All-Americans All Cape

Monday, February 16, 2009

All-Americans All Cape

You know what never gets old? Talking about how much talent is on the Cape. I seriously don't get tired of it. You can point to so many things, and you don't really even need to make the case, because everyone agrees. But still, I'm all about tooting the Cape League's horn.

Today's Exhibit: Baseball America's Preseason All-America Teams

There are a total of 48 players on the three teams. Thirty-four of them have played in the Cape League.

The list includes stars from last summer like Grant Green, A.J. Pollock and Chris Dominguez, as well as standouts from the year before like Kyle Gibson, Josh Phegley, and Ryan Jackson.

Also, in a nod to just how much a big summer on the Cape can set the stage for a big year, several players who emerged last summer find themselves on the list. The names include Ben Tootle, Marc Krauss, Ben Paulsen, Dallas Poulk and Tim Wheeler.

All in all, the Cape League will certainly leave a stamp on the college baseball landscape this spring.

1 comment:

Mike Couzens said...: This was a very impressive list. Name after name it just seemed like every player had been in the Cape because there were so many of them. I hope this upcoming summer is just as exciting.; February 17, 2009 at 6:51 PM

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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.

Monday, February 16, 2009