Good-bye Wichita

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Sports Editor

Alaska Baseball League teams have voted unanimously to forgo invitation to the annual National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan. and host an ABL season-ending tournament in Alaska.

The NBC tourney, seen as a prestigious end to the summer amateur baseball season, has simply become too expensive for the Alaska baseball squads, according to the league's general managers.

"We've been tossing it around for a while, but this year was the straw that broke the camel's back," Mat-Su Miner general manager Pete Christopher said.

Anchorage Bucs general manager Dennis Mattingly said the two ABL teams that earned berths into the NBC series -- Mat-Su and the Bucs -- spent a combined $70,000 to send the teams to Wichita, and he wants to see the money stay in Alaska.

"That is money we plead and beg for, and blow it somewhere else," Mattingly said. "We beg from the sponsors, so we want them to see us."

The NBC World Series is regarded as one of the finest events in the sport of baseball. The league's general managers don't question the tournament's prestige, but do question the ability of teams to suffer the expense of attending the event.

"It's economics, plain and simple," Christopher said.

The Miners have won the tournament twice, but each time the team has been sent to Wichita, the team has been subject to extreme financial pressure. Mat-Su won its first NBC title in 1987, but due to the cost of sending the team to Wichita in 1987, the Miners were unable to afford to field a team in 1988. Mat-Su again won the tournament in 1997, but then general manager Stan Zaborac had to obtain a second mortgage on his home to afford to send the team south.

The Miners were fortunate enough to break even, but that was due to the generous help of local sponsors.

"It's nothing against the NBC, it's just expensive," Mattingly said.

While all six organizations in the ABL agree that a postseason tournament in Alaska is the best solution to the financial woes, there is still one major roadblock -- the American Legion.

Due to schedule constraints, the ABL must schedule its tourney from Aug. 2-8 and hopes to use Mulchahy Stadium in Anchorage as its primary venue. The American Legion Tournament is scheduled through Aug. 2 at Mulchahy Stadium. Mattingly said the ABL has repeatedly tried to find compromise with the American Legion, but the organization will not budge. Mattingly is meeting, on behalf of the ABL, with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich on Dec. 15 to try to find a compromise. The ABL has suggested the American Legion use the Kosinksi Complex, which lies adjacent to Mulchahy for the final day of the tournament, so the ABL can host its tournament. Christopher has also offered Hermon Brothers Field to the American Legion for the duration of their tournament.

The American Legion stands as the lone hurdle in what could be a lucrative event for the city of Anchorage. Mattingly said it is estimated that $300,000 to $500,000 could be generated from the seven-day event and dumped into the local economy. The ABL has received tremendous interest from Major League scouts, another positive for not only the ABL and the American Legion.

"From a scout's standpoint, its perfect," Christopher said. "They don't have to travel, and can see players every which way."

Mattingly said with compromise from the American Legion, the ABL would make sure the Major League scouts were well aware of the legion tournament schedule.

The proposed tournament would feature the six ABL teams -- Mat-Su, the Bucs, Anchorage Glacier Pilots, Peninsula Oilers, Alaska Goldpanners and Athletes In Action -- and four teams from the Lower 48. Mattingly said the Aloha Knights, the 2004 NBC world champions, have already tentatively agreed to forgo the NBC tourney to attend the 2005 ABL tourney, but can not commit until the field dispute is resolved.

"Here's the team that won the NBC, they want to come and we can't even settle a dispute with our American Legion," Mattingly said. "It doesn't show we have the strength to secure our ball fied."

"I'm a firm believer in compromise," Christopher said. "I've offered Hermon Brothers, whatever they wanted. They don't want to do it. We got to do it first class. We're not competing with the NBC, we just want to remain financially sound."