an’t tell the players without a program. Alaska’s oil patch has so many names, even Bud Abbott couldn’t keep them straight. For instance, Duck Island is a unit, Endicott is a field—and they’re the same place! Add in the retirees, like the Sag Delta field that quit producing in 1985, and the minor leaguers waiting to be called up, like Pikka and Liberty, and the bench of exploration prospects with quirky monikers like Quokka, Alkaid, and Talitha, and… well, confusion is understandable.

Alaskans ought to have basic knowledge of the state’s biggest tax-paying industry, so to keep the lineup manageable, this primer focuses on producing fields on the North Slope. That’s less than a dozen, or as many as a baseball team (counting the designated hitter and manager). Two other active fields—Walakpa and Barrow, southwest and southeast of Utqiaġvik, respectively—produce natural gas for the North Slope Borough. But these eleven contribute to the flow of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.

Next season, the Cook Inlet league!