Cape Cod Baseball League
Encyclopedia
The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league located on Cape Cod
in the U.S. state
of Massachusetts
, in which many college baseball stars play during the summer. Many future Major League Baseball
players have started there during their college years; MLB has provided financial support to the Cape League for over 40 years. During the 2008 MLB season, 205 CCBL alumni played in the majors or were on injured reserve; additionally over 1,000 CCBL alumni were playing in professional baseball in 2006. The league is also notable for its continuing use of wooden bats. Because it draws top-tier college players, the level of play is often considered the equivalent of high-A Minor League Baseball
.
The CCBL Hall of Fame is located in the "Dugout", the lower-level of the JFK Museum in Hyannis, Massachusetts
. The Cape Cod Baseball League is one of eight leagues in the National Alliance of Summer Baseball
.
Three of the teams in the Cape League share their names with MLB teams. (The Harwich Mariners are not "named after" the Seattle Mariners, as they pre-date the 1977 American League expansion.) However, in late 2008 Major League Baseball enforced its trademark and required teams to either change their names or buy their uniforms and merchandise only through licensed vendors. As a result, the Chatham Athletics changed their team name to "Anglers", and the Orleans Cardinals changed their name to "Firebirds". In March 2010 the Hyannis Mets joined the Anglers and Firebirds, changing their team name to "Harbor Hawks".
. The 2003 documentary film Touching the Game by Jim Carroll chronicled the 2003 CCBL season and explored the league's history.
There are several books on the Cape League. Baseball by the Beach (ISBN 0-9719547-4-7) by Christopher Price was published in 1998 and discusses the league and its history. In 2002, writer Jim Collins followed the Chatham Athletics (now the Chatham Anglers) for the season and wrote The Last Best League (ISBN 0-306-81418-8) about the team and its players. Baseball on Cape Cod (Images of Baseball) (ISBN 0-7385-4508-7) by Dan Crowley has many photos of the early and modern Cape League eras. The 2004 novel Slider (ISBN 0-06-058033-X) by Patrick Robinson takes place in a Maine summer league, but is actually based on the Cape League. In 2005, Beach Chairs and Baseball Bats (ISBN 1-4196-0508-9) by author Steve Weissman and Cape Crusaders (ISBN 1-4137-6232-8) by author Mike Thomas were published. The latter focuses on player interviews, while the former goes behind the scenes of a typical Cape League season.
There are also several active blogs that follow the Cape League, including Right Field Fog and Codball.
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, in which many college baseball stars play during the summer. Many future Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
players have started there during their college years; MLB has provided financial support to the Cape League for over 40 years. During the 2008 MLB season, 205 CCBL alumni played in the majors or were on injured reserve; additionally over 1,000 CCBL alumni were playing in professional baseball in 2006. The league is also notable for its continuing use of wooden bats. Because it draws top-tier college players, the level of play is often considered the equivalent of high-A Minor League Baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
.
The CCBL Hall of Fame is located in the "Dugout", the lower-level of the JFK Museum in Hyannis, Massachusetts
Hyannis, Massachusetts
Hyannis is the largest of seven villages in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Also it is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area as a result of the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hyannis as the "Capital of the Cape"...
. The Cape Cod Baseball League is one of eight leagues in the National Alliance of Summer Baseball
National Alliance of Summer Baseball
The National Alliance of College Summer Baseball consists of 8 NCAA sanctioned summer baseball leagues.-Leagues:*Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League*Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League*Cape Cod Baseball League...
.
Teams
The Cape Cod League regular season starts in mid-June and runs through mid-August. The playoffs determine the East and West Division Champions, who then compete for the League Championship.| Division | Team | Town | Home Field | Most Recent Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West | Bourne Braves Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, MA. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Western Division. Bourne currently plays its home games at Doran Park in the town of Bourne... |
Bourne Bourne, Massachusetts Bourne is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,721 at the 2000 census.For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Bourne, please see the articles on Bourne , Buzzards Bay, Monument Beach, Pocasset, Sagamore, and Sagamore... |
Doran Park Doran Park (ballpark) Doran Park is a baseball venue in Bourne, Massachusetts, home to the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League and the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School,... (at Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School is a public vocational-technical high school located in Bourne, Massachusetts. Opened in 1966, it now serves over 650 students in 13 vocational areas of study... ) |
2009 |
| Cotuit Kettleers Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Western Division. Cotuit currently plays its home games at Lowell Park... |
Cotuit Cotuit, Massachusetts Cotuit is a village on Cape Cod in the City of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. Located on a peninsula on the south side of Barnstable about midway between Falmouth, Massachusetts and Hyannis, Massachusetts... |
Lowell Park Lowell Park Lowell Park is a 1990-based historical novel, and authored by Mike Chapman. The book will be made into a movie of the same name by Empire Film Group and is scheduled to come out sometime in 2011. - Plot summary:... |
2010 | |
| Falmouth Commodores Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Western Division. Falmouth currently plays its home games at Arnie Allen Diamond at Guv Fuller Field, one of 6 ballparks in... |
Falmouth Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States; Barnstable County is coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 31,531 at the 2010 census.... |
Arnie Allen Diamond at Guv Fuller Field | 1980 | |
| Hyannis Harbor Hawks | Hyannis Hyannis, Massachusetts Hyannis is the largest of seven villages in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Also it is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area as a result of the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hyannis as the "Capital of the Cape"... |
McKeon Park (Pope John Paul II High School (Hyannis, Massachusetts) Pope John Paul II High School (Hyannis, Massachusetts) Pope John Paul II High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Hyannis, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River.-Background:... ) |
1991 | |
| Wareham Gatemen Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, MA. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Western Division... |
Wareham Wareham, Massachusetts Wareham is a town located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 20,335, with an estimated 2008 population of 21,221.... |
Clem Spillane Field (Wareham High School Wareham High School Wareham High School is a public high school located in Wareham, Massachusetts. The school is a part of the Wareham Public School system, and serves roughly 900 students in grades 9-12.... ) |
2002 | |
| East | Brewster Whitecaps Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, MA. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Eastern Division. Brewster played its home games at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School until 2006, when Stony Brook Field was opened... |
Brewster Brewster, Massachusetts Brewster is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population of Brewster was 9,820 at the 2010 census.Brewster is twinned with the town of Budleigh Salterton in the United Kingdom.... |
Stony Brook Field Stony Brook Field Stony Brook Field is a baseball venue in Brewster, Massachusetts. It is the home of the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Whitecaps moved from Cape Cod Regional Technical High School to Stony Brook Field in 2006... (Stony Brook Elementary School) |
2000 |
| Chatham Anglers | Chatham Chatham, Massachusetts Chatham is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 6,625 at the 2000 census... |
Veteran's Field Veteran's Field Veterans Field is the home field of the Chatham Anglers baseball team. It is located on Depot Road in Chatham, Massachusetts, USA, on Cape Cod.-Stadium history:... |
1998 | |
| Harwich Mariners Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, MA. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Eastern Division. Harwich currently plays its home games at Whitehouse Field in the historic village of Harwich Center... |
Harwich Harwich, Massachusetts Harwich is a New England town on Cape Cod, in Barnstable County in the state of Massachusetts in the United States. Barnstable County is coextensive with Cape Cod. The town is a popular vacation spot, located near the Cape Cod National Seashore. Harwich's beaches are on "the Sound side" of Cape... |
Whitehouse Field (Harwich High School Harwich High School Harwich High School is a public high school located in Harwich, MA. The school colors are Gold and Blue and their team is the Rough Riders. Harwich High School is the third smallest public high school school on Cape Cod.-Overview:... ) |
2011 | |
| Orleans Firebirds | Orleans Orleans, Massachusetts Orleans is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Barnstable County is coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 5,890 at the 2010 census.... |
Eldredge Park (Nauset Regional Middle School) | 2005 | |
| Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox | South Yarmouth South Yarmouth, Massachusetts South Yarmouth is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the town of Yarmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,603 at the 2000 census.-Geography:... |
Red Wilson Field (Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School is a suburban public high school in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. It opened in 1957 and was expanded and renovated in 1979 and again in 2006. It serves the Barnstable County towns of Yarmouth and Dennis and is the third largest high school on Cape Cod with... ) |
2007 |
Three of the teams in the Cape League share their names with MLB teams. (The Harwich Mariners are not "named after" the Seattle Mariners, as they pre-date the 1977 American League expansion.) However, in late 2008 Major League Baseball enforced its trademark and required teams to either change their names or buy their uniforms and merchandise only through licensed vendors. As a result, the Chatham Athletics changed their team name to "Anglers", and the Orleans Cardinals changed their name to "Firebirds". In March 2010 the Hyannis Mets joined the Anglers and Firebirds, changing their team name to "Harbor Hawks".
Former teams
- North Truro Blue Sox- A team made up of men from the North Truro Air Force StationNorth Truro Air Force StationNorth Truro Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located east of North Truro, Massachusetts....
Former venues
- Keith Field- Location of the Bourne Braves until 2007; named for the former Keith Car plant that was once on the site
The Cape Cod League in popular culture
The Cape Cod League was the setting for the 2001 Hollywood film Summer CatchSummer Catch
Summer Catch is a 2001 romantic comedy film starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Jessica Biel, and Matthew Lillard. The story takes place on Cape Cod, but the majority of the film was shot in Southport, North Carolina.-Plot:...
. The 2003 documentary film Touching the Game by Jim Carroll chronicled the 2003 CCBL season and explored the league's history.
There are several books on the Cape League. Baseball by the Beach (ISBN 0-9719547-4-7) by Christopher Price was published in 1998 and discusses the league and its history. In 2002, writer Jim Collins followed the Chatham Athletics (now the Chatham Anglers) for the season and wrote The Last Best League (ISBN 0-306-81418-8) about the team and its players. Baseball on Cape Cod (Images of Baseball) (ISBN 0-7385-4508-7) by Dan Crowley has many photos of the early and modern Cape League eras. The 2004 novel Slider (ISBN 0-06-058033-X) by Patrick Robinson takes place in a Maine summer league, but is actually based on the Cape League. In 2005, Beach Chairs and Baseball Bats (ISBN 1-4196-0508-9) by author Steve Weissman and Cape Crusaders (ISBN 1-4137-6232-8) by author Mike Thomas were published. The latter focuses on player interviews, while the former goes behind the scenes of a typical Cape League season.
There are also several active blogs that follow the Cape League, including Right Field Fog and Codball.
External links
- Cape Cod Baseball League
- Cape Cod Times Cape League home page
- Cape League Insider Blog
- CodBall: Unofficial Blog of the CCBL
- Right Field Fog
- The College Baseball Blog: Cape Cod League Coverage
- Touching the Game: The Story of the Cape Cod Baseball League DVD