ABL could send a pair of teams to NBC World Series

June 5, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

PALMER - The first Mat-Su Miners game of the 2007 campaign is just 11 days away. That means in about 42 days, the Miners will find out whether or not they will be traveling to Wichita, Kan., to compete in the annual National Baseball Congress World Series.

In the last several years, the Alaska Baseball League has changed its method for choosing which teams to send to the World Series a few times.

In some seasons in the past, only the ABL champion earned a berth to the World Series, and in other seasons, two Alaska teams could travel to Wichita. But in both cases, teams had to fund their own trip.

Two seasons ago, the league general managers voted to pool their resources and send only the league champion to the World Series. Each team chipped in about $5,000 to fund the travel expenses.

But in September, things changed again. The league opted to go back to sending two teams to the Series, but each must pay their own way.

The top two squads in the six-team league earn automatic berths, but have the right to refuse. If one team chose not to go, the third team in the ABL could accept the invite.

Pete Christopher, the general manager of the Miners, said he is fine with the idea of two teams to Wichita on their own nickel, but he'd have to be confident in a team's abilities before springing for the travel

costs.

&#8220I have to have a team I think can win,” Christopher said.

Christopher said the problem with participating in the tournament, once known as one of the most prestigious amateur baseball events in the country, is the rise of the cost of travel. Teams are usually in Kansas for about 14 days, Christopher said, and may only play seven times. There's the expense of the hotels, and the per diem for each player.

&#8220That all adds up,” Christopher said.

Traditionally one of the draws of the World Series was the number of Major League scouts who attended the event. But in an effort to get more of the ABL players seen by professional scouts right here in the 49th state, the league will debut its ABL Showcase event in mid-July.

ABL squads will play eight games in three days at Hermon Brothers Field and Mulchahy Stadium in Anchorage, July 13-15.

Mat-Su opens the event against AIA on July 13 at Hermon Brothers, and plays the Alaska Goldpanners and AIA at Mulchahy on July 14 and July 15, respectively.

The first pitch of the 2007 campaign is June 16, when the Miners face Three Rivers in a non-league game.

The starts a stretch of five games in five nights for the Valley team.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.