Blog: Posts in “Blogroll” 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.

The Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star game is once again taking place at Fenway Park on Friday evening, and the crowds are getting bigger every year.  It’s a great chance to see some of the MLB stars of the future. If you would like to go to the game, all the info is here.  If you can’t make it to Fenway,  Comcast Sports New England (as well as many other Comcast affiliates) will be televising the game live at 7:00pm Friday evening or on tape delay. Comcast will also be airing a special one hour version of Touching the Game, The Story of the Cape Cod Baseball League Thursday evening 7/28 at 5:00pm and 8:oopm.  Warm up for the CCBL All-Stars with Touching the Game!

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder John Mayberry played in the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of ’03.  He had just finished his freshman year at Stanford.  We interviewed him a couple times for our documentary Touching the Game, The Story of the Cape Cod Baseball League.  We were also able to speak to John’s father, former MLB player John Mayberry Sr. who was visiting the Cape to view some of Jr.’s games with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.  Here’s a clip from the film.

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!

Sam Fuld has quickly made Tampa Bay Rays fans forget the sudden retirement of Manny Ramirez.  With spectacular catches, and timely hitting, Fuld looks like he could be a mainstay in the Rays outfield.  Selected by the Cubs in the ’03 MLB draft out of Stanford, Fuld spent the summer of ’03 playing for the Hyannis Mets of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was an All-Star.  That summer was of course when we filmed Touching the Game, The Story of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Check out this scene from the film with Sam Fuld as he ponders whether to sign with the Cubs, or return to play at Stanford.

We usually do a “Where are they now?” on the players in our Touching the Game films twice a year, at the start and finish of the baseball season, but this winter has been a busy one for some of the CCBL alumni.  Here’s who will be wearing new caps this spring.  Sam Fuld has been traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the big Matt Garza deal.  Justin Maxwell has been traded to the New York Yankees.  Maxwell had a few chances to break into the Washington Nationals outfield the past couple seasons, but injuries and hitting slumps have hindered his progress.  Maybe a change of scenery will get him going. Andy Laroche ran into the same issues (injuries and hitting) for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season.  He has signed a minor league deal with the Oakland A’s and will be at their big league camp.  Jeff Frazier who made it to the majors last season in Detroit, has signed with the Washington Nationals.  Brandon Boggs has moved on from Texas to Milwaukee, signing a new deal with the Brewers, and Matt Macri who was in the Minnesota Twins system, has signed with the Colorado Rockies.

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!