Review: "Touching the Game: Alaska"

The Alaska Baseball League is a hidden treasure. Many locals don't really know what it is or what it's about, and most people outside of the state -- except those with a keen knowledge of the lower rungs of baseball player development -- don't even realize it exists. Now, thanks to the work of Jim Carroll and company, baseball fans around the world can get a taste of the Alaska League in the comfort of their own homes.

"Touching the Game: Alaska" comes on the heels of the much-acclaimed original "Touching the Game" documentary film, which details the famous Cape Cod League. Not content to merely showcase our more glamorous cousin back east, Carroll and crew spent the past few summers in Alaska creating the second film in the summer-ball documentary series. The result is a captivating picture sure to be pleasing to long-time ABL fans and intriguing for those who are new to the league.



The film takes us on a whirlwind tour of the six teams that make up the Alaska League (as well as the now-defunct Valley Green Giants / North Pole Nicks), relating the history of Alaskan baseball along the way. The narrative will be very familiar to those who have read Lew Freedman's book "Diamonds in the Rough" (which I also recommend) but in most cases Carroll has managed to get the story "straight from the horse's mouth", so to speak, which should interest those who have read the book but haven't had a chance to put faces to all the names.

One key strength of "Touching the Game: Alaska" is the sheer amount of people that appear in the movie. In addition to the local personalities and coaches who have shaped the Alaska League and its teams over the past five decades, the film crew managed to track down a truckload of former ABL players. The list of players interviewed in the film reads like a who's who of Major League superstars who have been discovered in the Last Frontier.

The cinematography in the latest "Touching the Game" is also as captivating as the stories. Through Carroll's lens we travel from the "cheap seats" (they're all cheap!) of the league's stadiums to the wide-open wilderness of America's wildest state. We follow the players on road trips and fishing trips. We see Alaska through the eyes of the players, most of whom are seeing the great land for the first time.

Overall I give "Touching the Game: Alaska" a stellar rating. From the camera work to the history to the game footage, it's great from top to bottom. However, if I have to find one knock against the film -- and it pains me to do so -- it would have to be in the DVD presentation itself. The lack of a chapters menu on the disc presented some difficulties for me. As a father of three young children it is a very rare occasion that I can finish a feature-length film in one sitting. I found it frustrating to have to fast-forward through the entire film to try and figure out where I left off. But that isn't anything against the actual film itself, just a minor frustration with the disc.

On the flip side, the DVD package comes with a special features disc which I wholeheartedly endorse. I will be honest with you, at least 95% of the special features discs that come with movies I purchase never make it out of the case, and I have even asked rhetorically why they even bother to make those things. But do yourself a favor and watch this one because it's got some good stuff. My favorites are the three ABL games (An Anchorage July 4th doubleheader and the 100th Midnight Sun Game) and the interview with Sean Timmons.

Jim Carroll's vision and love of baseball really shine in "Touching the Game: Alaska". I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in baseball, Alaska, or especially baseball in Alaska. You can order the DVD straight from their website, TouchingTheGame.com.