Film about ABL not just for baseball fans

As Jim Carroll put together his first film, Touching the Game: The Story of the Cape Cod Baseball League, the Boston, Mass., filmmaker continued to hear stories about this other summer collegiate developmental league way up in Alaska.

Stories of the Cape Cod, typically the most noted summer league in the Lower 48, often lead to references about this other league in Alaska.

Carroll was intrigued.

“Here in Boston, many people don’t even know they play baseball in Alaska,” Carroll said by phone recently. “I knew there was some baseball (in Alaska), but I didn’t know about the league.”

Following the release of his first baseball film in 2004, explored the idea of telling the story of another league.

That led to Carroll’s second work, Touching the Game, Alaska.

Carroll said some wondered why he and his staff made trips to Alaska during three consecutive summers.

But those critics now know why.

The story of the Alaska Baseball League has been told before. Newspaperman Lew Freedman’s “Diamonds in the Rough” was published in 2000. And while Freedman’s book thoroughly covers the rich history of baseball in Alaska.

Carroll’s work adds another element.

The sites.

The sounds.

Blended with interviews of former ABL greats — such as Tom Seaver, Dave Winfield and Mark Grace — are the words of those who pioneered efforts to bring and keep baseball in Alaska.

Carroll’s 100-minute film, which is available for purchase of touchingthegame.com/alaska, also captures not only the beauty of Alaska’s ballparks, but the state’s landscape.

Carroll thoroughly covers the first three decades of the league’s history, from Red Boucher efforts to found the Alaska Goldpanners in 1960 to the six-team ABL that modern fans know.

Carroll said he couldn’t delve into the ABL in the 1990s, because he simply had so much material to work with.

The foundation of Carroll’s film lets the audience follow the Goldpanners from Fairbanks, to Palmer, to Anchorage and Kenai during a 2006 road trip. But the film is far more than a profile of that Goldpanners team.

Carroll spends ample time detailing the introduction of the Mat-Su Miners to the league. The film also covers the history of the Peninsula Oilers, Anchorage Bucs and Anchorage Glacier Pilots.

Part of the reason why Carroll’s crew spent three summers in Alaska, he said, was to get quality footage of all the organizations. During the 2006 trip, the Goldpanners’ game at Hermon Brothers Field that he planned on filming was rained out.

So he returned in 2007 to film the Miners.

Although, Carroll and his crew didn’t see baseball that day in 2006, he spent his time talking to locals about Miners baseball.

Longtime fans and supporters Chuck Griffin and Mike Combs, former Mat-Su general manager Rich Mastriano; and current general manager Pete Christopher and wife, Denise, all appear in the film.

Pete Christopher said he was happy to see Miners faithful such as Griffin have a chance to share their view of the history of the team and the league.

“Chuck remembers everything,” Christopher said. “Someone like that is a treasure. There’s so much they know. They tell great stories.”

Carroll said he also felt it was important to get that local perspective on the history of the league.

“Chuck was the perfect character in Alaska for us to interview,” Carroll said. “It’s nice to seek characters like that.”

The film’s spotlight on the Miners includes the nearly overnight birth of Hermon Brothers Field, the organizations start as the Goldpanner-funded Valley Green Giants and the controversial transition to the Mat-Su Miners.

In addition to covering the history, Carroll also shows how unique the league is.

“(The ABL) is a true minor league experience,” Carroll said. “In the Cape Cod, the farthest team away is about 45 minutes.”

And Carroll shows that difference by taking the audience on the Panners’ long bus ride.

Carroll doesn’t shy away from putting Alaska’s scenery on display. He follows players on fishing trips, as well as trips to the ballpark.

All separate the ABL experience from that of other leagues in the country.

“It’s just amazing. It blows people away here that guys play baseball and then after the game go fishing,” Carroll said. “The whole outdoor life is something we wanted to show.”

In an age where controversy trumps all and rules the sports headline, Carroll succeeds in his efforts to alert fans that there is still an element of purity left in the game.

The film is a must see for baseball fans across the country. But the film is for more than just the avid baseball fans.

The film captures Alaska through both site, thanks to the cinematography, and sound, with a soundtrack that includes a handful of Alaska artists.

The two-disc DVD set is available at touchingthegame.com/alaska for $19.95. The package includes the 100-minute extended director’s cut and more than an hour of extras on a second disc.

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