The Scottnel Suns are located in Scottnel, Alaska. Scottnel is Eskimo for strong arm, and judging by the superior talent that is always in the Sun’s bullpen the team has taken the literal meaning of the word to heart. In reality Scottnel is, and was, a small fishing Island located in the Gulf of Alaska, until in 1992 when philanthropist Scott Nelson brought baseball to the folks of southern Alaska. Despite an already existing baseball team in Alaska, the Nome based Midnite Xpress; it is the clever placement of baseball in Scottnel that brings the fans to the seats. Nome is remote onto itself, located far to the north on the Norton Sound. Scottnel is a stones throw outside of the population base of Anchorage and draws equally well from Fairbanks. Although truthfully, citizens of Fairbanks tend to be torn between who exactly is their home team.
The Suns are a team steeped in EMOO tradition, they trace their roots back to one of the eight founding teams back in 1986, the Werewolves of London. In 1987 the team was purchased by Scott Nelson and thus began the cellar days for the Suns. They were a team without a home, in 87 they were known as the Millard Marauders and in 1988 they were the Vatican Crusaders. It was Nelson’s time spent with the Pope in Vatican City that forced him out of baseball for a few years, Nelson didn’t like the attitude of the players as it conflicted with the church. He took a three-year sabbatical, in which time his team traveled to Batavia where they were the Oscelots, and Nelson gained back full rights to the team in 1992 when they were known as the Besser Westerns. Nelson had a dream of bringing a championship club to Alaska, and the three years of intense study and meditation did wonders on his managerial skills, the Suns were in Alaska to stay and haven’t looked into that cellar since.
Scottnel has yet to win the EMOO championship, and his best bet to do so
was in 1996. He had spent the four previous years building the mega-club that took the
field that year. But a rash of injuries and poor management decisions cost the citizens of
Alaska a chance at the title. Nelson had promised Scottnel a championship team, and he
felt that he had let all Suns fans down and had committed a sin by not fulfilling his
promise. He was ready to head back to the Vatican until the Exxon Oil Corporation
stepped in. The Oil Giant promised to pump money into the dwindling small market club and
felt that it was Nelson’s double duties as owner and general manager that kept the
team always outside the door looking in on an EMOO championship.
In 1997 the Suns reinvented themselves. They changed coaches, they changed uniforms (a red-yellow-blue combination that reflects the primary colors and a return to the basics), and they began building a new stadium ready to open in 1998. Scott Nelson as general manager began farming in a new crop of young talent that is as exciting a team that can be found anywhere else on the planet. The 1998 Scottnel Suns look like they are ready to contend only a year removed from their complete overhaul. The only players left from that 1996 team are Mike Piazza and fireball captain Mark Wohlers, a man who personifies the Eskimo meaning of Scottnel with a strong arm. The team is coached by former Crusader catcher Bob Brenly and he is assisted by Marauder teammate Buddy Bell. The first base coach is Wally Backman, and the third base coach is another ex-catcher Terry Kennedy. Former players John Tudor and Richard "Goose" Gossage coach the pitching, and the hitting coach is the lovable John Kruk. All these coaches were players under Scott Nelson and each one knows the ins and outs of not only baseball, but also the philosophy that Nelson sees in creating a championship team.
Those famous baseball words, "if you build it they will come!" never resounded so true as in Scottnel. The fans arrived in droves in 1997, and in return Exxon is paying them back tenfold in 1998 when Valdez Park opens. Located on the mainland in the city of Valdez it is a living monument to the commitment that is being placed on winning baseball in Alaska. And the Exxon Oil corporation challenges anyone in the league to find a more beautiful setting to watch a baseball game than on the peaceful shores of Prince William Sound.
This will be the park that the young superstars Andruw Jones, Vlad
Guerrero, and Scott Rolen will be patrolling for years to come. And with
play- by-play being done by Radio Host Jim Rome those years will be more than
exciting, they will be epic!! !
One final note should be given to the Suns’ farm system in San Chico, Puerto Rico.
Manager Mackey Sasser is continuously churning out talent down on the farm. The San
Chico Escuela’s current superstars include first baseman RonWright, short
stop Hiram Bocachica and mega-pitching talent Kerry Wood. All three of these
players should be expecting to see playing time soon in Valdez Park.
In 1997 a friendly competition was forged between the Midnite Xpress and the Scottnel Suns. A traveling pride prize called the Exxon Valdez Memorial Cup was created, going to the winner for the year in overall rankings at the end of the season between these two teams. In 1997 the cup went to Scottnel, and it is expected to remain there well into the next millenium alongside several EMOO titles. Never forget that the Sun shines six months out of the year in Alaska, and those six months are always during baseball season.
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