“So its root, root, root for the Miners, if they don’t win it’s a shame…” These are only a few phrases from the Miners version of the exceedingly popular baseball song ‘Take me out to the Ballgame.’ The Matanuska Susitna Miners are based in Palmer, Alaska, which is about 40 miles northeast of Anchorage.  The Miners are only one of the six teams in the Alaska Baseball League that compete all summer long for the chance to go to Wichita, Kansas for the National Baseball Congress (NBC) championship. The Miners have gone through one name change, two National Baseball Championships, and the building and renovating of their baseball field. Over 335 former Miners have played professional baseball including 57 who have gone on to the Major Leagues.

            In 1976, the then Valley Green Giants baseball team was born in Palmer, Alaska where they had their very first baseball season under the direction of the Fairbanks Goldpanners. They were called the Valley Green Giants until 1980 when it was changed to what we know as the Mat-Su Miners.  The name Mat-Su Miners was chosen by the people of Palmer for two reasons:  1. To make a clean break from the Fairbanks Goldpanners.  2.  To recognize the importance of mining in the Matanuska Susitna valley.  So, from 1980 until now, residents of the Valley recognize their team as the Mat-Su Miners.

In 1987 and 1997 the Miners became well known in Wichita, Kansas as well as throughout all of Alaska.

            A new name, a new uniform and a new look, but would this look mean luck?  In 1987 the Miners won the Alaska Baseball League championship and were immediately invited to compete for the National Baseball Congress championship in Wichita, Kansas.  They flew to Kansas and competed against the top summer leagues of the season for a chance to win the title of  National Baseball Congress (NBC) Champions.  Facing grueling competition, the Miners came out on top and were crowned the NBC Champions.  Winning the NBC crown had its drawbacks, however.  In 1988 the Valley was unable to field a team due to a shortage of revenue to bring up ball players from the lower 48.  Most of the 1988 budget was used in the 1987 NBC tournament.  Over the next nine years the Miners were unable to strike another claim against the NBC Championship.  In 1997; however, the team struck gold again.  They suffered through an intense season and invigorating training to lead their way into becoming the NBC champions once again.  Playing baseball in Alaska is a unique experience.  Playing baseball on the Miners home field, Hermon Brothers Field, is almost a religious experience. 

            Hermon Brothers Field is probably the most picturesque amateur baseball field in America. Safely nestled in Alaska’s beautiful Matanuska Valley with the magnificent Pioneer Peak Mountain as its backdrop, players and fans have a breathtaking view that cannot be duplicated anywhere else.  In 1976 volunteers forged Hermon Brothers Field out of a thicket of pine trees and alder bushes at the Palmer Fairgrounds. Over the next 26 years, small volunteer projects to help maintain the field were done, but ultimately time and lack of resources took its toll on the field.  Finally in September, 2002 the board of directors hired a new general manager. Throughout the fall of 2002 and the winter of 2003 he focused all his energies to totally renovating the field and building a new clubhouse. By opening day of 2003, Hermon Brothers Field became one of the top amateur fields in the Pacific Northwest. The Mat-Su Miners were selected  the 2004 American Baseball Coaches Association/Turface Field Maintenance Award winner for top high school field in the country.  With the Miners fielding the top-playing surface in the state, the new focus was now on upgrading key buildings such as the merchandise shack, the press box, and the visitor’s dugout. The 2004 season saw one of the most exciting and successful Miners teams in many years, with the Miners clinching the pennant on the last day of the season and earning a automatic berth to the National Baseball Congress World Series. It was here that the Miners finished second out of forty-six teams, losing the championship game. During the off season, Job Corps and Miners volunteers completed a new pressbox . From 2004 through 2010, the Miners never finished lower than third place, recorded more league wins than any other league team and have finished first three of the past four years.  In 2011 they will introduce the new concession stand that has been built solely on volunteer hours and donations from the community. Whether you call them the Valley Green Giants or the Mat-Su Miners they are the same team.  Born and raised in Palmer, the Miners have come a long way since 1976.  They endured a name change, struck gold twice in Wichita winning the NBC, and renovated a field that professional players would envy in a setting of scenic beauty words cannot describe.  With any luck the Miners will find themselves striking gold again with the fans singing, “… If they don’t win it’s a shame. For its one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old ballgame.”

Researched and written by Heather Boring (updated 2011)