A remarkable finish for the Mat-Su Miners

I recently capped my ninth Alaska Baseball League season covering the Mat-Su Miners as the sports editor here at the Frontiersman.

I not sure if I’m actually a good luck charm or not, but I’ve been fortunate enough to cover four league champions and three runners-up in those nine years. In the last eight years, the Miners have finished no lower than third.

That’s no coincidence, right?

Actually, if there is a coincidence, it’s the fact Miners general manager Pete Christopher took over the Miners the same year I took this gig with the paper. He obviously deserves most of the credit for the team’s success. But you never know, right?

Regardless, I do know one thing — I’ve had the chance to cover some fantastic teams and watch some great ballplayers do their thing at Hermon Brothers Field.

The 2004 squad, which won the ABL and finished second in the National Baseball Congress World Series, is a team that certainly sticks out. Then there’s the 2009 group that won 31 games en route to a league title, or the 2010 team that earned another 31 victories and a crown.

But there’s something special about this 2011 club. And there’s something about this 2011 seasons that makes it one of those most interesting I’ve seen.

Everyone wants to hoist that league trophy at the end of the season, but Christopher isn’t afraid to say he’s pretty darn happy with the second-place finish. I would be too, especially considering what it took for the Miners to get there.

The roller coaster analogy is used often sports, but certainly fits here. Any team that brings together a group of 20-some guys for 40-some games is bound to go through its fair share of ups and downs.

But this season, it’s like the Miners were treated to a couple of months worth of free tickets to Six Flags.

The Miners started off on fire, ending the month of June as the top team in the ABL. But also during the first month of the season, the Miners lost a pair of players who were expected to be two of their top pitchers. St. Joseph’s juniors AJ Holland and Ryan Kemp were both selected during the second day of the MLB Draft, and picked early enough to seriously consider signing with their new teams.

But made the decision to sign. I can’t disagree with their decisions, but it did leave sort of a void in the bullpen. Both were candidates to solidify the back end, and the Miners never really had a bonafide closer after they left.

As the first-place Miners entered the month of July, they also encountered their most brutal stretch of the season.

It wasn’t really like a roller coaster ride here. It was more like skydiving without a parachute. The Miners suffered seven losses during an eight-game stretch and dropped from first to third in the ABL standings. The Miners were also swept during a four-game set against the Peninsula Oilers in Kenai.

The Oilers, who won the 2011 ABL crown, basically won their title during those four games.

If the losing wasn’t enough, the Miners were also running into problems in the clubhouse.

As I said, there’s bound to be some ups and downs. But from what I gather, it was getting pretty ridiculous.

The Miners lost a few players to injury, which obviously hurt. But Christopher was also forced to excuse one of his assistant coaches, Josh Renick, who was let go for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

With each day, the Miners roster seemed to shrink in size. While ABL teams typically have 22 or 23 players left on the roster, by season’s end, the Miners were dipping into the teens.

On the final day, there were only 17 active players on the roster.

But at some point the strife and grief just somehow disappeared. And like a cat falling out of a second story window, the Miners somehow found a way to land on their feet.

But despite the drop in numbers, the Miners spent their final two weeks of the season winning. Mat-Su was 9-2 during its final 11, muscled its way into second place and capped the season on a six-game winning streak.

And they managed to do all of this with nearly as many non-Division I players as Division I players on the roster.

During the final stretch, the Miners sported four NAIA players, two Division II players, a junior college athlete and a high school kid. One of the pitchers the Miner used last saw action in the Anchorage Adult League.

The Miners announced after the season that head coach Brian Yocke and pitching coach Chris Gordon will return next season. Judging by what they did with this group, imagine what could happen with a full slate of DI talent on the roster.

But I know if you ask Yocke or Gordon, they wouldn’t have traded the final 17 for another group of big school kids. And that’s part of what makes this season memorable.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.