Summer sons: Local families open their homes to Mat-Su Miners baseball players every season

Every year about two-dozen college baseball players from across the country arrive in Palmer to play for the Mat-Su Miners in the historic Alaska Baseball League. Hermon Brothers is the home ballpark, but it’s the local families who open their doors each summer to provide the players with their home away from home.

Each year, the Miners — a summer collegiate baseball amateur developmental program and non-profit organization — calls upon local families to provide housing, meals and transportation to the players during the summer season. For many, it goes beyond a temporary tenant for a few months.

“For the summer, it’s like they’re my kids,” Erin Methven said.

Methven, and her husband Nick, have been hosting Miners players since 2018.

“It’s such a unique experience and a unique relationship,” Methven said. “The boys we’ve had, we’ve been lucky enough to have all been really great kids. They’re really dedicated to their sport. We’ve been really fortunate to have kids that also have great character.”

Metheven said they keep in touch with several of the players they have housed in the last five years, and at least four of them have been drafted by Major League Baseball organizations.

“It’s nice because we got to Arizona quite a bit. We send a text to all of the to see if we can meet up with them or go watch them play,” Methven said.

And the relationship goes beyond the players.

“A lot of them, we’ve gotten to know their families,” Methven said. “One of the things we’ve really enjoyed is when their families come up to visit, being able to invite families over to the house. It’s really great to have the families come over, really just get to know them.”

Methven said they are still in touch with some of the families.

The Fellman family will be hosting a pair of Miners for a second time this summer. Last year, William and his wife Jamie, welcomed University of Delaware pitchers Dan Frakes and Nate Rolka into their home. The Fellamans are a big baseball family and have been supporters and avid fans of the Miners since arriving in the Palmer area.

“We are a baseball family and go to as many games as possible,” William Fellman said.

Fellman’s 12-year-old son Liam is also an avid baseball player and pitcher for the Palmer Little League and Hooligans programs.

“They would work with the in the yard,” Fellman said of Liam and the pitchers they housed last summer.

The Miners are still looking for host families for the 2023 summer season, which starts in June. Host families receive season passes to all of the games, and children of host families receive free admission to the annual Mat-Su Miners baseball clinic.

“If you are passionate about baseball and love the thought of supporting a younger athlete as they pursue their dream, it’s fantastic,” Methven said.

Those interested in can email gmminers@gci.net.

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