America's pastime, baseball in Alaska

I’m seriously smitten by the Alaska Baseball League – hardball in a time warp, a heaping dish of Americana.

Most serious fans are aware of the Alaska league, which features players from some of the top college programs in the nation. The wood bat developmental program begins in mid-June and runs to the end of July. The six teams are based in cities around Alaska, but also play teams brought up from the lower 48.

For instance, on Wednesday night, one of the two Anchorage teams, the Glacier Pilots, was playing the SoCal Running Birds, a team of mostly junior college players based in Orange County.

Picture the Durham Bulls in an even more homey and low-key setting.

The Running Birds kept it close until the seventh inning, when Glacier Pilots right-fielder Dustin Emmons, a UC Riverside player from La Crescenta, looped a single to left and later scored to break the 1-1 tie and led the Pilots to an eventual 3-1 victory.

But although the setting may be low-key, the aspirations are not. More than 600 Major League players and coaches have gone through this league, including Mark McGwire and J.T. Snow.

Still, it’s a long way from here to the bigs. But for fans seeking baseball without the modern frills, it makes for a relaxing, satisfying evening. Admission, $5; hot dogs, $3.

– Chris Erskine, Los Angeles Times Deputy Travel editor

[Photo: Glacier Pilots' mascot with a fan; Glacier Pilots]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 1:44 pm by Chris Erskine and is filed under Alaska, Family & Kids, Polar Regions, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.