Miners honor top players

PALMER — James Ramsey is probably a name that Mat-Su Miners fans shouldn’t forget.

“That’s a player everybody here is going to have a chanc e to watch on T.V.,” Mat-Su head coach Russell Raley said of the Alpharett, Ga., native earlier this season.

During the 2009 Alaska Baseball League season, Ramsey certainly showed the potential to play professional baseball by finishing among the ABL’s top hitters in the wood bat league. The Florida State finished third in the ABL with a .314 batting average, and at the end of the season, Ramsey was named the Miners player of the year.

Ramsey, who also led the Miners with 14 doubles, 36 walks and 26 RBI, was one of four Mat-Su players to be honored at a postseason award ceremony.

Infielder Jonathon Johnson was named Mat-Su’s top position player, righty Justin Kraft is the pitcher of the year and the versitile Will Musson garnered the annaul Stan Zaborac award.

Like Ramsey, Johnson finished as one of Mat-Su’s top offensive players. He hit .298 and scored a team-high 31 runs. Johnson also proved to be a top defensive player for Mat-Su, and earned first-team All-ABL recognition and the league’s gold glove award.

“I can’t say enough about J.J.,” Raley said. “When he first came to us — and I think he’d agree with me — he didn’t do some of the things we asked him to do, but he bought into it. And I think he’ll be a better player for it in the future.”

Kraft established himself as the ace of the league’s top pitching staff. The Yakima, Wash., native finished 3-2 with a 1.44 earned run average. He fanned 33 hitters in 50 innings.

Musson, in his second summer with his Miners, earned the Zaborac Award, a prize named in the honor of the former Miners general manager.

Musson, who also played in the field, finished 4-1 with a 2.67 ERA.

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