Anchorage Daily News

The boys of summer are back in Alaska. Top college players from the Lower 48 have returned to our state for the Alaska Baseball League's summer season. Either the Bucs or Pilots play practically every day in June and July here in Anchorage at Mulcahy stadium. For those outside Anchorage, the Mat-Su Miners, Kenai Oilers, and two Fairbanks teams (the Goldpanners and Athletes in Action) round out the league.

Click to enlarge

Jeff Pantages is an investment manager in Anchorage.

Story tools

Comments (0)

E-mail a friend

Print

Share on Facebook

Digg this

Seed Newsvine

Send link via AIM

Follow on Twitter

Font size : A | A | A

No doubt college players are lured here because of the natural beauty and mystique of Alaska, but the league has a storied history as well. Many major league ballplayers have started here. Mark McGuire was a pitcher before turning to hitting home runs. Dave Winfield and Tom Seaver are a few other notable stars.

The players use wooden bats (crack!!) instead of those awful aluminum alternatives (ping!!) that are used these days in high school and college. They are in for an experience that they'll carry with them the rest of their lives.

All the ballparks are just fine, although a little "stimulus money" from Aunt Sarah or Uncle Barack would certainly help spruce them up. Actually, the Oilers might not take it since their stadium is completely privately funded by citizens and businesses.

It's easy to get seats, except sometimes for the July 4 Bucs/Pilots doubleheader and the Midnight Sun game in late June in Fairbanks. It won't cost you an arm and a leg either (box seats $7; general admission $5 -- hint: Go to the Bucs Web site for a discount coupon).

The top ticket at the new Yankee Stadium in New York costs $2,500. That's for one game. It's been pointed out that you can fly first class up to Anchorage, stay in a fancy hotel, eat gourmet meals, do the tourist thing and go to a game every evening at that price. Sounds like a good advertising campaign. Big. Wild. Baseball. Life.

Baseball is America's game, but some will argue that professional football is more popular. Others say the stock market, with all its recent gyrations, has become America's favorite pastime! The financial markets have their winners and losers just like sports. It is survival of the fittest, to a large extent.

Owing a baseball team has been a good investment. The value of a major league baseball franchise was up over 11 percent this past decade, beating all major asset classes like stocks and bonds. Unfortunately, owning a team is just a bit above my pay grade.

Baseball and the markets have something in common. That is the need for rules. They need to be clear, relatively easily understood, with penalties in case of cheating. A regulator (umpire) must enforce them.

The financial markets suffered last year and some of this was in part due to lack of regulation and enforcement. Now change is in the air, but we need to be careful that our efforts at reform don't kill the goose (capitalism and freedom) that lays the golden eggs (prosperity and growth).

We have seen recent actions by the Federal government involving bailouts for the car companies that would seem to undermine the rule of law. Secured bondholders were "crammed down" and received less than they legally deserved. Unions and the government took a bigger share of the company than they were entitled to.

If business perceives this as a trend it may lose confidence in our legal system and pull back; investment and productivity will suffer. These "players" need to know the rules and not have them changed in the middle of the game.

The good news is we've got a nice diversion over the summer months. I hope you'll come out and support your local team and keep this great tradition alive for years to come. See you at the ballpark.

Jeff Pantages is an investment manager in Anchorage.

ADVERTISEMENT