PANNERS HAVE STRONG TEAM, INDIVIDUAL SHOWING IN 1997
1997 GOLDPANNER YEARBOOK & STATISTICAL RECORD
The Alaska Goldpanners of 1997 posted the leading team record among Alaska teams at 38-18 and in the process a number of performers made a run at the Goldpanners individual record book.
Five Goldpanners were named to the 12-man All-Alaska Team and three of those were unanimous selections. The unanimous picks were pitcher Craig Jones of the University of Southern California, shortstop J.J. Brock of Notre Dame and first baseman Ryan Soules of Washington. Also named to the select squad were pitcher-outfielder Jason Lane and Hawaii’s Darren Blakely, an outfielder. Lane, out of Santa Rosa College, was named to the utility spot.
Soules, the second-year standout, was a unanimous pick as Alaska Player of the Year. The big slugger rapped out 18 home runs and batted in 69 to go with his lofty .391 average. All of those numbers put him high on Panner individual charts. The 69 RBI were good for fifth place while the 18 homers ranked him fifth as well. The .391 ties two others for the 11th spot on the all-time list. In addition, the two-year totals of Soules will have him on several lists among the career leaders.
Brock’s feat may be the biggest as he stepped into the shortstop job from second after Adrian Mora was hurt, and Brock became a unanimous all-state pick. He hit .346, and his 18 stolen bases was second only to the record-setting 47 of Blakely.
Blakely is now No. 2 behind Tom Goodwin, who had 48 steals in 1987, but no doubt would have set the new standard had an injury not slowed him for the final 10 games of the season. Blakely hit a solid .344 and was hit by the pitch 12 times, tying the team record set by Miah Bradbury in 1988.
Lane, also a returning player, was outstanding as he hit .355 with 11 home runs. He also posted a 5-3 record on the mound, working 61.2 innings and appearing in 10 games in addition to his outfield duty.
The master of the mound, however, was Craig Jones, who collected an 8-3 record and a fancy 2.43 ERA over 77.2 innings of work, all that good for 19th place on the all-time Goldpanner charts. Jones, who had three complete games, also made the relief pitcher lists with his 1996 season in which he appeared in 19 games, worked 40 innings, had a 1-1-1 record and 3.82 ERA.
Despite the individual exploits and the good overall record, the Panners could not shake the bridesmaid’s role in ’97 as they finished runner-up in the Alaska Invitational Tournament, The Kelowa, Canada Tournament and the Alaska League race itself.
The Alaska League race went down to the final game of the season in Honolulu when the Hawaii Island Movers topped the Anchorage Bucs to move past the Goldpanners and claim their first-ever Alaska League championship. The Hawaii team entered the Alaska League in 1986.
The Bucs’ Wood Bat Invitational saw the Panners in the title game for the fourth time in the brief history of the event, but the runnerup finish was the third. Only twice, once with the powerful 1991 team, have the Panners failed to reach the championship round.
The Panners’ second-place finish in the Kelowna International Tournament was more surprising as the club swept three teams in the preliminary round and then smashed the Yakima, Wash., Chiefs 11-1 in the semifinals. However, the host Grizzlies—a team that had visited Fairbanks earlier in the year—broke open a tight game in the seventh inning and crushed home in the finals of the 12-team tourney.
1997 GOLDPANNER YEARBOOK & STATISTICAL RECORD
