Miners pass on traveling to NBC World Series

PALMER — Typically a reward for winning the Alaska Baseball League is a trip to the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan.

But that prize comes with a cost. And this year, that price could be upward of $50,000.

Because of that cost, after the Mat-Su Miners officially captured the ABL crown with a 10-0 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots last week, Mat-Su officials opted to respectfully decline the invitation to the NBC World Series and pass on the trip to Wichita.

“You could kill our team with that kind of debt,” said Denise Christopher, who organizes the marketing and the fundraising for the nonprofit summer amateur baseball club. “It would bankrupt the team. We’re just not at that level yet.”

The Miners are no stranger to the NBC World Series, a historic event that annually includes many of the top summer amateur collegiate developmental teams in the country.

Mat-Su last traveled to the event after winning the ABL in 2004, and that season the Miners worked through the tournament and finished as the NBC runners-up.

The Miners also boast a pair of World Series titles. Mat-Su captured its first NBC World Series championship in 1987 and did it again a decade later.

Mat-Su general manager Pete Christopher said various changes have made it harder to send a team to Wichita for the tournament. First, it’s simply more expensive to get the players to Kansas. In the past, the Miners had a sponsorship deal with United Airlines which drastically reduced the teams travel costs. But United no longer flies out of Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage.

Lodging has also become more expensive in Wichita, Christopher said. And with recent changes to the format of the tournament, teams have more off days during the tourney than in the past.

“You have the cost of the days at the hotel, even if you’re not playing,” Christopher said. “That’s a big expense.”

Because of all these changes, Christopher said the Miners actually made the decision before the ABL season, that regardless of whether the Miners win the league, Mat-Su would not be able to attend the NBC tourney.

The ABL will be represented in the tournament. The Anchorage Glacier Pilots officially announced on Monday in a press release issued by the team that they will be using the league’s automatic bid to the tourney.

Anchorage opens play against the San Diego Force Wednesday at 7 p.m.

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