Sports editor Jeff Olsen is on the road with the Alaska Goldpanners as they travel to the Marshall Gates World Series in Utah. Here's the first of his travel log entries:
The Alaska Goldpanners players began filtering in a little after 12:30 a.m., and all have the same question: What’s the best way to sleep through an overnight flight?
“I just put my head back as the plane takes off and let the G-force put me to sleep,” pitcher Nolan Meredith said.
University of Hawaii sophomore Blake Hiraki, who has lots of experience sleeping on flights into and out of Honolulu during the season, recommends melatonin and a full stomach. That helped him get through the 10 or so trips they made to the mainland last spring.
Most of the team meanders in and out of the gift shop, grabbing comfort foods to help them through the next seven and a half hours -- a three-hour flight to Seattle and another two-and-a-half to Salt Lake City.
And even at 1 a.m., there’s time for the young fans.
Hunter, 11, and Brock 10, immediately recognized their heroes from Growden Memorial Park.
“We go to lots of games,” said Hunter.
“I recognized the team first,” Brock adds.
The hour they spend discussing baseball with Dominic Hughes and Ethan Remmers will be longlasting memories from the summer.
The other commonality among the team: headphones and cellphones. No matter what time of night, no teen or young 20-something is going to be separated from his music and social media.
If there’s anyone making practical use of his time it’s Mitchell Mussler. The newest Goldpanner -- just signed from the Flagstaff Star Chasers after pitching two games against the Panners -- is applying another layer of oil to his glove.
“It’s kind of a strange situation,” he says of meeting his 25 new teammates after pitching against them during the week. “But it’s another chance to pitch this summer, and I didn’t want to pass that up.
