Everything you need to know about our baseball league on Cape Cod | Captain Freeman Inn

Congratulations to our Brewster boys for winning  their first Cape League title since 2000 with a 2-0 win over the Bourne Braves at a packed Stony Brook Field Sunday afternoon. All summer, we have talked about going to and blogging about our  Cape Cod Baseball League .  Byron and I suddenly realized that our beloved Brewster Whitecaps were in the finals to win the championship. We caught the last two games in Brewster and were delighted for the win.

Byron was able to catch some great shots including this fun shot of an artist painting during the game.

Do not be fooled by the idyllic seaside setting of the 10 small New England towns and villages that comprise the “Cape League.”  For the 2oo plus boys that play in the league, this is the most critical time in their baseball career that can make or break their big league dreams. Amazingly, one out of every seven  major league players have spent at least one summer playing on Cape Cod.

When we moved here many years ago, I thought, how sweet that we have a summer baseball league on Cape Cod for all to enjoy. We went to several game and loved all of the small town atmosphere with lawn chairs and a food truck to enjoy an old fashion hot dog. I quickly realized the oxymoron of my original thoughts when a scout came to stay with us. We saw him at a game and were surprised to see the seriousness of the stop watch and  clipboard he was using.  Some of us come to enjoy an old fashion baseball experience and others come knowing they may be watching a future major league talent and how lucky for us, that the beach and baseball have co-existed on Cape Cod in perfect unison for more than a century.

So you might ask, what is the Cape Cod Baseball League?

The Cape League is one of 11 summer leagues sanctioned by the NCAA. While the other leagues — notably the Alaska Baseball League, Jayhawk League and New England College Baseball League — have been summer homes to future big leaguers, none have more former players in the majors than the Cape League.

Despite the roll of long ball-hitting alum, pitching tends to dominate both the Cape League All-Star Game and regular season. Hitters are using wooden bats for the first time, and struggling and adjusting to the change against the best pitchers in the nation. The league switched to aluminum bats in the late 1960s, citing the cheap costs. Prior to the 1985 season, though, the Cape League returned to wooden bats, seeking to cement its status as the premier summer league.

By doing so, as Hall of Fame writer Peter Gammons noted in Christopher Price’s Baseball by the Beach, “It took it to a place where guys could really prove they could really play. It also made things much easier for scouts, to gauge a hitter’s ability.” Wooden bats are what ensures major league scouts will be in heavy attendance for each Cape League game of the summer.

The wooden bats and presence of scouts at every game have also helped build the Cape League’s mystique and importance. There is always the sense that, on any given night, you could see future greatness, unspoiled and far removed from the huge stadiums. With the wood bats, free admission, old New England charm with families lining the sidelines beach chairs, it reminds us all of old -time- America at it’s best!

 

Congratulations Brewster White Caps for a great win!

Consider booking a stay with us for next summer so that you can enjoy your favorite Cape Cod bed and breakfast room along with an exciting, old fashion baseball game…and let’s not forget having a soda and a hotdog too!