When you speak of Alaskan baseball, you generally correct yourself
quickly and say, "What did I just say? ALASKAN baseball? Why on earth
would I say something as random as that? Alaskan baseball, that’s so
weird. Bartender; another shot, sir!"

But they do have baseball in ‘Laska. In fact, they have a lot of it.
And they get crowds. Well, compared to the Eugene Emeralds, anyway.

Why does this matter? Because I just touched base with ex-Canadians
sidearm bullpen man, Zak "The Snake" Basch, who has taken a spot as
Assistant GM with the Anchorage Bucs in the Alaskan League.

Basch had been MVP of the league previously, bamboozling all comers
with his 81mph scorchers coming at hitters from an angle somewhere
around the where the second baseman stands, setting the all-time single-season relief record
(0.62ERA in 43.2IP), and joining some elite Hall of Fame company in the
process. He then got drafted by the Red Sox, traded to the A’s, who
didn’t seem to know what to do with him, and subsequently let go with a
small-sample, nasty stat line.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Zak ventured back to Alaska to catch up
on old buddies, do a little radio, and then found himself in a front
office job with the Anchorage Bucs, which is kind of like putting
Kirstie Alley in charge of a Jack in the Box – fun times!

Zak got into the news recently, when none other than the LA Times
wrote about the team approaching PokerShare.com, after the company had
offered $100k for the naming rights to a small American town, and
suggesting they put their money somewhere a little more constructive -
like the Bucs bank account. This wasn’t the first time The Snake had
found himself in the news, so I decided to contact the Snakester and see how life in the Great White Northwest is treating him.

1. Every season, thousands of
ball fans go on baseball pilgrimages – rookie ball, spring training,
minor league bus trips, fantasy camp – what’s Alaskan ball got that
those people really need to know about?

The Midnight Sun Game in Fairbanks, without a doubt. It is a must
see. Every year on Summer Solstice (which is like a state holiday up
here), the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks play a game at 10:30 pm
without the aid of artificial light. That’s’ right. No lights, and the
game starts at 10:30 pm. I would go into detail, but you really have to
see it to believe it. The atmosphere is like nothing else any baseball
fan has seen. I have played in two and witnessed another, and each
experience was unlike the others in so many ways. And, 2006 is the
100th Anniversary of the first ever MSG, which was played as a bar bet
between two local pubs in 1906.

2. People on the mainland view Alaska as this snow-covered Northern
Exposure land of misfits, eskimos, moose and drunks. Tell me how wrong
I am.

You’re not wrong. And it’s "Lower 48," not "mainland." Hawaiians
call it the mainland. Alaskans call it the Lower 48. But seriously, it
is a land of misfits. I mean, who in their right mind moves to Alaska?
People who are either running from something or chasing something. But
these misfits share a sort of comraderie or patriotism that most
Americans have only read about. It’s sort of like everyone’s in it
together. Seriously, there used to be a law here that it was illegal
NOT to pick up hitchhikers.

3. When you’re watching the Bucs roll over some weak ass team from god knows where, do you ever get the urge to warm up?

No. The only time I get the urge to warm up is when it’s 2-1 in the
ninth against a bitter rival. Then I get the itch. But it passes quick.
I was only throwing 81 in my "prime," so I don’t even want to think
about what I’d be throwing now.

4. Is life as a sidearmer easier or tougher than life as a fireballer.
It strikes me that it’d be pretty hard to get good coaching when you’re
throwing unorthodox stuff in the minors, and similarly, that it would
be easier to get ‘typecast’ as a mop-up or one-out lefty guy, while the
big
guns get all the chances.

It was just different. I definitely had advantages that other
players didn’t have, but I had disadvantages as well. People might
argue that the only reason I got a chance was because I threw sidearm,
which is a farce, but it is a common perception. I definitely got
typecast, but the bottom line is that if you get guys out they’ll keep
you around, and I didn’t. So they didn’t.

5. PokerShare.com – what’s the deal you’re trying to grab with them?

I made the mistake of calling their PR firm to try to get a sponsor
for a new scoreboard at our field. As PR people, they blew it up into a
big news story. We just want a new scoreboard. We don’t care if
pokershare.com buys it, or the State of Alaska buys it, or if NAPA Auto
Parts buys it. We know we can’t afford it, and we’re looking for help.
We just happened to approach a very aggressive PR firm, and they ran
with it.

6. Is that the kind of thing you have to clear with the league first,
or are you open to basically find funding for the team however you can?

The league has no control over how individual teams fund
themselves. Every team in the league is non-profit, 501c3, so we try to
play that up to get funding. The only roadblocks we run into are from
the Municipality of Anchorage, since our Stadium sits on their
property. That can be a bit of a nightmare at times. But we love them
anyway (make sure to put that last line in there, in case they read
this, haha)

7. The Cape Cod league is always considered the gold standard in summer
ball – is the Alaska League closing the gap, or are the powers that be
pretty content with it being known as an irreverent second option?

You’ve got it backwards. In the 70s, the Alaska League was the gold
standard, and it has taken these last 30 years for the Cape Cod League
to close the gap. It’s kind of like when the media hops on the AL East
bandwagon, and the Chicago White Sox roll through the playoffs. It
makes you rethink the power of the AL Central. Maybe those games with
the Tigers were meaningful after all.

Really, how does one decide which league is the best? You play each
other, which is something the Bucs have been trying for years. We have
even offered to pay for a Cape team, or even a Cape All-Star Team, to
play us. They want no part of it. So, to answer your question, I think
I can speak on behalf of the entire Alaska Baseball League when I say
that we resent the perception that the Cape Cod League is the gold
standard in summer ball. Let’s decide it on the field.

8. You’ve played ball in the Boston system, and you played in the
Oakland system. If you could get another season in the minors (assuming
you wanted to), who would you want to be playing for?

The Tigers. I have been a Tigers fan my whole life, and it has
always been my dream to play for them. But alas, it is not going to
happen.

9. Obviously people who want a career in baseball have to spend a lot
of years climbing the ladder, whereas you basically walked right into
it – was this something you wanted to do, or something that just found
you?

First of all, I would argue that most people would consider my
position as a very low rung on this baseball ladder. To answer the
question, though, this is something that found me. I guess I could get
philosophical and say something like I just followed my path and this
is where it took me, but that would be a little too New-Agey for my
taste. However, if you knew the road that I took to get here, you would
know that it’s nothing I could have dreamed of creating for myself. So
I guess you could say it found me, but I was an easy mark.

10. Is it true that chicks dig the long ball? And if so, what does a
sidearmer do to combat such things when, say, on a road trip through
Spokane?

Please. Chicks dig out of shape, pus-throwing, hairy, bald
20-something closers that throw 80 mph. Lucky for me, I happen to be
one, so I never had any problems with the ladies. Especially in
Spokane. All of the classy ladies live in Spokane, didn’t you know? And
Yakima.

Oh, I know…

Note: Photo credit: Alaska Goldpanners.