From Rookie Lefty to Mr. MVP— Joshua Pineda’s Two Years on Top
It’s a completely different experience when you watch any UAAP sport, even for the first time, and instantly know who runs the show. It’s easy to think of the basketball and volleyball greats from past and present, sure. But anyone that has paid attention to the DLSU Green Batters since the end of the pandemic era can tell you it’s none other than their southpaw pitcher from Tarlac.
In 2019, Joshua Pineda was a mere rookie with the Green Batters, playing behind the likes of Kiko Gesmundo and Arvin Herrera. Though most of his time on the field came in the opening stages of the game or shutouts for experience in the highest level of collegiate baseball, it was a humble start to life in the UAAP for what would develop into a championship-caliber legacy five years down the line. DLSU ended up winning the Season 81 Baseball Championship in a thrilling three-game series, but it was one which the rookie Pineda would have to sit out in favor of his veteran teammates. Still, there was so much more baseball for the 19-year-old with three or four years left in his eligibility.
But in 2020, life as we all knew it came to a screeching halt with the COVID-19 pandemic. Major contributors from the championship-winning team on their last years in college were denied the send-off they dreamt of. Stars like Macasaet and Diego Lozano had to bid farewell to their alma mater without one last chance of bringing the school glory through the sport they loved. When the UAAP finally got rolling again in Season 85, the Green Batters were a completely different squad from the last time the community had seen them in action.
Such was the case for Pineda’s role within the team as well, having gone from a young, inexperienced pitcher to the team’s captain in the four years between La Salle’s last UAAP game pre-pandemic to their first appearance post-pandemic. Still, he embraced it with open arms and accepted his new mission within the team not just for himself or his teammates, but for two of the greatest mentors in Philippine baseball: Coaches Joseph Orillana and Saki Bacarisas.
It’s probably any young player’s dream as they come up through the ranks to not only be under the tutelage of La Salle’s most accomplished ace in the early 2000s but also one of Philippine baseball’s biggest living legends alongside them. Pineda constantly developed his game under their guidance and landed a spot on the National Team for the 2022 Asian Games where he played as a relief pitcher in victories against Laos and Thailand. So when the time finally came to lead the Green Batters out to defend the crown that his seniors earned four years prior, Joshua was ready; and he did it with a guardian angel by his side all year long.
Pineda lost his father in July of 2022 and has been playing to make the man who raised him for 22 years the proudest ever since. Anyone who has ever come across him or even just taken a quick look at his social media presence can easily tell that he is a massive family man with nothing but love for those he grew up with. He made a promise to his father that he would continue to be strong alongside his mother and asked for his guidance every step of the way.
And in all 12 games that the Green Batters played in Season 85, Joshua played with the wings of an angel and the arm of a gladiator.
He shared the mound with star rookie Lord Aragorn de Vera and Vince Flores throughout the season, often being called to action during big games and in clutch situations. Pineda’s appearances at bat were nothing to scoff at either, with a good number of hits and the occasional RBI proving his worth as a valuable two-way player. DLSU finished the elimination round as the second seed with a 7–3 overall record and kept their title defense alive with a trip to the Finals against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons.
In all the years prior to Season 85, La Salle had never won back-to-back championships in UAAP Baseball. Pineda knew they had an opportunity to write history and made a promise just before the campaign began that his Green Batters would accomplish what had not yet been done — for the university, for all the staff involved in their success, and for everyone who supports and believes in them. So when the lights shined their brightest and the stage had been set, Joshua played a step above the rest and delivered the very best performance of his entire baseball career thus far.
In Game 1 of the title-deciding series, Pineda was not designated as the starting pitcher as he sat on the bench during the opening stages. Plans immediately changed, however, as DLSU found themselves down 4–8 by the fourth inning which promoted Pineda to the mound for the rest of the way. The decision would prove to be the defining moment of the match, as Pineda played immaculate defense for the Green Batters by allowing only two hits and zero runs for the next five innings. His teammates did their part as well, making up the four-run deficit and answering with five successful trips back to home plate. Because of this, La Salle bagged Game 1 with a close 9–8 score behind a superstar performance from their captain.
Game 2 was just as dramatic as the first with all to play for. It was a team with everything to gain versus a team with everything to lose, which was the perfect recipe for a championship slugfest. Just like in the series opener, Pineda was again not slated to open the match but ended up being substituted in for Peter Nonaillada by just the first inning. From there, he would go on to complete the daunting task of pitching from start to finish with incredible finesse and skill. He gave up only three runs as UP’s attempts at fighting the Green Batters’ massive lead, hindered by an unstoppable fifth inning by La Salle, fell short of their target. Pineda’s last pitch of the season was a fastball that was eventually caught by outfielder Pio Villamiel, cementing the Season 85 Green Batters’ legacy as the first to successfully defend their predecessors’ title.
The near-flawless Game 1 and the iron man performance from Game 2 made Pineda the clear choice to receive the Finals MVP award. It was a well-deserved crowning moment for a man who had played with an even stronger determination and passion than before. With a kiss to the trophy and a salute to the sky, he finally reached the top of college baseball with the love of his dad guiding him every single day.
Many thought Pineda was done after winning it all in Season 85, having already graduated and revealed his plans to look for work in 2023. But when the start of the Green Batters’ Season 86 campaign rolled around, it was announced that the reigning Finals MVP would be coming back home for one last dance. His new role focused less on mere playing time and more on the veteran presence as a champion and leader that only a few others had within the team full of rookies and second-year players.
DLSU went through the elimination round just like they did a season prior, finishing with a 7–3 record this time as the top seed with a twice-to-beat advantage ahead of the semifinal round. Nonaillada and De Vera amassed heavy playing time in the Green Batters’ run to the #1 spot, with Pineda usually being sent into ice an opposing team’s run or as the closer. Even with less time on the mound, La Salle’s lefty pitcher proved vital in several victories including striking out eight batters in both the season opener against the Ateneo de Manila University (Ateneo) Blue Eagles and in a 13–4 rout of the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons for the team’s fifth victory.
Pineda sat out the semifinal against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Sox but would make his presence as the reigning Finals MVP felt when the championship series came around. It was a matchup with lots at stake for both teams, with La Salle hoping for a three-peat and fairytale sendoff for their returning pitcher while the National University (NU) Bulldogs aimed to win back baseball gold after a 12-year drought.
Game 1 of the Finals started off well for the Green Batters, putting up a 4–0 lead in just two innings while Pineda held the Bulldogs scoreless for the first six frames. He would only play until the end of the defensive turn of the seventh before fatigue had visibly started to kick in and the coaching staff opted to rest him for the remainder of the game. NU would end up snatching Game 1 with six runs scored in the eighth inning, placing DLSU’s three-peat hopes in jeopardy.
After starting and playing for nearly the entire Game 1, Pineda did not take to the mound early in Game 2 and made way for the pair of Nonaillada and De Vera to shine. DLSU fell behind 2–4 with only a handful of innings to go and, after two runs scored by NU in the sixth, Joshua was sent out for what would be his final appearance in the UAAP. Though La Salle ultimately lost their crown to NU, Pineda did not allow any more Bulldogs to reach home plate with his last pitch as a Green Batter resulting in a flyout to give his team one more fighting chance at victory.
Pineda’s collegiate career may have ended with a loss, but the victories he achieved were far greater than any setback that came his way. He, along with the other graduating Green Batters, then took one final trip around the bases and bid farewell to the UAAP.
It was not the fairytale ending you dream of as a young athlete, but the story had already been completed on April 21, 2023. When you look back at the legacy of one Joshua Pineda with the Green Batters, it’s never the close defeats or heartbreaks that come to mind, but rather the clutch moments, shutouts, and his Most Valuable Performance in the Finals of Season 85. His legacy will always come back down to his last two years of DLSU baseball, one that paints him as an incredible athlete, a respected teammate, and a young man who would make any father — especially his own — proud beyond measurement.
