Steve Englert Reaches 400 Career Wins Steve Englert - Photo: Ben Lilley Article By: Andrew Fantucchio With the skies downpouring at Whitehouse Field on the night of June 14, the Harwich Mariners defeated the Bourne Braves 3-0 in an unceremonious five-inning affair. Although many of the fans who showed up that night had long left the ballpark, the rain served as the champagne to commemorate Harwich manager Steve Englert becoming the sixth manager in Cape League history to achieve 400 career wins. Englert has been a part of the Harwich organization for the last quarter century and became the team’s manager in 2003. Along the way, he’s helped countless players reach the major leagues, many of which he heard from after his milestone victory. “The most enjoyable thing about it all was the text messages I got from former players,” Englert said. “That meant the world, and it was all the way back from kids I hadn’t heard from in 15 years. That meant so much to me that kids would think of that and shoot me a quick congratulatory text.” What former Harwich players seem to remember the most about their time on the Cape aren’t their at-bats or innings they pitched. Instead, it’s the fun they had while playing for Englert. “The energy is always up because he brings it,” said Pres Cavenaugh, an outfielder in the Cleveland Guardians organization who played for Englert in 2022. “It’s a long season, but he has that big personality, always trying to get everybody hyped up. Players just love to play for him even in the dog days of summer.” Through all the fun, Englert allows his players to stay focused on baseball and improving each day. “Coach Englert does a great job of making guys better,” said Hariwch GM Alex Lumb. “He’s out there working with the guys every day. He wants guys with good character because that's something that he sells to the scouts. That's the way Steve runs his program here.” It’s a program Englert has established while serving as the manager in Harwich over the last two decades, winning two Cape League titles and amassing a 402-403 record in the process. It’s not the most eye-catching record, but winning in this league is difficult, and when you see that players such as Tim Lincecum, Josh Donaldson, DJ LeMahieu, Ian Happ and Trey Mancini made stops in Harwich while on their journey to the majors, it’s easy to see why Englert has stuck around all these years and likely will for many more. “You coach for as long as I have, you’re going to get to that amount [of wins],” Englert said. “It’s not the wins for me. It’s about the players. The players get you the win. I just write the lineup.” |