2004 Season: Down to the wire

It couldn’t be over, could it?

The Goldpanners played their final home game of the season Thursday, July 29th, 2004; but unlike most nights, when the ballpark clears out fairly quickly after the last out is recorded, and the ballplayers have finished packing their gear in the dugout and signing baseballs for young fans, that night many of the players lingered at the park, not quite ready to let go of the game and the magic of the home season.

The Panners had just played what was essentially a win-(and go to Wichita)-or-go-home game against the Peninsula Oilers, and the home team had come up on the short end, losing 8-3. The Alaska Baseball League title race has been so tight this season, that the Panners have anticipated for weeks that both their league title hopes and their chance to lock up one of the ABL’s two berths for post-season play at the National Baseball Congress championships in Wichita, would hinge on the week’s four-game series with the Oilers.

The Panners went into the final home game in sole possession of the league lead- after winning the first three games of this series- and with only two games left in their regular season; but after losing the last night the could not even finish second in the ABL race, falling as far as fourth -that’s how tight things are at the top.

The Panners needed to win their final league game of the season against the Miners in Palmer on Saturday to keep their Wichita hopes alive; but, it was not to be for the 2004 season. In fact, the Mat-Su Miners eventually took the league crown, finishing second in the NBC tournament. “It’s just a rat race right down to the finish,” said the Panners first baseman, Joe Persichina, after the game. “We were in first place before this game and we lost, and now we might not even be in the top three.”
 
But more prevalent than disappointment among the Goldpanners, was this; a feeling that “we played with our all,” said Persichina, right before he headed back onto the field to play catch with a young Goldpanner fan. “And that’s all you can ask for.”

The Panners can be proud of taking three of four from a tough Oilers team, that came into Fairbanks in first place and full of confidence; and the Panners played cooly in winning the two one-run, nail-biting contests of the series. And win or lose, it’s easy to appreciate how much each of the Panners respect the efforts of their teammates and enjoy playing together.

“We’ve got a great team up here,” said second baseman Cameron Blair, who was named the 2004 ABL player of the year, who went 1-for-2 in the game with 2 walks. “You play with a great bunch of guys and with great coaches . I can’t say enough about these guys. We’re good together and we’ve been clicking and it’s been a heck of a summer.” And despite missing the first ten games of the season, Blair still smacked an eye-popping eleven home runs- and he hit four in one day (three in the first game and one in the second game) in a July 10 double dip at Growden against the Miners. Impressively, even without his four-home-run- day, Blair would still lead the league in round-trippers.

“I’d go with these guys any day of the week,” said DH David Moore, echoing Blair’s sentiments about their fellow Goldpanners, as Moore shared a seat with some of his teammates on the picnic table outside GM Don Dennis’ office after Thursday’s game.. “I’ve had a blast being with these guys.” (Written by Andy Sterns)

PRESSBOX

• 2004 PannerBlog

• 8/25/4: Cameron Blair (04 MVP) Named Baseball America First-Team Summer All-American

• 8/7/4: Cameron Blair (04) Two-run HR in 8th for Miners

• 8/2/4: Cameron Blair (04 MVP) Named ABL Player of the Year "Despite being drafted in the 18th round of the 2004 MLB Amateur Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, Blair has indicated that he plans to return to Texas Tech for his senior campaign."

• 7/30/4: Cameron Blair (04 MVP) ABL Player of the Year: Second to None "Cameron Blair of the Fairbanks Goldpanners was one of four unanimous selections by the panel of 12 sportswriters and broadcasters who voted on the All-Alaska Baseball Team. The others were Anchorage Bucs pitcher Garrett Olson, Mat-Su pitcher Chris Mason and Fairbanks designated hitter Paul Keck. " | ABL honors Goldpanners

• 7/29/4: Panners win thriller to stay in first - "You could really hear the crowd," said Landavazo, who pitches for Panners manager Ed Cheff at Lewis-Clark State College. "They were stomping their feet and making a lot of noise. There was good intensity out there."