second game of the season on October 15 against the Honolulu Sharks. Croteau had an at-bat in the season’s sixth game on October 20 against the Kauai Emeralds. The first HWB game appearances for Ketcham and Croteau occurred at Maehara Stadium.

53 Julie Croteau, phone interview, October 8, 2024.

54 Julie Croteau, phone interview.

55 Julie Croteau, phone interview.

56 Julie Croteau, phone interview.

57 Jake Seiner, “Facing Men While with Maui Stingrays was Highlight for Baseball’s Women Pioneers,” Maui News, May 26, 2022. Accessed September 23, 2024, https://www.mauinews.com/sports/local-sports/2022/05/facing-men-while-with-maui-stingrays-was-highlight-for-baseballs-women-pioneers/.

58 “The Hawaii Winter League 1993 – 1997,” The National Pastime, January 1, 2000. Accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Hawaii+Winter+League+1993-1997.-a070451216. In addition to the five seasons played in the 1990s, the Hawaii Winter Baseball League was reconstituted for three additional seasons (2006 – 2008). Again, it was a four-team league, but this time all the teams were based on Oahu.

59 Na Koa Ikaika is pronounced nah-ko-uh-ee-KY-kuh.

60 These independent leagues were not affiliated with Major League Baseball, i.e., they were not part of a formal farm system. They typically featured collegiate players who played professionally during summer break. During the Na Koa Ikaika years, the team managers were: Cory Snyder in 2010, Garry Templeton in 2011, Jamie Vermilyea in 2012, and Jeff Brooks in 2013.

61 Born in Yokohama, Japan, Yoshida taught herself to throw the knuckleball after watching a video of American pitcher Tim Wakefield. She honed her skills and pitched for her high school team in Japan. At age 16, in 2008, Yoshida was the first woman drafted by a Japanese pro team and she played professionally in Japan. In early 2010, she played in the Arizona Winter League for the Yuma Scorpions. She played for the Chico Outlaws of the Golden Baseball League in the summer of 2010. Her first road start was against the Victoria Seals in Canada on July 27, 2010, making her the first woman to pitch professionally in three different countries.

62 Tom Dubberke, “Eri Yoshida: Female Knuckleballer Wins Professional Baseball Game,” bleacherreport.com, August 19, 2011. Accessed October 4, 2024, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/813284-eri-yoshida-wins-professional-game. The Edmonton Capitals had these former big-leaguers playing in the game: Todd Linden, J.D. Closser, and Enrique Cruz.

63 “Outlaws Trade Female Pitcher Yoshida to Maui,” Chico Enterprise-Record, April 21, 2018. Accessed October 4, 2024, https://www.chicoer.com/2011/08/05/outlaws-trade-female-pitcher-yoshida-to-maui/.

64 Lee not only picked up the “W,” he threw a complete game. He had signed a one-game contract with the San Rafael Pacifics. It was a publicity stunt that paid off, selling 1,200 seats. The Spaceman broke his previous record as the oldest pitcher to win a pro game which occurred in a Can-Am League game two years earlier when he was 63. Lee set the new record at Albert Park in San Rafael. Lee had success at this venue decades earlier as a high school player, including throwing a no-hitter in 1962. The left-handed Lee also had a colorful, and successful, pro career with the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos. Daniel Brown, “Ex-Big Leaguer ‘Spaceman’ Bill Lee Earns Victory for Pacifics,” Marin Independent Journal, July 19, 2018. Accessed October 4, 2024, https://www.marinij.com/2012/08/24/ex-big-leaguer-spaceman-bill-lee-earns-victory-for-pacifics/.

65 Collias, “Shimabukuro Remembered as Kind, Dedicated Baseball Ambassador.”

66 Ohira, “Services Tomorrow for ‘Iron’ Maehara, the ‘Mr. Baseball’ of Maui.”