"All Things Cape Cod League"

As our vacation week progressed, I became aware that the Cape Cod Baseball League would have its season opener on Friday, and that the Chatham Anglers, the local team where we were staying, would have their home opener on Saturday night. So after a great visit with my friend John and his daughter Tildy (John and I were stationed in Berlin together, and Tildy is a rising sophomore at Wellesley), Mary and I ventured out into a rainy and cold spring evening on the Cape for the game.

Another friend from Berlin, Brian, is a Cape League enthusiast. Last year, I caught up with him in San Francisco, where he wore a Wareham Gatemen baseball cap around town. By coincidence, that’s who the Chatham team played for the opener. I have a couple of photos of the game here – the teams during the National Anthem, and another with the Anglers up to bat.

This league has a long history, and since the Cape has long been a summer destination, league play has been romanticized into the popular culture there. I’ll admit I was a bit caught up in it, despite the jacket I had to wear to the game, and the fact that other fans in the stands with us were in parkas and gloves. It did make me think of our own Valley Baseball League and the Luray Wranglers, as well.

It turns out that the Cape Cod and Valley leagues share a few characteristics. Both are part of the National Alliance of Summer Baseball, which features collegiate players with NCAA authorization, and some sponsorship from the major leagues. Both are “wood bat leagues.” And both are represented by many current and past pro players, including hall of famers.

In keeping with the summer getaway theme, according to Wikipedia, the Cape Cod league has been the subject of a couple of movies over the last 20 years or so, and there are a couple of books on the topic.  All great...but then, the Valley  league has one of the best blogs going for it: All Things Valley League (link:  http://allthingsvalleyleague.typepad.com/)!


We had a nice time, and the little stadium in Chatham is a charm. But the weather was a bit much and we headed home after three innings, with the Gatemen up 4-0 already.

I’m looking forward to catching my first Wranglers game soon, though - no parkas and gloves, and afterwards, a nice cookout with some Page County sweet corn!