Blog: Posts in “Alaska Film” Category

Dennis Mattingly who founded the Anchorage Bucs, and ran the team for close to 30 years passed away.  We were able to spend some time with Dennis, as we interviewed him for our film Touching the Game, Alaska.  A passionate baseball man, Dennis told us many great stories from years past of baseball in Alaska.  He will be missed.  For more, the Anchorage Daily News posted an article here.

The Hall of Fame has posted all the information on the 6th annual Baseball Film Festival. It can be found here.  Touching the Game, Alaska will screen in Session 3 which starts at 2:00pm on Saturday, October 1.  If you are near Cooperstown, NY, come on by!

We recently were notified that our 2009 documentary Touching the Game, Alaska has been selected to screen at the 6th annual Baseball Film Festival to be held Sept. 30 – Oct 2, 2011 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.   More details on the festival will be forthcoming, but this is exciting news!

Former Alaska Goldpanner pitcher Chris Schwinden will make his Major League debut for the Mets on Thursday 9/8 as he will start the first game of a double-header against the Braves.  Schwinden was featured in Touching the Game, Alaska as our camera crew followed him and teammate Beau Mills on a fishing adventure outside of Fairbanks. Both Schwinden and Mills grew up in Vasalia, CA. The highly touted Mills, the 2007 1st round draft pick of the Indians, is on the cusp of making it to the Major Leagues himself, but Schwinden is one of those unlikely stories that often come out of the Alaska Baseball League. After his summer in Fairbanks, and a year of college ball at Fresno Pacific, he was a 22nd round draft pick of the Mets, but progressed quickly through the minor leagues having an excellent season this year as the #1 starter at (AAA) Buffalo.

During the summer of 2006, while filming Touching the Game, Alaska, we were able to spend a day fishing outside of Fairbanks with a couple players from the Goldpanners, infielder Beau Mills and pitcher Chris Schwinden.  Both players came from the the same home town of Visalia, CA.  While Beau Mills, son of Houston Astros manager Brad Mills, was a highly touted prospect at Lewis-Clark State College, Schwinden was just starting to get on the radar at Fresno Pacific.  In the 2007 MLB draft, Mills was the 1st round pick (13th overall) of the Cleveland Indians.  His ’07 an’08 seasons in the minors were stellar as he was on the fast track to the Indians, but his batting average dropped in ’09.  In 2010 while playing for the (AA) Akron Aeros, Mills continued to slump at the plate.  He also had some off-field issues, as well as nagging injuries.  Mills’ attempt to get off to a fresh start in 2011 was slowed by tendinitis in his Achilles heel, and he spent the first six weeks of the season in extended spring training in Arizona.  This past week, Mills returned to the Akron Aeros on a mission to show the Indians that he is still a top prospect.

Chris Schwinden, who was drafted in 22nd round of the 2007 MLB draft, by the New York Mets, has been nothing but sensational in the minor leagues.  This season, Schwinden started in AA pitching for the Binghamton Mets, but has already progressed to the AAA Buffalo Bisons.  So far in Buffalo, Schwinden is 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA, and many are saying he could get a call-up to the Mets before years end.

You can see both Schwinden and Mills on the fishing trip, and playing for the Alaska Goldpanners in Touching the Game, Alaska, Order it on DVD today!

The upcoming 2011 ABL season schedule can be found here.  The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks will be playing a shortened schedule this year due to financial issues, but the Midnight Sun Game will always be played. This years game is on June 21. Check out the schedule of all six teams. Those wanting a true baseball experience will not be disappointed by traveling to Alaska this summer to see the ABL!

The Alaska Baseball League is well-represented on the 2010 American League Champion Texas Rangers.  Starting 3rd Baseman Michael Young, and starting pitcher C.J. Wilson both gave us interviews for Touching the Game, Alaska.   Here are some of their comments about playing summer baseball in the 49th state.

Fairbanks, Alaska community leader and ABL icon Bill Stroecker has died after suffering a recent heart attack.Stroecker was a key figure in all aspects of business and community life in Fairbanks, was an avid outdoorsman and talented musician, and he was one of the main figures behind the evolution and continue existence of the Fairbanks Goldpanners and the entire Alaska Baseball League. Stroecker’s father Ed even played in the first Midnight Sun Game in 1906. The full News-Miner story can be found here. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bill’s family and friends, and to the Goldpanners’ organization and the fairbanks community at large.

Touching the Game Alaska will be airing tonight (Tuesday 11/09/2010) on the KTOO-TV PBS affiliates in Alaska at 8 pm Alaska time (that’s Midnight on the East Coast). You can also watch the broadcast streamed live at www.360north.org

If anyone is looking for proof that the Alaska Baseball League still produces top notch talent, they can just purchase a copy of our Touching the Game, Alaska DVD.  Many of the players featured in the film had terrific seasons in 2010.  As far as the Alaska League players we talked to and followed during the summers of 2006 & 2007, we had our first one make it to the Major Leagues.  Pitcher Robbie Weinhardt who played for Athletes-in-Action in ’06 was called up to the Detroit Tigers in mid-season and appeared in 27 games. Most of the other players are at the AA level, but are moving up. Former Goldpanner Beau Mills who we featured in the film had an up and down 2010. Playing for (AA) Akron, Beau got off to a poor start at the plate, then after an injury and some off the field problems, rebounded to finish the season strong.  Look for him to be at (AAA) Columbus next year. Beau’s former high school and Panner teammate Chris Schwinden made a big jump to (AA) Binghamton this year and was one of their top starters. 2006 Midnight Sun Game winner Chris Kissock also made the jump to (AA) Reading. He was also selected to play in this year’s prospect-rich Arizona Fall League.  A couple of Peninsula Oilers who appear in the film have also reached the AA level, pitcher Andre Lamontagne with (AA) Huntsville and infielder Jake Kahaulelio with (AA) Carolina.  Kahaulelio, who lead the Oilers to the 2006 ABL title, is making the switch from SS to 2B.

Some of the Alaska League alumni in Touching the Game already in the Major Leagues had huge years in 2010. Congrats to former Goldpanner Michael Young and former Anchorage Buc C.J.Wilson, as they were significant parts of the AL West winning Texas Rangers. Wilson has become one of the Rangers top starting pitchers.  A couple more former Bucs had terrific seasons as well.  Jered Weaver has become the ace of the Angels staff and was second in the ML in strikeouts, and Heath Bell had a monster season as the Padres closer with 44 saves and an ERA under 2.00. Finally, it’s great to see former Mat-Su Miner Jed Lowrie back playing with the Red Sox.  After a year and a half of injuries, he’s looking again like the prospect the Sox drafted out of Stanford.