Dec

17

Poll: Franchise of the Decade

Posted by Andrew | Filed Under News, Polls | 13 Comments

To close out the year, we invite you to vote for which team you think was the top franchise of the 2000s. As a quick refresher, below are the championship results from the past 10 years. One thing that strikes me is that the championship series only went to a third game three times in the past decade.

  • 2009: Bourne Braves won series 2-0 vs. Cotuit Kettleers
  • 2008: Harwich Mariners won series 2-0 vs. Cotuit Kettleers
  • 2007: Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox won series 2-0 vs. Falmouth Commodores
  • 2006: Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox won series 2-1 vs. Wareham Gatemen
  • 2005: Orleans Cardinals won series 2-1 vs. Bourne Braves
  • 2004: Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox won series 2-0 vs. Falmouth Commodores
  • 2003: Orleans Cardinals won series 2-0 vs. Bourne Braves
  • 2002: Wareham Gatemen won series 2-0 vs. Orleans Cardinals
  • 2001: Wareham Gatemen won series 2-1 vs. Chatham A’s
  • 2000: Brewster Whitecaps won series 2-0 vs. Hyannis Mets

But championship rings don’t tell the whole story. What about regular season points over the decade? I plugged in the point totals and came up with this graph (click to make it larger):

Point totals in the 2000s

With two championships and the greatest number of points, Orleans looks like a top contender for franchise of the decade. But, there’s also Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (aka the Y-Dynasty) with three championships and the 2nd most points. And then there’s Chatham with no championships to show for it, but a great list of alumni including Evan Longoria and NL Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan, a really bad movie, and a book (Note: the last two probably shouldn’t factor in your decision!). Leading the West in points, Wareham also had two championships with the legendary John Wylde at the helm.

Which is the franchise of the decade? (poll closed 12/31/09)

  • Yarmouth-Dennis (57%, 58 Votes)
  • Bourne (13%, 13 Votes)
  • Brewster (8%, 8 Votes)
  • Orleans (6%, 6 Votes)
  • Chatham (5%, 5 Votes)
  • Harwich (4%, 4 Votes)
  • Wareham (3%, 3 Votes)
  • Falmouth (2%, 2 Votes)
  • Cotuit (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Hyannis (1%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 101

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Comments

13 Responses to “Poll: Franchise of the Decade”

  1. Greg on December 17th, 2009 12:20 pm

    Thanks, Andrew. Fun post. I had to go with Y-D — who can forget Y-Dynasty?

    I think there is a case to be made for other teams who have placed more players into the pro ranks.

    Harwich is not the team of the decade but their legacy with Tim Lincecum and their coming from nowhere to win the championship in this decade was pretty cool.

  2. Kevin Wilson on December 17th, 2009 12:37 pm

    I have to go with Cotuit. I know it’s biased but they are the ones that gave me my Cape League experience!

  3. Andrew on December 17th, 2009 1:23 pm

    @Greg
    Very true. I had to go with Y-D myself, but I am still staring at that large bar of points by the birds de rojo. Harwich was a great story, and so is Bourne with their recent success and new field.

    @Kevin
    It’s hard to imagine the playoffs in the 2000s without the Kettleers. It’s a storied franchise, and worthy of a pick (even if it’s biased :) ).

  4. CapeMan on December 18th, 2009 12:06 pm

    I say YD with a close 2nd to Wareham. I think “franchise of the decade” is beyond just championships. While championships are a main factor, the “CCBL experience” and how a team stands by the mission of the CCBL are also very important. YD not only won many titles but they positioned themselves as a top notch league franchise; greatly improving their ballpark, hosting a good All-Star game and creating one of the better atmospheres for watching Cape League baseball. This was not always the case in YD and they used the past decade to springboard themselves to the top of the league in many aspects.

    Wareham won back to back championships and won 2 Comm. Cups as the best franchise in the league. They also hosted probably the best All-Star game of the decade (one of two all-star games hosted), greatly improved Spillane Field, play host to the league tryout, hosted many Cape Cod HS Classics and John Wylde took the league’s statistical reporting to an even higher level during the decade.

    Orleans would be my 3rd ranked team; continuing to excel on the field and continuing to provide perhaps the best Cape League experience among the 10 franchises.

  5. Andrew on December 18th, 2009 12:27 pm

    @CapeMan I agree. I added the championship results and point totals primarily as a way to help visualize the decade.

    When I think of voting for franchise of the decade, I think of the question “if you had to pick one team to represent the league in the 2000s, which team would it be?” The answer for me is Y-D, for most of the reasons stated. They have established a sizeable fanbase and dedicated group of volunteers. I have great memories of the “Y-Dynasty” with players like Buster Posey and Gordon Beckham.

    Cotuit, for me, is the all-time team without question. They are probably the franchise of the 70s and 80s. I would put Chatham as the franchise of the 90s. Falmouth would probably be the 60s, though that is far, far before my time watching games :)

    Some franchises just get unlucky in decade voting because they get hot (or make great improvements) at the turn of a decade rather than in the middle.

  6. Greg on December 19th, 2009 11:13 am

    So far 4 percent of CodBall readers have voted for team of the decade. C’mon readers click on a team name. It’s easy and completely anonymous!

    This is a very good thread of discussion by the way.

  7. CapeMan on December 19th, 2009 12:44 pm

    Andrew…I agree with you about Cotuit but could also make a pretty good arguement for Chatham. If I’m taking someone to a CCBL game and want to impress them, I’m going to Veteran’s Field or Lowell Park without question.

  8. Kevin Wilson on December 19th, 2009 1:15 pm

    This may be for another post, but I have always wondered which team has done the most with the Yawkey Foundation money, given to the teams for field improvements, etc.

  9. Greg on December 19th, 2009 2:08 pm

    @Kevin Wilson Good question. I think all of the grants are the same amount and go pretty much for the same things — lights and netting, general improvements.

  10. Greg on December 22nd, 2009 10:32 pm

    Blame boosterism not facts if Wareham fails to finish in the top 3. The Wareham Gatemen under the leadership of John Wylde at the turn of this century definitely is among the top 2-3 teams of the decade.

    Also wanted to guarantee 10 comments on this post since we are talking about a decade!

  11. CapeMan on December 23rd, 2009 8:42 am

    Speaking of Wareham and the question about the Yawkey Foundation…each team does get the same amount to spend. However, what Wareham did was take those funds and ADD their own and do what I believe was the most extensive renovation since the start of the Yawkey Foundation generosity.

    If you recall, they not only replaced the entire playing surface in both the infield and outfield, but completed several other projects that go mostly unnoticed. They replaced the entire perimter fencing around the whole complex and cleaned up the right field area. The irrigation system was completely replaced and a well was dug and is now used to water the fields rather than town water. They also reengineered the lighting system as a result of a few outages the kept occuring. I believe saftey fencing in front of the dugouts was part of this project.

  12. Jim-Ed on December 23rd, 2009 12:09 pm

    I would say Brewster and Bourne did the most with their Yawkey fund grants since it resulted in two brand new fields which were a significant upgrade from their previous locations.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

  13. Lloyd Christmas on January 4th, 2010 12:14 pm

    1.) YD – 3 titles puts them on top
    2.) Wareham – 2 titles, 3 trips to finals
    3.) Orleans – 2 titles
    4.) Bourne – 1 title, 3 trips to finals

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