An ace of all trades

On the mound, Chris Mason is one of the top pitchers in the Alaska Baseball League. But Mason's work for the Mat-Su Miners only begins on the mound.

The ace of the Mat-Su pitching staff has become a jack of all trades. Mason, a University of North Carolina-Greensboro sophomore, has seen significant time at second base, third base and left field for the Miners this season.

After high school, it is rare to find an everyday player on the pitching staff. Occasionally pitchers are used as emergency utility men or asked to pinch hit, but two-way players are becoming as rare as a catcher hitting lead-off.

The opportunity to be a two-way player is what brought Mason to Alaska. After receiving offers from the prestigious Cape Cod League, Mason -- a 2003 freshman All-American -- followed up on a call from Mat-Su general manager Pete Christopher.

In Christopher's first season,2003, as the Miner general manager's roster featured a two-way player from Monmouth University, Mike Kelly. The Monmouth product played every position in the infield, pitched and was arguably the team's MVP. Following the success of Kelly, Christopher said he undoubtedly wanted a two-way impact player on his club this season and will recruit more in the future.

The addition of Mason to the roster has provided stability for the Miners, even at the clubs most shorthanded points. Mason began the season as the team's starting third baseman, while the regular infielders were trickling into Palmer. He moved over to second baseman when needed and in July has seen significant time in left field -- all this while ranking among league leaders in several statistical categories.

"It's always good to have two-way guys," Miner manager Mike Buchmiller said.

Mason approaches the responsibilities at each position with the same confidence, the same swagger.

"It's not really a hard adjustment," Mason said. "The ground balls are basically the same. I like third base. I really don't have to think over there."

Mason said the hardest adjustment is becoming an everyday player at the plate. He has recorded 10 hits in 52 at bats this summer and hit .302 in 35 starts during his sophomore season with UNC Greensboro.

"Man, I don't know. I do some wild things up there," Mason said. "I'm trying to work on staying tall and not swinging around the baseball. There's a lot of little things wrong with my swing."

Buchmiller said he can depend on Mason for quality at-bats and stability in the field when services are needed, and Mason's confidence allows the Cherryville, N.C., product to have success at different positions in the field.

"He's a baseball player," Buchmiller said. "Chris Mason just wants to play baseball."

Mason's confidence, and attitude, Buchmiller said, drives the right-hander on the mound, making him a success on each level he pitches.

"He's an emotional kid," Buchmiller said. "He's got a lot of emotion, it's so important to him. It's good for him, bad for some."

Prior to the Miners' road trip to the Kenai Peninsula, Mason was unbeaten, recording a 5-0 record with 1.64 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 44 innings.

"Just look at the stats, he's definitely dominated for us," Buchmiller said.

Mason's endurance has rivaled his versatility. He has appeared in 25 games this summer, and posted 13 appearances on the mound and 35 in the field during his sophomore season at UNC Greensboro. It is not uncommon to see Mason play the first two games of a series in the field, and make the start on the mound in the third. Buchmiller said Mason's ability to play so much scares him, as the coach does not want to overwork a player with a legitimate shot at a professional baseball career.

"He's unique, he can throw all the time," Buchmiller said. "He's got a rubber arm."

The versatile Mason has seen success in several roles since high school. A conference player of the year during his junior and senior seasons of high school, Mason started at shortstop and excelled on the mound. Mason broke the Bessemer City High School record for career strikeouts, once held by current Philadelphia Phillies starter Kevin Millwood. During his freshman season at UNC Greensboro, Mason led the Southern Conference in saves as the Spartan closer, recorded 36 at bats as a pinch hitter and moved to a starter on the mound and at third base in his sophomore season.

Mason said he is not sure whether this will be the last summer he plays in the field, hits and pitches. The UNC Greensboro coaching staff wanted him to play two ways this summer, opening up the possibility to pitch and play third base during his junior year of college, but Mason realizes where his future may be.

"My future's on the mound," Mason said. "I"m not a great hitter, and it's hard to get in the pros by hitting.

"On the mound is what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to go pro, trying to get drafted, seeing what I can do with that," Mason added. "If I have a good year, I hit 10 home runs or something, you never know what can happen, but as long as I keep pitching the way I have been pitching, then that's what I'm mainly focused on."