Miners will play in 2021

PALMER — Mat-Su Miners general manager Pete Christopher is ready for two of the most important words to a baseball fan.

Play ball.

The Alaska Baseball League will have a 2021 summer season, Christopher said earlier this week. The ABL canceled its 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re playing,” Christopher said.

The Miners are among five teams in the ABL, which also includes the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, Anchorage Bucs, Chugiak Chinooks and Kenai Peninsula Oilers. Christopher said the league cleared a major hurdle when the municipality of Anchorage allowed the three Anchorage-area programs to proceed with the 2021 season.

“It was pretty uncertain until last Friday,” Christopher said. “It was pretty close. It could have gone either way.”

The municipality has had much more strict COVID-19 related restrictions than other areas in the state. Christopher said COVID-19 mitigation plans will most likely be on a team-by-team basis.

“We suggested to the kids they all get vaccinated,” Christopher said. “We don’t want to put them in host families if they don’t get vaccinated.”

Christopher said the Miners also had planned to expand the team’s clubhouse and public restrooms. Late season snow and cold temperatures prevented the start of construction and the project was delayed until after the season. Christopher said the Miners will add additional portable restrooms to Hermon Brothers Field to help reduce the number of users of the main public restroom and promote social distancing. The Miners also purchased an industrial style sprayer to help disinfect the property.

The Miners will play a 43-game regular season schedule that starts June 5 against the Anchorage Bucs at Hermon Brothers Field. The ABL playoffs start July 30 and the Top of the World Championship is Aug. 2-4.

For more information, see matsuminers.org.

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