Baseball in Alaska

In talking with those we left behind in the "lower 48", we hear the wisecracks about our living in Alaska: "So, is your new house going to be an igloo?", "How's the polar bear shish-ka-bob up there?", etc. These are the sort of jokes a person might make when he hears that there is a baseball league here ("Do they use beaver pelts for bases?"). But the baseball here is no joke. Alaska is home to one of the premier summer baseball leagues, the Alaska Baseball League. The players are in college or college-aged, and are aspiring pros. According to a friend of mine in Oklahoma, who played college baseball and so knows what he's talking about, the league here is the second most prestigious after the more-famous Cape Cod League.

Our church had a fellowship outing to one of the games last week. The local team is called the Mat-Su Miners, and they play just down the road in Palmer. Since we were watching (and feeding) six children, I couldn't pay as close attention to the actual game as I would have liked. But I was very impressed by what I saw. They played as well as the minor league teams we have seen, and made a few big-league plays. It was great fun to watch.

And if there is a baseball stadium in the world with a more beautiful background, I'd like to see it. It was partly cloudy the night we went, so I couldn't capture the scene very well on camera. But this picture at least gives you a glimpse of the backdrop for the stadium.