Baseball in the Everlasting Light of Fairbanks, Alaska
For more than a century, baseball teams in Fairbanks have played at midnight on the summer solstice, illuminated only by the sun.
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In the never-ending lightness of the Alaskan summer, baseball at midnight needs no artificial illumination. That’s good, because the lights towering over Growden Memorial Ballpark in Fairbanks don’t work anyway. They haven’t in more than 20 years — maybe because of a lightning strike, but no one can say for sure.
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Actually, the game starts around 10 p.m. and goes through midnight. And while there is still light by the end of the game, it is not as strong, leading to errors.
This year’s Midnight Sun Game featured the Anchorage Glacier Pilots and the Alaska Goldpanners. Did you know that Barry Bonds, Dave Winfield and Jason Giambi once wore the red and gold of the Alaska Goldpanners? Here is my man, Dave. He was a pitcher back in 1971-72.
Let the videos in the article run; they look like static photos but are wide-screen. If they don't start up on their own, try right-clicking them and choosing "Play" or "Loop". Download time is involved, so you may have to wait. The five videos in the intro eventually played, as did three others in the body of the article, but it took a while.
Say, Alaskans look like you and me, and they like baseball! See how great baseball is at bringing people together.
But you can tell these authors are not sportswriters. Hardly a mention of who won the game! It ended at 12:40 a.m. with a Glacier Pilots win, but what was the final score? (
Glacier Pilots 7, Goldpanners 2)