Manuel Sablan Jr.

Manuel Cepeda Sablan Jr.

• Born January 2, 1980

Biographical Information

Manuel Sablan Jr. was the starting catcher for the Northern Mariana Islands national team in the 2011 Pacific Games. In the opener, he went 1 for 3 with a double against Palau's Kalson Dulei. He hit .333/.429/.429 with five RBI in seven games in the round-robin, handling 70 chances error-free and catching 3 of 8 would-be base-stealers. He was 10th in slugging, tied Juan Maratita for 9th in OBP, tied Rémi Couarraze and Emosi Gotegote for 2nd in RBI (one behind Rico Castro), tied for 4th with 2 doubles, tied for 3rd with 4 walks, led with two sacrifice flies, led in fielding (one chance ahead of Melngis Uchel), led in putouts (3 ahead of Kévin Velayoudon and Uchel) and was 2nd in runners caught stealing (one behind Rodrick Blanco) despite allowing the fewest steals of the regular catchers. In the Gold Medal Game against Guam, he batted cleanup and played catcher. He was 1 for 4 with a walk and a run while having 7 putouts, one assist and catching one of three stealing in a 8-4 win. His single off Freddy Cepeda Jr. was their first hit of the game and came after Cepeda had pitched a no-hitter his prior outing.