Miners open batting cage to the community

PALMER — A community effort helped the Mat-Su Miners build an indoor batting cage. Now the Miners are opening the cage to the community.

“I was tired of seeing the Valley kids getting hosed,” Mat-Su Miners general manager Pete Christopher said as a group of players from the Alaska Glacier Bears took batting practice on a recent weekday evening. “They’ve got The Dome in Anchorage.”

But in the Valley there are not many options for indoor batting practice. The Miners, the Valley-based Alaska Baseball League program, had an outdoor batting cage set up on the first base side of hits home park, Hermon Brothers Field. In late 2017, Christopher was ready to see his outdoor cage enclosed. A local construction company, Bore Tide Construction, stepped up to the plate.

“I told them I want to enclose this. They said we can do that. But I said I don’t have the money yet,” Christopher said.

Christopher said Bore Tide Construction the Miners could take care of things when they could cover the expense.

“They started this without a contract or anything,” Christopher said. “They just built it.”

The community support grew from there. A1 Insulation, Klebs Mechanical and Alcan Electrical and Engineering followed with donations of their own. Local companies built the building that is now home of the cage, insulated and wired it.

“A lot of people donated,” Christopher said.

The Rasmuson Foundation, Matson Foundation and MEA Foundation also have sponsored the contract.

David Kolberg, an Alaska Glacier Bears coach, works with his players in the cage about three nights per week. Kolberg’s day job is at Enstar, which also made a donation. A donation from the United Way is paying for the electricity used in the small building. That allows the Miners to let anyone use the cage for free.

“They give back to us, we give back to them,” Kolberg said.

Christopher said he wants to see more coaches and players use the cage. It’s a bonus for the Miners during the ABL season. On rainy days, the Miners can still have batting practice. But the local young ball players were always the inspiration behind the project.

“What started this is giving kids a local place to come,” Christopher said.

Kolberg said the opportunity is always producing results for his players.

“It’s been amazing. We’ve been pretty much using it all winter, three or four times a week,” Kolberg said. “Pete and the Miners have been so great.”

Kolberg said the cage opens it up for new opportunities for local players.

“We can work year-round to keep up with the rest of the nation. It’s been huge for the boys,” Kolberg said.

Kolberg said it’s also nice to have an option on the Palmer-side of the Valley. The Menard Sports Center sets up netting for a batting cage, but it can be more difficult for Palmer-area kids to get to the Wasilla facility on a regular basis.

Kolberg said he’s also building a portable mound so pitchers can work in the cage during the winter.

“It’s not quite 60 feet, 6 inches, but it’s close,” Kolberg said.

Christopher said players from the Palmer High baseball program used the cage during the summer and fall, and a few have hit the cage during the winter. Christopher said individual players or coaches just need to call 745-6401 and let him know they’d like to use the cage.

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