Cowgill Leaves Panners
September 6, 2000, Daily News-Miner

STAFF REPORT

The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks will be under the guidance of a new field manager when the Alaska Baseball League team hits the field for the 2001 season.

The Panners announced Tuesday Dan Cowgill has decided to step down from the position that he has held for the past three seasons.

Cowgill cited work commitments as his main reason for leaving the summer league baseball team comprised mostly of collegiate players. Cowgill serves as athletic director at Los Angeles City College and also as head baseball coach at La Crescenta High School in California.

In his three seasons with the Panners, Cowgill boasted an 83-66 record for a .557 winner percentage.

His best season came this past summer when the Panners finished in second place in the ABL to earn a spot at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan., for the first time in 14 years.

The five-time NBC champion Panners were eliminated from the NBC tournament when they lost two consecutive games for their worst showing ever at Wichita.

Cowgill played for the Panners in the '70s and was a member of the NBC championship team of 1976. He also was an assistant coach under manager Ben Hines in 1978.

Panners general manager Don Dennis has begun a search for Cowgill's replacement, but there is no timetable for naming the new manager.

MVP awards

The Panners also recently announced the most valuable player awards for the past season.

Second baseman Brooks Conrad was named the most valuable position player, while left-hander David Gassner was the most valuable pitcher.

Conrad led the team in at-bats (172), hits (56), singles (39), triples (3), and runs scored (30), and was second in runs batted in with 29.

Gassner was a dominating force on the mound as he posted a 7-1 record with a 1.90 earned run average.

There are only three players in Panner history who have won consecutive MVP awards--pitchers Brian Scott (1995-96) and Brent Strom (1968-69) and position player Steve Kemp (1974-75).

More Major Leaguers

The list of Goldpanners who have played in Major League Baseball climbed to 174 last week with the addition of Jerrod Riggan (1994) and Todd Belitz (1996).

Riggan, who attended Edmunds, Wash., Community College and joined the Panners late in the 1994 season at the Grand National Tournament in San Diego, was called up by the New York Mets late last week.

Belitz became the first Goldpanner from the 1996 team to reach the majors when he was activated by the Oakland Athletics. With the Panners he had a 2-5 record with a 4.15 ERA in 65 innings. He also batted .192 in 26 at bats.

September 6, 2000, Daily News-Miner