Miners earn six spots on All-ABL squad

08/02/05

JEREMIAH BARTZ/Frontiersman sports editor

Prior to the 2005 Alaska Baseball League season, who would have thought six Mat-Su Miners would have been named to the All-ABL squad?

Not Mat-Su general manager Pete Christopher.

Not Miner manager Jimmy Smith.

But the Miners, the league runners-up, did land a ABL-high six players on the all-star team, released Monday.

Matt McBride (catcher), Matt Bransfield (first base), Nick Haley (second base), Michael Taylor (outfield) and pitchers Josh McLaughlin and Alex Trafton were named to the squad.

"(The number is) higher than I expected, but I knew we had some quality guys," Smith said. "They are exactly the players I would tab as the best on our team."

Changes in the Mat-Su Miner coaching staff late in the offseason hurt recruiting, Christopher said, and prior to the season Christopher questioned this team's ability to follow up a championship season with a high finish in the league standings.

"I just wanted to be competitive," Christopher said. "I had no idea we would be fighting for first place in the final week of the season."

One big reason the Miners did vie for a league championship until the final few days of play was the Mat-Su pitching staff. McLaughlin and Trafton anchored the bullpen on a staff that ranked second in the ABL with a 2.37 team ERA. Only the Panners' cumulative ERA of 1.90 was better.

The only non-starters named to the squad, McLaughlin and Trafton were among league leaders in multiple statistical categories. Trafton, a University of California-Berkeley product, tied for the league lead with five wins, while posting a 1.72 ERA.

McLaughlin saved an ABL-best 11 games, struck out a team-high 33 hitters, and posted a 0.79 ERA.

"They were phenomenal - quality arms throwing every day," Smith said.

With Trafton, his set-up man, and McLaughlin, the team's closer, Smith said he went into games with the mindset the Miners were playing only seven inning contests.

"All summer long, when we got into the seventh innings, we knew teams weren't going to score after that," Smith said.

McLaughlin, a College of Charleston sophomore, was among the players hand-picked by Christopher, and Trafton is a player who basically fell into the general manager's lap.

"Every umpire in the league will tell you McLaughlin has the best stuff of any pitcher in the league," Christopher said. "He only throws only 86-88 mph, but it's just nasty. He's got a plus curve ball and plus slider."

Trafton is a college teammate of Josh Satin and Chris Errecart, two members of the Mat-Su 2004 ABL championship squad. Satin and Errecart urged Trafton to contact the Miners organization.

"He had no place to play, and we gave him an opportunity," Christopher said. "There was no one better in middle relief."

Taylor earned the most votes among the league outfielders. The 6-foot-6, 236-pound Stanford freshman hammered the ball for the Miners, hitting .317, with 46 hits and a team-high 25 RBIs.

"He's a super-human athlete," Christopher said. "A five-tool athlete, and he proved it playing up here."

Taylor caught the eye of scouts during his freshman season with the Cardinal, flirting with the .300 mark, but Christopher said this summer could solidify Taylor's chances of finding a spot at the professional level.

"He showed them what he can do with the wood (bat)," Christopher said.

Taylor also showed, despite his big frame, he was a threat on the basepaths. He posted a league-high 25

steals.

"He was more than I expected," Smith said. "I expected a little clumsier athlete, someone who has not grown into their body. But Mike Taylor has it all. In every baseball category you can give him a plus."

After using platoons of catchers in the past, McBride was a rock behind the plate for Mat-Su during the 2005 season. He started all but four games at catcher, and hit at or around the .300 mark for the entire season. He also drove in 21 runs, and scored 18 more.

Haley and Bransfield each hit over .300 at the plate, and posted high fielding percentages in the field. Haley, a University of Louisville junior, led the Miners with a .329 batting average and 29 runs score, and committed only three errors in 42 games.

"Haley epitomized the play of our infield this year," Smith said. "If you are going to start with a second baseman as your defensive leader, Haley's your guy."

Bransfield also committed just three errors during the season at first base, and hit .312.

Three members of the ABL-champion Alaska Goldpanners were named to the squad. Pitcher Garrett Hill, shortstop Matt Vogel and outfielder Quinn Stewart each earned the all-star nod.

Also named to the squad were AIA third baseman Josh Donaldson, Anchorage Glacier Pilots outfielder Jimmy Van Ostrand, Peninsula Oilers pitcher Ty Davis and Anchorage Bucs hurler Sung-wei Tseng.

Nick Kliebert, who played all nine positions in Peninsula's season-ending win over the Miners, was named the league's top utility man. The Bucs' Jerin Harper was the choice at designated hitter.

The Goldpanners swept the big awards. Ed Cheff earned manager of the year honors, and Vogel was the player of the year.

The All-ABL squad, complied cooperatively by the Frontiersman and Anchorage Bucs, included votes from the six general managers from the league, as well as the Frontiersman, Fairbanks Daily-News Miner and Peninsula Clarion.