Miners staff to return in 2014

PALMER —After working with 10 different head coaches during his 11 seasons as Miners general manager, Pete Christopher has finally found the fixture in the clubhouse he’s been looking for.

Ben Taylor may have found his summer home for years to come.

After leading the Miners to 20 wins and a second-place finish in the Alaska Baseball League during his first season as the Mat-Su skipper, the Miners announced Taylor will return as head coach of the Valley summer amateur developmental baseball team. And Taylor is thrilled to continue his tenure with the Miners.

“I would like to continue being (the Miners) head coach as long as time allows. That’s how much I enjoy being in Mat-Su,” said Taylor, who will also bring back assistant coaches Jon Karcich and Brad Baker for the 2014 season.

Christopher said he’s excited the future of the Miners includes Taylor and his assistants.

“We were on the same page. We kind of think alike,” Christopher said of Taylor. “Every year you don’t know what you’re going to get when you hire a guy. Some coaches tell you what you want to hear, and they come up here and they’re knuckleheads.”

But once Christopher lured Taylor — the all-time winngest head coach in history of the Texas Collegiate League — to Palmer, Taylor came as advertised.

“His baseball I.Q. is off the charts. But not only the on-field stuff, but off the field. The problem is most coaches don’t want anything to do with the non-baseball stuff. These guys did it no questions asked,” Christopher said. “They were very active in the community.”

Taylor left his old summer gig, skipper of the East Texas Pumpjacks, with a 136-76-1 mark, best in TCL history. Taylor also spent time coaching in the California Collegiate League, and has been a Major League scout since 2003.

Taylor is also the associate head coach at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona.

Taylor’s experience in baseball and contacts has led him to become a top recruiter in summer college baseball. His list of recruits for the 2013 summer season included five first-team All-Alaska Baseball League selections, four second-team picks, the ABL Player of the Year (Christin Stewart) and the ABL Silver Slugger (A.J. Simcox).

Looking back on his first year in the league, Taylor said he had a terrific experience.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to get to coach in the ABL. The players will tell you I get a bit obsessive about the tradition up here. I’m extremely blessed and humbled to be a part of the ABL, and extremely blessed and humbled to be part of a great organization, the Mat-Su Miners,” Taylor said.

Taylor said he knew he’d find quality baseball in Alaska, but his overall experience was more than he expected.

“It was what I expected in terms of competition. But every day far and away exceeded my expectations in the sense of the amount of fun and enjoyment; to be part of a special league, to live in such a special place like the Mat-Su Valley,” Taylor said.

Both Taylor and Christopher said they are also excited to see the assistant coaches return. Baker, the head coach at Blue Mountain Community College in Oregon, will return as pitching coach. Karcich, who is joining Taylor at Chandler-Gilbert, will return as assistant coach.

“I feel like I’ve made two lifelong friends on this coaching staff,” Taylor said.