Only one Miner named All-ABL

Aug. 10, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

PALMER - Only one member of the Mat-Su Miners is included on the Alaska Baseball League All-Star squad, released by the league Wednesday.

Lefty Max Peterson was named to the squad after leading the league with a 1.31 ERA.

Peterson was part of a staff that was undoubtedly the best in the league during the 2007 season. The Miners pitchers finished with a league-best 2.17 team ERA, and had a cumulative ERA below one for the first four weeks of the seven-week season.

Mat-Su general manager Pete Christopher said the Miners could have easily had several pitchers on the ABL All-Star squad.

&#8220We had five of the top 10 pitchers in the league,” Christopher said.

Pitchers Jason Erickson, Jared Eskew and Alex Rivers were named as honorable mentions.

Erickson finished with a 1.56 ERA and three wins, Eskew had a 1.57 ERA, and Rivers posted a 2.16 ERA.

Rivers also notched five wins, tying Peterson for the team lead.

The Miners did not have a position player on the all-star team, but outfielder Carl Uhl and first baseman Michael Ewing were named as honorable mention.

AIA led the league with nine players on the first team.

The Fire's Kirk Nieuwenhuis was named the player of the year.

Mat-Su and AIA finished tied in first place with a 24-11 record.

Peninsula and the Anchorage Bucs each had two players on the list, while the Anchorage Glacier Pilots had just one.

&#8220I can't figure out how the voting went, but there are better ballplayers than some of those guys named,” Christopher said.

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