BY TODD DENNIS
Monday, October 1, 2001
FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks sealed an exciting season by slugging to the co-championship of the
2001 Bucs Wood Bat Invitational. Fairbanks' "never say die" squad won many games in the team's final at-bat, treating fans in Fairbanks and around the world (through the wonders of
Pannervision) to amateur baseball at its pinnacle.
As the club singles out the most valuable position player and pitcher from this season past, it also looks ahead to another year of
Alaska Baseball League excellence by naming Lewis and Clark State College's
Ed Cheff the 2002 team skipper.
The excitement is sure to carry-over..
2001 MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS
Individually it was the work of two players, infielder
Todd Leathers (01) and pitcher
Andy Davidson (00-01), which lifted the Goldpanners in 2001.
Todd Leathers
a slugging first/third baseman from Winthrop, led the 2001 club in average by hitting at a .308 clip. He led the
Alaska Baseball League
in home runs, with 8 to his credit. He collected 8 RBIs in a 4-for-6 effort at the plate on
July 23rd, with two mammoth home runs, one reaching the hallowed ground of the famed "Curling Club." Todd was named to the All-ABL team, representing the Alaska Goldpanners to the world along with Panners' MVP contender
Marc Tugwell.
|
Name
|
AB |
H |
Avg |
HR |
BB |
HP |
RBI |
SB |
|
Leathers |
195 |
60 |
.308 |
8 |
12 |
5 |
40 |
5 |
Andy Davidson
, Cal-State Northridge Matador, was the
Panner
staff's number one arm from wire to wire. The veteran lefty compiled an even 6 wins to 6 losses record, both numbers representing team highs. Andy also led the pitching staff with the lowest earned run average, registering a nifty 2.20 mark. His 68-to-18 strikeout to walk ratio in 69.2 innings pitched indicates the type of control he exercised over opposing batters.
|
Name |
W |
L |
IP |
ERA |
GC |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
Davidson |
6 |
6 |
69.67 |
2.20 |
1 |
34 |
17 |
18 |
68 |
GOLDPANNERS NAME NEW SKIPPER
The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks Baseball Club is pleased to announce the hiring of Lewis and Clark State College's
Ed Cheff
as the team's 15th field manager.
Coach Ed Cheff
is currently preparing for his 26th season as head coach of the Lewis and Clark State Warrior baseball team - a team for which he has won well over 1,000 games (1,266). Over his illustrious career with the Warriors, coach Cheff has won 11 NAIA championships, six times being named NAIA Coach of the Year. The Warriors played in 11 consecutive national championship games and won eight, a feat never duplicated by a collegiate team at any level in any major sport.
The NAIA Hall of Fame coach has twice represented the United States as an assistant coach for the USA National Baseball Team (91-94).
Coach Cheff
has extensive
Alaska Baseball League
experience, as well, having
guided the 1994 and 1995
Anchorage Bucs. His 1994 squad finished second in the Alaska League to the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks.
|
25 YEAR |
Wins |
Losses |
Win % |
|
TOTALS |
1,266 |
342 |
78.7% |
FAIRBANKS' BONDS SEEKS TO DETHRONE ANCHORAGE'S MCGWIRE
As of the morning of October 1st,
Barry Bonds, a
1983 Alaska Goldpanner, is one home run shy of tying Mark McGwire's record for most home runs in a single season. McGwire, a 1982 Anchorage Glacier Pilot, set the bar at 70 home runs in 1998.
Barry Bonds is also on the verge of winning the National League's Most Valuable Player award. This would be the fourth time he has won the award, an aggregate which has no equal in the history of either league.
Also in contention for Major League Baseball's MVP award are
Bret Boone, a
1988 Goldpanner, and
Jason Giambi, a
1990 Goldpanner and last year's winner in the American League.
OCTOBER 2001
