Hermon Brothers, Miners to be part of baseball documentary

July 6, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

PALMER - While Alaska's collegiate summer baseball league is far from a hidden gem to locals, the Alaska Baseball League is still something of a diamond in the rough for residents of the Lower 48.

That may soon change, thanks to the production of a feature-length documentary currently under production by a team of East Coast filmmaker.

Tentatively titled &#8220Touching the Game: Alaska,” the film is the second baseball-based documentary that producer Jim Carroll and partners have tackled. In Palmer last month to film at Hermon Brothers field, Carroll said the ABL was a natural choice to follow his previous effort based on the Cape Cod League.

&#8220Honestly, people back in Boston don't even know they play baseball up here,” Carroll said.

While working on the Cape Cod documentary four years ago, Carroll said he was immediately contacted by a number of people suggesting he turn his lens on the Last Frontier.

&#8220When we were doing it, everybody said, ‘You guys have got to go to Alaska,'” he said.

The first documentary was well-received, airing on WGN and garnering awards from the Woods Hole Film Festival and the Northern Lights Film Festival. It featured an account of the New England league, along with interviews with former players such as Frank Thomas, Nomar Garciaparra and Mo Vaughn, as well as baseball expert Peter Gammons.

The Alaska documentary, Carroll said, will take a similar tack, with interviews, game footage and story lines unique to the league such at the annual Midnight Sun game in Fairbanks.

&#8220We're doing a history portion as well,” he said.

This year marks the second summer the crew has been filming in Alaska. They returned this season, Carroll said, mainly because their time in the Valley was cut short due to rain. Making a documentary on the ABL without shots from Hermon Brothers Field, he said, just wouldn't do.

&#8220This is by far the nicest scenery,” he said.

The film is being co-produced by two companies, Carroll's Fields of Vision and cinematographers from Eye Candy Cinema. Eye Candy cameraman Eric Scharmer said he has yet to find a more camera-friendly ballpark than Hermon Brothers, which sits in the shadow of 6,398-foot Pioneer Peak.

&#8220It's picturesque, to say the least,” Scharmer said.

The team has already produced a trailer for the film, and Carroll said that once filming on-location in Alaska is complete, the crew will then begin seeking out ex-ABL players for interviews. Over the past 40 years, a number of high-profile Major League players have played in Alaska, including the likes of Tom Seaver, Frank Viola, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson, Dave Winfield and Mark Grace.

More than 50 ABL veterans are currently on Major League rosters.

Carroll said he hopes to interview as many former and current big-leaguers as he can for the documentary.

&#8220Obviously, we're going to try and get the bigger names,” he said.

The real focus of the production, however, will be on capturing the spirit of baseball in Alaska, something many people Outside are unfamiliar with.

&#8220Our films show the purity of baseball and where it's at,” Carroll said. &#8220And it's definitely here.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com