They're Playing Baseball in Alaska

They’re playing baseball in Alaska. It’s a rugged land - cold and dark, not to mention the looming threat of death by moose. Baseball, a sport dominated at the upper echelons by individuals from warm-weather states and countries, has found a foothold in this isolated tundra, despite the region’s natural hostility. The population of the Alaska Baseball League mirrors the population of the State of Alaska. The people of Alaska emerge from Winter’s insatiable maw of deadly cold into their meager summer, and in those few pleasant days, they show their support to the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks, the Mat-Su Miners, the Peninsula Oilers, and Anchorage’s Bucs and Glacier Pilots. Should they be asked, the young men that comprise these teams’ rosters would not identify themselves as Bucs, Glacier Pilots, or by any other ABL mascot. More than likely, they would identify themselves as players at the universities by whom they are rostered to play for the baseball program. The Alaska Baseball League is a Collegiate Summer League, and by this designation, it is tantamount to mercenary work.

Collegiate Summer Leagues are ubiquitous throughout the United States, and often hide in plain sight. Want something fun to do on a budget? Hop your ass on down to a Corn Belt Baseball League game and have a blast. But, unless you’re a true sicko (patent pending), it’s unlikely that you’re even aware that there is a Corn Belt Baseball League, and that they are eagerly awaiting your patronage. Are you where corn is? Then you are probably where the Corn Belt Baseball League is. Duh. Go watch a game. Drink a beer. Drink twelve beers, what do I care? (please have a safe ride home available if you are going to drink twelve beers at a Corn Belt Baseball League game). These leagues are everywhere, some of them more prestigious than others. If you’re a real sicko that follows the MLB draft, you’ve probably seen your team draft someone who “flashed great potential in Cape Cod” - Cape Cod is one of (probably the best of) these leagues. 

Despite the ubiquity of Collegiate Summer League Baseball, it resides primarily in the attention of scouts (the ultimate sickos) and college kids who need somewhere to play for the summer - somewhere that they can scrape out an extra 150 at-bats to maybe get on some scout’s short (or long or medium) list. As previously stated, it’s mercenary work. Sure, a team might have a few returning players, but a more common occurrence is that last year’s players have either found a better showcase, have been sucked into the affiliated minor-league system, or have completely left behind their dreams of playing baseball. Collegiate Summer League Baseball has a certain desperation to it - the desperate need of a young ballplayer to show their stuff in front of a scout that could change the trajectory of their playing career. In those 150 extra at-bats, they may find one that changes their life forever, and for the better. 

This brings us back to Alaska. A state where residents are (probably) in constant fear of death by moose. Every summer, a bunch of college kids decide that this is the place where they will take an extra 150 at-bats and attempt to put themselves on the map of exciting young baseball players. In a state where most of the landscape looks more like a scene out of “The Thing” than “Field of Dreams”, they are going to get those at-bats, and some Alaskan spectators may just drink 12 beers while they watch those at-bats. Of the kids that decide to make the trek to Alaska, most will inevitably flame out of baseball for good. However, you may recognize some of the League’s more famous alumni - Barry Bonds, Aaron Judge, Mark McGwire, and Josh Donaldson - just to name a few. 

Anyway, they’re playing baseball in Alaska. That’s the cold state, and the state where former Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin is from. That sure is an interesting place to play baseball, and it’s pretty neat that a bunch of very good baseball players have come out of the Alaska Baseball League. Maybe one of the hitters who played there last year will be the next Barry Bonds. Probably not. But, they could certainly be the next Kurt Suzuki! He’s an ABL alum, and had a great career in the Major Leagues.

I have compiled the (easy-ish to compile) stats of all of the  “qualified” (more than 2 ABs per team game played) batters from the ABL and made a big ol’ spreadsheet. If you are a true sicko (once again, patent pending), you might be interested. You might even find the next Kurt Suzuki. Don’t you want to find the next Kurt Suzuki? Don’t you want to be the guy at Buffalo Wild Wings who, amongst friends, says “This Andrew Lamb kid is the next Kurt Suzuki.”? I say this in earnest - I do not believe that Andrew Lamb will be the next Kurt Suzuki. His dad, Mike Lamb, played the corners in the big leagues. Maybe Andrew will do the same. He showed that he can swing the bat well during his time in Alaska, and playing catcher is really hard. Maybe he moves to a corner infield spot and sticks. Maybe he’s the next Mark Grace!

Anyway (anyway), here is a spreadsheet of the general hitting landscape in the ABL. I pulled all of this data from the official ABL website, and did most of the spreadsheet magic myself. I would love to assure you that this was a totally cool and smart thing for me to do, but it turns out that Baseball Reference already has most of this information recorded. I can assure you that I was devastated to see this.

Regardless, they played baseball in Alaska last year. They have played baseball in Alaska for many years, and they will play baseball in Alaska next year, too. Cole Carlon won the Most Outstanding Player award last year, and looks like the best bet to be the next big-league bat that spent time in Alaska. He is a two-way player who pitched very well and had the best offensive season in the league. But, a true sicko does not want to find the league’s Most Outstanding Player - a true sicko wants to create a completely unnecessary spreadsheet to  find the next Kurt Suzuki.