Where the Stars of Tomorrow Shine Tonight!

Article By: Paul Galop

     The long cold winter has disappeared into a rainy start for our 2013 CCBL season. Nearly half of our games for the first three days have been postponed thanks to bad weather or unplayable fields. But this will not dampen our spirits as the weather outlook is fine and we are very excited for our season to begin. All 10 teams have done a great job with recruiting, housing and player orientation and our incredible volunteers are in midseason form.

     June 1 was our annual Frank Finn Tryout at Wareham’s Spillane Field, which saw about a dozen players signed by our 10 teams. This is always our first sign that we are off and running and this was an exceptional day for players, coaches and fans under beautiful blue skies.

     Sunday night, June 9 was an emotional evening at the very same Spillane Field as we all honored the memory of longtime CCBL coach and friend Joe Walsh from Harvard University, who passed away during the summer of 2012. His family was in attendance as many former players, coaches, administrators and friends paid tribute to his accomplishments, which culminated in the Wareham Gatemen retiring his No. 2 that he wore for many seasons in Wareham as an assistant coach. It was a fitting and appropriate evening to a great coach and an even better person.

     This year’s CCBL All-Star game will be played Saturday, July 27 at Red Wilson Field at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, home of the Y-D Red Sox. Game time is 4:30 p.m. Plan to be there early as the place will be jumping. Rumor has it there may be fireworks after the game.

     The only significant rule change this year is that the CCBL Executive Committee voted this year to impose a 12-inning curfew on all regular-season games in an effort to protect pitchers and avoid overusing them as requested by their college coaches in many cases.

     So after many months of planning, forecasting and budgeting, we are in full baseball mode and are as excited as our loyal fans to be at it again.

     We hope you have a wonderful summer and get to as many CCBL games that you can. The free admission and unbridled passion of the best college baseball players in America continue to validate why the Cape League is “Pure Baseball.” Enjoy the experience and stop by and say hello whenever you can. Let’s “Play Ball”!

Paul A. Galop, Commissioner