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03-22-2007, 09:45 AM | #1 |
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Bush League
"North to the Future." So says the motto of the northernmost American state. While Alaska has been known as the state where the "Midnight Sun Game" is played annually, it has never had professional baseball at any level - until now. How will the future of baseball change when a group of Alaskan entrepreneurs launches a new independent league?
This will be an OOTP 2007 baseball universe, with an independent Alaskan professional league (with its own minor league) alongside U.S. Major League Baseball and its affiliated minor leagues.
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03-23-2007, 05:39 PM | #2 |
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The list of original franchises in the Alaskan League was announced on January 4, 2007. The League would be divided into two divisions of six teams each. The winners of each division would face off in a seven-game championship series.
Seward Division Anchorage Glacier Pilots (a.k.a. "AGP") Anchorage Bucs (a.k.a. "ANC") Eagle River-Chugiak Jets Kodiak Grizzlies Mat-Su Miners Peninsula Oilers Denali Division Fairbanks Goldpanners Juneau Senators Ketchikan King Salmon North Pole Nicks Sitka Sentinels Valdez Vortex Each team would play 96 games, 12 against each of the other teams in its own division and 6 against each of the teams in the other division. A fully amateur Training League with a weekends-only, 44-game schedule was also planned. The initial affiliations would be as follows: Division 1 Barrow Sentinels (Sitka) Bethel Bucs (ANC) Homer Glacier Pilots (AGP) Palmer Goldpanners (Fairbanks) Seward Grizzlies (Kodiak) West Anchorage Jets (Eagle River-Chugiak) Division 2 Aleutians Senators (Juneau) Bristol Bay Nicks (North Pole) Dillingham Vortex (Valdez) Haines Oilers (Peninsula) Skagway King Salmon (Ketchikan) Yakutat Miners (Mat-Su)
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03-23-2007, 09:00 PM | #4 |
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That'll be 30 days of daylight in early summer.
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04-09-2007, 10:52 PM | #5 |
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Anchorage Glacier Pilots
Playing in 5300-seat Mulcahy Stadium, the Glacier Pilots were one of the amateur franchises that made the leap to the new league. Sharing the largest Alaskan market with the Bucs and the suburban Jets, the Pilots were well placed for financial success. GM: Yancey Norlander Manager: Joe Daye
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04-09-2007, 11:04 PM | #6 |
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Anchorage Bucs
The Anchorage Bucs shared Mulcahy Stadium with the Glacier Pilots and, like that team, had made the move from the amateur Alaska Baseball League. These two teams figured to be fierce rivals from day one. GM: Bernie Dunphy Manager: Wes MacArtney
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04-09-2007, 11:34 PM | #7 |
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Eagle River-Chugiak Jets
One of the brand-new Alaskan teams, the Jets were located in suburban north Anchorage (technically in the Chugiak neighborhood), where they hoped to attract a fan base from local residents and the nearby air force base. GM: Kevin Allard Manager: Bob Adamson
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04-09-2007, 11:37 PM | #8 |
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Fairbanks Goldpanners
Originally known as "The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks" in their amateur days, the 'Panners drew on the second largest market in the AKL and looked set to pursue an aggressive strategy to dominate the Denali Division from the start. Manager & GM: Homer Davis
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04-09-2007, 11:41 PM | #9 |
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Juneau Senators
Located in the isolated capital of Alaska, the Senators were limited in the numbers they could reach, but they knew they could draw on a relatively wealthy fan base. They played in a small ballpark nestled against the eastern glaciers. GM: Ed Wooldridge Manager: Ron Cardinal
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04-09-2007, 11:44 PM | #10 |
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Ketchikan King Salmon
The Kings were notable for a couple of reasons. First, they faced an uncertain financial future due to their small market. Second, they played in one of the rainiest cities on the North American continent. It might be difficult to get games in some weeks! GM & Manager: Ross Stewart
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04-10-2007, 03:54 PM | #11 |
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Kodiak Grizzlies
Playing on an island meant that all road games would require trips in three separate propeller planes: the Kodiak airport didn't have hangars big enough to house commercial jets. GM: Kensaku Iwasaki Manager: Jason Lowry
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04-10-2007, 04:03 PM | #12 |
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Mat-Su Miners
"Mat-Su," short for Matanuska-Susitna Borough, which encompassed the cities of Palmer (where the park was located) and Wasilla (where the team offices were located), was another of the teams that were converted from the amateur Alaska Baseball League. GM: Kent Linkletter Manager: Gilbert Lidstone
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04-10-2007, 04:28 PM | #13 |
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Peninsula Oilers
Playing in Kenai, the Oilers have also come over from the ABL. After the Anchorage and Fairbanks teams, they can probably count on a decent-sized fan base. GM: Tom Hunter Manager: Simon Aube
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04-10-2007, 04:32 PM | #14 |
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Sitka Sentinels
Along with the King Salmon and the Senators, the Sentinels round out the teams from Alaska's panhandle. Making their home near one of the biggest concentrations of Native Americans in Alaska, Sitka also has the first Native American on staff in the AKL: pitching coach Laurent Saint-Amour. GM: John McGreer Manager: Kevin Day
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04-10-2007, 04:40 PM | #15 |
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Valdez Vortex
Perhaps the smallest market in the entire league, Valdez is home to a mere 4,015 people - and there are no suburbs. Like some other teams, they hope to scrape by with a skeleton staff and to market merchandise - one of the most important sources of revenue for the Alaskan teams - beyond the immediate area. Manager & GM: Harlan Chamberlain
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04-16-2007, 05:39 PM | #16 |
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For reference, I'm posting a map of Alaska, with all the towns with AKL teams underlined in red. Not all the minor league towns are on this map, but most are. Haines is quite close to Skagway, and Yakutat is about halfway between Skagway and Valdez. The "Aleutians" team plays in Unalaska, while "Bristol Bay" plays in King Salmon.
I've nearly completed the immense task of creating the league schedules and am excited about getting started on the real league stuff shortly.
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04-17-2007, 02:33 PM | #17 |
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Here's a rundown of some league rules and options for the Alaskan League:
Active roster size: 23 Expanded roster size: 32 Secondary roster size: 32 Minimum days of service for 1 service year: 106 Waiver period: 3 days DFA period: 7 days Minor league option years: enabled Rule 5 draft: enabled Trading deadline: July 1 Trades with other major leagues & trading of draft picks: disabled Amateur draft: June 15, 5 rounds Average attendance: 1000 Average ticket price: $7.50 Away gate share: 20% Minimum years for free agency: 3 (Commissioner Paul Fulfer pushed hard for this rule as a way of attracting young talent that might otherwise be tempted to go into the MLB draft) Free agents from other leagues: disabled Free agents may leave league: enabled Draft pick compensation: disabled Arbitration: none Minimum service years for minor league FA: 3 Average media contract: $12,558 Revenue sharing: yes, cash max $50,000 Average coach salary: $8000 Minimum player salary: $2000 Average player salary: $16000 Season start date: Friday after May 15 Games per team: 96 (12 against 5 division rivals, 6 against 6 out of division teams) Spring Training: enabled All-Star Game: July 8 Alaskan Championship Series: division winners, best of 7 Use of relievers/closers: very often Endurance: low Rotation size: 4-man All other strategic settings: normal (remember that fielding ratings will be worse, so stealing often makes more sense in this league) The Alaskan Training League has a 44-game schedule, 4 against each other team, with doubleheaders played every Saturday and Sunday. It will have its own All-Star Game near the end of the season, and it also has a one-game championship, known as the Amateur Cup. Same strategic settings, but the season starts on the first Saturday in June. Roster limits are 35 in this league.
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04-17-2007, 05:43 PM | #18 |
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Teams Overview
Some of the teams joining the new league had started organizing themselves on a professional basis even before the league itself came into being. In so doing, they had gained an advantage over some of the other teams by snapping up some of the best players, but they also ran the risk of committing to contracts they would not be able to afford later. In the first season, though, teams were required to put a bond worth 20% of their total payroll (due on April 18, the start of the exhibition season), so that if the team went under, the league could pay some of their salaries.
One example of an early signer-on was Ron Bishop, who had played shortstop in the MLB system for years. Now 39 years old, he was one of the investors in the Anchorage Bucs, having also played for the team when it was an amateur summer club. His contract of $153,993 in fact prompted whispers about "self-dealing." Nevertheless, he could still hit better than 99% of the other Alaskan men and teenagers showing up at tryouts and was an early favorite for Batter of the Year. However, his team had some serious weaknesses in the rest of the lineup by the time exhibition season started. Team Breakdowns (Notes: As of 4/18/2007. Star ratings based on potential and are league- and position-relative.) Anchorage Glacier Pilots (AGP) Payroll: $881,911 (1st) Key Pitchers: Bryan Kendall, SP ****1/2Key Hitters:Salary: $106,406Gary Tufts, SP ****1/2 Tom Robbins, RF *****Anchorage Bucs (ANC)Salary: $186,470Dave Chipman, SS ****1/2 Payroll: $688,944 (3rd) Key Pitchers: Jack Hatt, SP *****Key Hitters:Salary: $134,793John Dewitt, SP **** Ron Bishop, SS ****1/2Eagle River-Chugiak Jets (ERC)Salary: $153,993Bob Horton, RF ****1/2 Payroll: $620,955 (5th) Key Pitchers: Newt Langille, SP ****1/2Key Hitters:Salary: $43,819Jeremie Dessureault, SP ***1/2 Adam Joly, 1B *****Fairbanks Goldpanners (FAI)Salary: $81,580Frank Watt, 2B ****1/2 Payroll: $764,700 (2nd) Key Pitchers: Chip Becker, SP *****Key Hitters:Salary: $120,666John Robertson, SP **** Gary Johnson, 1B *****Juneau Senators (JUN)Salary: $105,294Sloan Starr, SS ***** Payroll: $389,514 (11th) Key Pitchers: Scott Northeast, SP ***** (a member of the Tlingit tribe)Key Hitters:Salary: $11,340Duncan Lacey, CL ***1/2 Ralph Collette, 2B ****1/2Ketchikan King Salmon (KET)Salary: $86,914Lorne Stannard, C ***1/2 Payroll: $421,765 (10th) Key Pitchers: John Mack, SP ****1/2Key Hitters:Salary: $67,300Ed Staitie, CL *** Xander Eggert, 3B ****Salary: $49,660Jimmy Williams, CF ***1/2
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04-17-2007, 06:44 PM | #19 |
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Teams Overview (cont.)
Kodiak Grizzlies (KOD)
Payroll: $568,172 (8th) Key Pitchers: Jean-Gabriel Boucher, SP ****1/2Key Hitters:Salary: $86,573Stephen Hill, SP ****1/2 Alan Sellick, C ****1/2Mat-Su Miners (MSM)Salary: $76,388Scott Bradley, 3B ****1/2 Payroll: $566,810 (7th) Key Pitchers: Will Blain, SP ****Key Hitters:Salary: $2000 Pierre-Alexandre Langlois, C *****North Pole Nicks (NPN)Salary: $135,997Greg Trudel, CF ***** Payroll: $566,466 (6th) Key Pitchers: Mike Rancourt, SP ****1/2Key Hitters:Salary: $108,487 Fred Dempsey, LF *****Peninsula Oilers (PEN)Salary: $142,730John Abston, 2B ***** Payroll: $676,721 (4th) Key Pitchers: Tim Rigg, SP ****1/2Key Hitters:Salary: $68,120Mark Knight, SP ***1/2 Scott Hillier, 2B *****Sitka Sentinels (SIT)Salary: $132,810Henry Mansel, CF ****1/2 Payroll: $552,320 (9th) Key Pitchers: noneKey Hitters: Erik Boone, 3B *****Valdez Vortex (VAL)Salary: $108,460Bryan Morris, 1B **** Payroll: $343,323 (12th) Key Pitchers: Davis Crawford, SP ****Key Hitters:Salary: $70,084 Calvin Curry, LF ****Salary: $123,808Steve Davis, 3B ****
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04-17-2007, 07:30 PM | #20 |
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By Opening Day, May 18, 2007, most of the decent baseball players in Alaska - and some of the non-decent ones - had been signed to contracts. There were still some notable holdouts, such as 24-year-old outfielder John Horswill, 32-year-old outfielder Marcus Leveque, and 20-year-old outfielder Tommy Okawa. All three had perhaps an outside chance at a cup of coffee in AAA, and it appeared they preferred to take their chances in the contiguous U.S. rather than make a quick buck in their home state.
I'm going to play out a few games for each team at the beginning of the season in order to get to know each of them a little better. In case it isn't yet clear, though, I'll be controlling none of them: all the teams in the league are under full AI control. Eagle River-Chugiak at Mat-Su Governor Sarah Palin threw out the first pitch of the inaugural game of the Alaskan League before a record crowd of 1,744 at Palmer's Hermon Brothers Field. Hermon Brothers Field Both of these were young teams. Each had just one hitter over 30 in the starting lineup: leftfielder Waldo Melanson for the Jets and catcher Pierre-Alexandre Langlois for the Miners. The starting pitchers were 25 (Newt Langille, ERC) and 21 (Will Blain, MSM). Opening the top of the first, Frank Watt worked a walk on seven pitches, and we were underway. One human interest aspect of this game was that brothers would face other. Newt Langille in fact struck out his older brother Dave to close out the bottom of the first. He also got him to ground into a double play to end the third, but only after the Miners thrilled the home crowd with a sequence of hits to take a 2-0 lead. Mat-Su finally broke things open in the 7th with a grand slam from leftfielder Rob Corley, delighting the home crowd. The Miners went on to win 8-2. It was a fairly well played game, with only an error to each side and one wild pitch. Yes, anyone who'd seen major league baseball before would not mistake this for that quality of play, but the excitement was palpable all the same. The snow was gone, the tourists were coming, and it was time to play ball!
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