all-star wrapup: east 3, west 2

Saturday, July 28, 2007

all-star wrapup: east 3, west 2

(Keep in mind: I wasn't there so, in this case, I necessarily don't know what I'm talking about. And there are no box scores up yet. I only know what the radio said.)

There was plenty of pitching this time around, and for one inning, there was just enough offense as the East squad beat the West 3-2 in the 45th annual Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game Saturday night at Clem Spillane Field.

A year after the game featured position players on the mound because of thin pitching staffs, the league -- with some prodding from Major League Baseball and its scouts -- didn't let it happen again. They made sure by requiring teams to keep their all-star pitchers rested for Saturday's game.

The result was two-and-a-half hours of dominant pitching, even if three hits in the fourth inning stole the show.

Locked in a scoreless tie, the East got things going when Brewster's Yonder Alonso (Miami) got a base hit off Falmouth's Christian Friedrich (Eastern Kentucky). Y-D shortstop Gordon Beckham (Georgia) followed with a double, scoring Alonso from first. Had catcher Robert Stock been able to corral the throw home, Alonso might have been out. Instead, the East had a 1-0 lead, and another runner in scoring position. Beckham took third on the throw home.

With league RBI leader Dennis Raben (Miami) at the plate, the East scratched its second run across without Raben's help. Beckham scored on a wild pitch.

As it turned out, he was getting home no matter what. After Beckham scored, Raben crushed a solo home run to make it a 3-0 game. If the wild pitch stole an RBI from Raben, it didn't steal too much of his thunder. The Orleans outfielder was named the East's MVP, largely because his blast proved to be the game-winner.

The West squad got within two in the fourth then made it a one-run game on a solo home run by Hyannis' James Darnell (South Carolina) in the fifth.

But that was as close as the West would get. East's pitching staff flexed its muscles in keeping the one-run lead, and Orlean's Ryan Perry (Arizona) pitched around a single by Dan Brewer (Bradley) in the ninth to close out the victory.

Falmouth pitcher Aaron Crow (Missouri) was named the West's MVP for his work in the first inning. Crow started the game and struck out the side in the top of the first, continuing his dominant summer and setting the tone for the entire game.

In the pre-game festivities, Wareham's Luke Murton (Georgia Tech) captured the Home Run Derby crown.

For those who didn't listen, the radio broadcast featured some solid in-between-innings interviews. Asked about New Bedford's quest for a Cape League team, Commisioner Paul Galop speculated that expansion wouldn't be on the horizon any time soon. Baseball America's Aaron Fitt was in attendance and sounded as enamored with the Cape League as the rest of us. And Jim Collins, the author of the spectacular book, the Last Best League, did a quick interview and mentioned one of the more intriguing human elements of a Cape League summer -- the fact that, for these players who have always been the best, this is a crossroads, a place where everybody has always been the best, and only a handful keep that label.

More on the all-star game a little later.

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as the fog settles in

The left-field sunset has faded. It is chilly now. You slip a sweatshirt on. The stat sheet you hold in your hands almost feels wet, the air is so damp. But the ink doesn't run. You can read it. That kid from LSU is still leading the league in home runs. That pitcher who they say throws 95 -- he's way up on the list in strikeouts.
The game is close, 3-2 through seven innings. You're staying till the end.
You look out at the field. Some fog has slipped in. It settles like smoke, just off the grass in front of the right fielder, like a cloud. When he runs through it to catch a fly ball, it looks almost magical, maybe even spiritual, like he's playing baseball in heaven.
Maybe he is.
The baseball is pure here. The players eager. The fans, maybe some of them don't know what they're seeing, maybe they just heard it was a fun night out, good for the family and everything -- but they know. They know somehow that this thing, this Cape League, is special.
Really, there's nothing like it.
I'm going to try and keep up.

Stop waxing poetic

The Cape Cod Baseball League is the top college summer league in the nation. Plenty of other leagues have cropped up of late, and some are having success, but the Cape League is still the model -- and the pinnacle. In 2006, 198 Major Leaguers had spent time in the Cape League.
The rosters are like a who's who of the best college baseball players. All the top prospects want to spend their summers on the Cape. The only better opportunity is Team USA. There are 10 teams in the league, divided into two divisions. Over the course of two months, they play 44 games. Scouts will watch many of them. They come because of the combination of talent and wood. Unlike college baseball, the Cape uses only wooden bats, providing an accurate picture of what players might do at the next level.
What else? Players live with host families. Some have part-time jobs (Jeff Bagwell worked at Friendly's). There's no admission charge at games. The level of baseball has been compared to Single A.
That should sum it up. If you have never experienced Cape League Baseball, you have missed out.

Saturday, July 28, 2007