GM’s Beginning of the Month Report, September 1st; Sunrise is at 6:51am and sunset is at 9:05pm for a total of 14 hours and 13 minutes of daylight. Weather is rainy and cloudy, but that is expected this time of the year. We poured the foundation for the new concession stand and are waiting for the fair to end to start building. It’s hard gaining access to the field with the fair going on. It ends Labor Day. My youngest son Kevin and I continue to mow and weed down at the field, but with temperatures in the 50’s, the grass doesn’t grow as fast. I’m in the process of hiring a new coaching staff and have started, slowly, recruiting for next year. We had our annual league meeting yesterday in Anchorage and went over everything from umpires to the schedule. That’s it for now. Pete

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The official web site of the Mat-Su Miners baseball team in Palmer, Alaska! This web site has all the news you need to follow the Mat-Su Miners. We hope you enjoy browsing matsuminers.org!

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Mat-Su Miners Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), all-volunteer organization that brings top quality baseball to the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. In addition to sponsoring the Miners, the organization offers clinics and other programs that nurture the growth of the great American sport of baseball. Each year, volunteers from around the Mat-Su Valley meet to plan the next year's season. If you wish to be involved, please feel free to e-mail us or track us down at the ballpark!

Thanks to all our volunteers!

Two former Mat-Su right-handers definitely have the right stuff.

In fact, Garrett Richards (2008) and David Phelps (2006) have shown more than just a few quality pitches; each has been one of the best hurlers in all of minor league baseball in 2010. Richards, the 42^nd overall pick in the 2009 Draft, has won four his last five starts for the Angels’ Class A team in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was recently named the Midwest League’s Pitcher of the Week. He allowed South Bend just one hit -- a fourth-inning single -- in six shutout innings on June 11. He also fanned four and didn’t allow a walk, which is worth noting due to Richards’ control issues as an amateur. He's now second in the Midwest League with 74 strikeouts and also ranks second with 79 innings pitched.  Richards’ overall record is 6-3 with a 3.08 ERA. The league is hitting just .235 against him. Phelps, though, has been even better. If it weren’t for some guy named Stephen Strasburg, Phelps would have been the talk of the Double-A Eastern League over the first part of the season. He is 5-0 for the Yankees’ affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey. Phelps leads the league in strikeouts (67) and ERA (2.00).

In his last start against Altoona on June 15, Phelps, who was selected out of Notre Dame in the 14th round (440th overall) of the 2008 draft, held the top team in the league to one run on five hits in seven innings of work. He struck out seven and didn’t issue a walk. “I was definitely pleased with (the start), because I didn’t walk anyone,” Phelps told The Trentonian. “That was the biggest thing. I was getting really frustrated (in previous starts). I was throwing well, but I’d look back at the box score and see two or three walks sometimes. The only time I hadn’t walked someone was my first game of the year.” Phelps’ fastball reportedly touched 94 mph in that start. Both pitchers were part of talented staffs for the Miners.

Richards was the Alaska Baseball League’s top prospect in 2008, according to a ranking compiled by Perfect Game Crosschecker. Phelps was 3-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 2006 for Mat-Su, which placed three pitchers in Baseball America’s top prospects list – a ranking Phelps failed to crack. Other Miner News: Ryan Ortiz (2007) is enjoying June in California. He’d tell you May wasn’t bad, either. Ortiz, who was drafted by Oakland last year in the sixth round from Oregon State, is batting .378 for the month of June, after hitting .324 in May. He is batting .303-5-25 through 33 games.