Massachusetts Players Coming to the Cape
With the temperature outside sitting in the mid-teens and a steady windchill around zero for much of the day, it is hard to believe that the college baseball season gets underway in less than three weeks. Well, at least in some parts of the country it will. For those of us in the northeast and other outposts where global warming seems like just a rumor, it will be another two months before we see a game on a local field. Let’s fire up the hot stove and take a look at some of the Massachusetts players who will be playing in the Cape League this summer. With four teams not yet posting their rosters, there may be even more locals than we are presently aware of who will be displaying their talents on the Cape. Keeping in mind that we are waiting for...
Read MoreBourne Braves Post Roster
For an early look at the 2010 Bourne Braves, check out their roster at: www.bournebraves.org/bourne-braves-roster.html The defending CCBL champions return three players. Pierre LePage (UConn) batted .308 and swiped 17 bases for the Braves last year while playing a solid secondbase. In addition to being picked to the CCBL All-League Team, LePage was also named winner of the Manny Robello 10th Player Award and the Daniel J. Silva Sportsmanship Award. This will be LePage’s third season on the Cape. He played in 16 games as a late-season addition to the Braves roster in 2008. Returning to Doran Park for a second season will be Arizona State infielder Zach MacPhee who appeared in 30 games and RHP Michael Dimock (Wake Forest). Dimock...
Read MoreBen Crockett’s Strange Summer of ’01
Recently, while reading the “transactions” column in a local newspaper, a familiar name got my attention. I noticed that Ben Crockett has been promoted to the position of Assistant Director for Player Development by the Boston Red Sox. The name brought back memories of someone who had an outstanding two-year Cape League career. In 1998, Crockett was named as the Player of the Year by both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald for his role in leading Masconomet HS to three Cape Ann League championships. A number of colleges came calling, but when Harvard showed interest, it was a pretty easy decision for Crockett to combine a solid baseball opportunity with a Harvard education. Crockett had early success with Harvard, sharing the Ivy League...
Read MoreMark McGwire and the MLB Network
I couldn’t let the evening pass without commenting on Mark McGwire’s sad but admirable admission of steroid use and his fascinating interview tonight on MLB Network. When I was a kid, my dad back in Oklahoma used to listen to an old country singer named Roy Acuff. Frankly, I hated his music but I remember an Acuff album called, “I can forgive but I can’t forget”. That was a philosophy I could appreciate then, and after I read McGwire’s admission earlier today and watched his extended interview tonight on MLB I felt forgiveness (not forgetfullness) was the right approach. Then I looked up the quote and found that it actually comes from a minister in the 1800s, Henry Ward Beecher, who said: “I can forgive, but I cannot...
Read MoreNo ‘Sugar’-coating the truth about pro ball
The boys who show up on the Cape each summer in hopes of catching the eye of a Major League scout will increasingly compete not just with top American college players but with the top players in the world. This American game of ourse is becoming more and more international. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has said professional baseball will move to a world draft by 2012. That means the player from Tulane is no longer competing just with the player from Miami. They are both competing for spots on pro rosters with players from everywhere in the world. A few days ago there were reports that Selig, envisions a ”true World Series,” one played between the MLB’s champ and the Japanese champ. Afterall, the Japanese have won both World Baseball...
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