This Miner wields major power

Once he found someone to throw some perfect pitches his way, he caught fire and won the Alaska Baseball League's first home-run derby on a rainy Sunday at Mulcahy Stadium.

Martin ripped 12 homers with six coming in the final round off teammate Mason Guymon, another catcher for the Miners.

"Catchers throw the best BP," Martin said. "Some of those were pretty lucky, but as soon as the wind stopped blowing, I knew the ball would carry."

Guymon served up four home-run balls in the second round, after he replaced a Miners' pitching coach who threw to Martin in the first round. Though he didn't get many good pitches to hit in the first round, the right-handed Martin managed to send two shots over the left-field wall and advance to the next round.

The format of the event was similar to the one used in Major League Baseball's home run derby. The ABL derby began with 14 hitters and each were given 10 outs per round. Any swing of the bat not resulting in a home run was an out. The five players with the highest home run total after the first round advanced to round two, and the two hitters with the highest combined total from the first two rounds faced off in the final.

Thanks to five home runs in the second round, Patrick Wisdom of the Peninsula Oilers was the one who challenged Martin in the final. Wisdom, 19, said the event was fun, but he hadn't competed in a home run derby since he was 10, so it was tough to get going.

"The first round was pretty nerve-racking," he said.

Some of the Anchorage Bucs tried to keep things loose by bringing a three-foot tall SpongeBob SquarePants doll into the action. While the Bucs' Davis Morgan was in the middle of his second round, some of his teammates came out to give a him a pep talk. They left the bright yellow SpongeBob sitting in the opposite batter's box while Morgan finished hitting.

"We've got a lot of fun things up our sleeves," Morgan said.

The antics didn't work, however as Morgan finished with two homers in the second round and failed to advance. He led the first round with three homers and said cold, rainy weather made hitting the long ball a real challenge. He expected to see more homers in his first home run derby.

"I definitely didn't think three would be leading," he said.

Four of the 14 hitters failed to hit a homer and five hitters sent one over the fence. With a cross wind blowing in from right field, the left-handed batters didn't stand much of a chance, though Pilots lefty Jomel Torres did manage to blast an impressive shot over the right-field wall.

Anchorage Glacier Pilots general manager Jon Dyson said holding an all-star game and home run derby is something he has wanted to do for a few years and this year seemed like a good time.

"I decided to try something new," he said. "We just wish it would have been sunnier, like yesterday."

Dyson thought the event was an overall success, but said it took a little longer than he would have liked. The derby lasted more than two hours and forced the start of the all-star game back about a half hour.

"The players and coaches seemed to have a good time," Dyson said. "It seemed to be a big hit."

Reach Jeremy Peters at jpeters@adn.com or 257-4335.