back and forth: thursday, august 9

Thursday, August 9, 2007

back and forth: thursday, august 9

LAST NIGHT

All four playoff teams lost their final regular-season games
Cotuit beat Y-D in eight innings despite a Gordon Beckham grand slam . . . Beckham's blast gave him the home run crown and tied him for the RBI lead . . . Robert Stock finished strong for Cotuit with a home run and three RBI
Orleans beat Chatham behind a 3-for-5 day by Nate Freiman
In what could have been a winner-take-all game but wasn't because of Hyannis' loss Tuesday, the Mets still finished strong, besting Falmouth 9-3 . . . Falmouth's Conor Gillaspie clinched the batting title, finishing at .345
Michael Marseco went 4-for-5 to lead Brewster past Harwich
Wareham beat Bourne 6-2 . . . Dallas Keuchel allowed two runs in seven innings

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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.

Thursday, August 9, 2007