ABL Summer In Review: 2023

Garrett W. Gagnon

August 7, 2023

It has been a brightly lit summer of Alaskan baseball. Each ABL team has reason to be proud of the season they put together in 2023. Friendships were formed, new regions explored, and player development was overwhelmingly abundant. 

Chugiak Chinooks (14-25)

Though the Chinooks again missed the playoffs in 2023, they more than doubled their 2022 season win total of 6. The Chinooks went 14-25 during the regular season and were a frequent thorn in the side of first place contenders. Veterans Ryan Mathiesen and Austin Young both received first team honors, Mathiesen as the league’s most outstanding third baseman, and Young as league best designated hitter. The Chinooks pitching was their greatest point of struggle, as the staff put together a combined 6.22 ERA. The Chinooks look to build on their established trend of improvement in each season to come.

Peninsula Oilers (18-20)

The Oilers wrapped up the regular season just below .500 with a record of 18-20. Their fourth place finish in the standings was good enough to make the playoffs, and they held their own against the fiercely competitive Miners. They were ultimately eliminated in game three of their playoff series with the Mat Su Miners. The Oilers finished in fourth place for the second year in a row and had several players receive first team honors. Nick Costello was voted co-Player of the Year and Ty Correa was awarded the title of ABL Top Prospect. Connor Throneberry was also named co-Closer of the Year. The Oilers had the second best team ERA in the league. Their staff put up a regular season 3.59 ERA. Only the Mat Su Miners’ pitching staff had a team ERA below this. 

Anchorage Bucs (21-19) 

The Bucs were an offensive power house in 2023. They finished the regular season in third place above .500 at 21-19. They whacked a second best 15 home runs as a team, drove in 186 total runs (tied for league most), and had a .375 team on base percentage. Pitching and defense was the achilles heel for the Bucs. 39 unearned runs were scored by Bucs’ opponents this summer. They look to tighten things up on the mound and in the field in seasons to come. Though they were eliminated quickly by the Glacier Pilots in the playoffs, those Bucs will not be forgetting this offensive season anytime soon. Jaxson Sorenson was named Utility Player of the Year and Lex Boedicker was a First Team outfielder as well. Sky Wells was also named a first team ABL starting pitcher for the Bucs. 

Anchorage Glacier Pilots (22-18)   

The Glacier Pilots pitched reasonably well in 2023, ending the season with a team ERA of 4.24, third best in the league. The Glacier Pilots were locked in a heated three way race for first place with the Mat Su Miners and Anchorage Bucs for much of July. The Glacier Pilots finished just shy of the Miners in the regular season, a strong second place finish in the standings. They cruised through the Bucs with relative ease in the first round of the playoffs, and met the first place Miners in the best of three ABL Championship. Though the Miners had bested them out of a first place regular season finish, the Glacier Pilots went 4-0 in the 2023 playoffs and became Alaska Baseball League Champions once again. This Glacier Pilots team was a force to be reckoned with. They compiled a league best team batting average of .276, the second best team average was .253. Their team on base percentage of .392 is difficult to fathom, and together, the Glacier Pilots drove in 186 runs. Blake Jackson had a monster season and was named co-Player of the Year, First Team Outfielder, and Silver Slugger. Will Bermudez was voted first team second baseman and received the ABL Gold Glove. Nathan Baraza was a First Team First Baseman and Tai Atkins, a phenomenal reliever, won First Team Relief/Closing Pitcher Honors. Casey Euper and Aaron Ciniceros were huge parts of the Glacier Pilots Championship season and received First Team Starting Pitcher Awards.  

Mat Su Miners (23-16)

The Miners were the best regular season Alaska Baseball League team in 2023. Their fight for first place with the Glacier Pilots and Bucs was a miraculous race that nobody will be forgetting. It was not easy to pick a “best” team in the league this year with so much competition at the top. When it came to fundamentals, the Miners took the cake, being sound across the board in their pitching, defense, and offense. They knocked off the Oilers in a first round three game playoff series, before advancing to play the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in the Championship. The Miners were not able to prevail in their final matchup of 2023. Their first place regular season finish is a tremendous accomplishment, but does not take the sting out of being so close to an ABL Championship. The Mat Su Miners team slugging percentage of .374 was the best of any team totals. They outpitched opponents regularly in 2023, their staff combined for a 3.48 league best ERA. Opposing batters hit just .238 against Mat Su pitching. Head Coach Tyler LeBrun received the Coach of the Year award. Cooper Vest received First Team First Base Honors and Steven Lancia was awarded First Team Honors at Catcher. Emilio Barreras was awarded First Team Shortstop, and on the mound, Candon Dahle was a First Team Starting Pitcher for the Miners.    

Congratulations to each Alaska Baseball League franchise on their 2023 seasons. Congratulations to the Mat Su Miners on their first place 2023 regular season finish. And Congratulations to the Anchorage Glacier Pilots on their back to back to back Championship Seasons in 2021, 2022 and now 2023!