Bus Leagues Baseball has a nice piece on the Alaska Baseball League. They interview Jesse Jack who covers the ABL on his site, 49th State Hardball.
Maybe it’s me but I’m getting the sense that the ABL is gaining in popularity among colleges to send their ballplayers in the summer. Even our University of Illinois firstbaseman Matt Dittman, who was playing for the Lake Erie Monarchs last year, faced the Alaska Goldpanners as part of the 104th Midnight Sun Game in Fairbanks. The Libertyville Review had a feature on his trip.
And no, it doesn’t get THAT cold in the summer there. We’re talking about Fairbanks here:
A “hot” day up here is in the neighborhood of 70-80 degrees, which is comfortable for almost everyone. The colder days can be a little chilly; down into the 50-degree range. In fact, at least one team has installed heaters in their grandstand! But it’s very rarely too cold or too hot to take in a ball game…
We could use that kind of weather here at UI games.