Playing games on the Cape

Region - Summer, baseball and Cape Cod can be an unbeatable combination. It is still not too late to combine a vacation to the Cape, even a short weekend trip, with some of the best amateur baseball action in the country, courtesy of the Cape Cod Baseball League, now it its 123rd season.

Regular season play continues until Wednesday Aug. 8, with the playoff s playing out through the following week.

Ten teams host mostly college-age players during the summer. Towns hosting teams include Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Cotuit, Falmouth Harwich, Hyannis, Orleans, Wareham and Yarmouth-Dennis. The Cape is considered the best summer collegiate league in the country. Top players looking to work their game and get major league scouting exposure seek an invite to spend the summer on the Cape.

The roster of players who helped tool their game to go on to play Major League Baseball is impressive. There were 198 former Cape league players playing in the major leagues during the 2006 season. If you followed Cape baseball you might have seen some of these pass through one summer, such as Jeff Bagwell, Jason Bay, Mark Bellhorn, Craig Biggio, Pat Burrell, Normar Garciaparra, Todd Helton, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkillis, Mark Teixeira and Chase Utley.

Sort through the Cape alumni and you could form a pretty formidable major league all-star lineup. That will tell you something about the quality of the play on the Cape. Or as the league likes to promote themselves, "Where the Stars of Tomorrow Shine Tonight." Incredibly, about 15 percent of all major league players will have spent at least one summer working the Cape league.

Don't let someone try to sell you a scalped Cape Cod League ticket. This might be the best part, because there are no tickets! Each team in the league is a nonprofit organization. And according to the league's Web site, the mission of the league is to provide aff ordable family entertainment. Some teams might ask for donations to help defray the costs, but the majority of the money required to run the program comes from local sponsors.

Cape fans make the games family outings. While some fields have bleachers, such seating is very limited. Often fans sit on hills, spreading a picnic dinner surrounding the fields, or bring beach chairs to take in the play, while pro scouts clamor around the plate with radar guns charting pitchers.

Every Cape playing venue has its own feel, and town residents and baseball fans will banter about which is best. Some are seaside, some are school-side, and some such as Hyannis are a short stroll from the harbor and town center. It's all part of the charm. There is no, "seen one, then seen them all feel" here.

For the players, their summers playing Cape ball often become some of their fondest memories, for even those who elevate to the game's highest levels. There certainly is adjustment. Pitchers have a distinct advantage as this is a all-wooden bat league. For many players, it is their first wood experience. The Cape game becomes a way of life for the players who usually reside with local Cape families for the summer, and work during the day in area sponsoring businesses.

It is all very "Rockwell" like, and a great way to end a day of summering on the Cape.

To learn more about attending a Cape game, or for scheduling details, check out the league's Web site at www. capecodbaseball.org.

Send mail and sports ideas to ronwoodcock@charter.net.