Miners work magic on the Valley’s own ‘field of dreams’

Late in the movie “Moneyball,” Billy Bean, the longtime Oakland Athletics general manager played by Brad Pitt in the movie, poses a question.

“How can you not be romantic about baseball?”

Without reviewing the entire script, Bean’s rhetoric was a culminating point in the story, summarizing his personal love affair with the game. Baseball is America’s pastime and feature films such as “Moneyball” have become an ode to the game. Fans have lived vicariously through their favorite characters in baseball classics like “Bull Durham” or the “The Natural,” and captured the magic of “Field of Dreams.”

These movies have romanticized a game that is easy to get romantic about.

But watching a feature film or catching games on cable television aren’t the only ways to connect with America’s pastime; especially if you live in the Mat-Su Valley. Ray Kinsella heard the voices coming deep from his Iowa cornfield, “If you build it, they will come,” and built his “Field of Dreams” in the 1989 Kevin Costner movie. Nearly 40 years ago, a hearty crew of volunteers, which included Hermon Brothers Construction, cut a field in the deep forest on a piece of the Alaska State Fairgrounds property. That became the Valley’s own “field of dreams.” For more than three decades, Hermon Brothers Field has been the summer home of the Alaska Baseball League’s Mat-Su Miners, which annually features some of the top college players from around the country.

The players come to the Valley each summer to hone their skills playing in the legendary Alaska Baseball League. And every summer, Valley fans are within arm’s length of the future of the sport. There are currently four players at the Major League level who once roamed the field at Hermon Brothers. At least a dozen who have played with the Miners since 2002 have already made their MLB debut.

Numerous MLB all-stars and World Series champions have spent a summer early in their careers in the Valley playing for the Miners. It’s a time in their careers where the future is still bright, but the focus has not been clouded by the distractions that can plague the pro game.

There’s always been something pure about baseball, and ABL baseball at Hermon Brothers is the purest form of the game.

More than watching as young careers start to bud, there are other reasons to go to a ball game. There’s the family friendly atmosphere. The Miners organization has long prided itself on creating an affordable, but memorable, experience for the family.

Have a Miners Dog and a cold beverage for less than the price of a fast-food extra value meal. On a warm Mat-Su evening, at the field surrounded by the trees and the backdrop of the local mountain ranges, it’s easy to enjoy a few hours at Hermon Brothers.

And just as Bean asked, “How can you not be romantic about baseball?”

The Miners home schedule begins today — Opening Day — against the Chugiak Chinooks at 4 p.m. See Page B1 for more.