Let’s Go Gatemen! My First Cape Cod League Baseball Game

Fair weather on a Saturday evening in late Spring – it’s customary for Plymouth Bay House to make an outing to at least one Cape Cod Baseball League game each year. For this one, we chose the team closest to us, which is the Wareham Gatemen. Their team is called the Gatemen because Wareham is nicknamed ‘The Gateway to the Cape” , speaking to its bordering Cape Cod geographically.   Seems like Plymouth should be called ‘The Gateway to the Cape’, Right? The Cape Cod Baseball League is a summer league for elite college talent, founded in 1885. Possibly all of the players in this league will have a chance to play professionally. Some famous major league players that have passed through the Cape Cod League include: David Ortiz, Mike Piazza, and Jason Varitek.   On this evening, it was the first game of the season for the Gatemen. Their opponent was the Chatham Anglers. The Anglers where riled up from the get-go, hooting and hollering from the dugout and also from the bullpen, out in left field. In the Anglers’ lineup was MLB prospect Ike Irish, from Auburn University, who would end up kicking off his summer season with a .667 batting average.   Photo credit: TJ Ready I sat in the bleachers with Mike and TJ. They both know a lot about baseball and offered good commentary – answering my questions as they came up. I’ve been trying to learn more about baseball. I was a hockey player in my heyday, but recently have taken a liking to ‘America’s Pastime’. My grandfather was a lifelong Red Sox fan, and I enjoy remembering him when I watch a ball game.   I learned something about the concession stand at Clem Spillane Field also. It’s possibly the cheapest place in town to get dinner! I got a hotdog, a cheese burger, and a can of Coke for about ten bucks. In advertising the concession stand, the announcer referred to them as “family-friendly prices”. The Gatemen have played at Spillane Field since 1960.   As the game was starting, Ryan noticed an osprey nest at the top of one of the stadium floodlights. It was far away and hard to make out, but it looked like there were two baby osprey heads poking up from the nest. The mother was soaring over the field. It was a bit of a zen moment.   Osprey nest at Spillane Field In the first inning Chatham went up 1-0 off an RBI by Ike Irish. After three innings they were up 4-0… RBIs from Jayden Davis, Ike Irish, and Luke Cantwell. In the meanwhile, I was anxiously waiting for the sun to go down, as I am prone to burn easily. I wore my Boston Red Sox hat to the side and at an angle, trying to keep the sun off my neck and face.   In the back of my mind too I was deliberating if I should buy a Gatemen hat. In front of the stadium they were selling high quality New Era baseball hats with the Wareham ‘W’ on the front and the Cape Code Baseball league logo on the back. “If Wareham comes back, I’ll buy a hat!” I told Mike and TJ with a chuckle.   Scoreless through the 5th and 6th innings, the sun finally was going down. To my chagrin, out came the gnats. If the Gatemen scored a point for every five gnats I swatted, they would have had a chance, but in the 6th inning Chatham ‘poured it on’, scoring 6 more runs. “If Wareham comes back I’ll buy two hats!” I joked to Mike and TJ.   Photo credit: TJ Ready When we were finally out of the sixth inning, we were ready to go home. However, others in our group had caught a foul ball and wanted to get it signed. So, we stayed and snapped some pictures, which would later be posted to the clubhouse Facebook page. Then, in the bottom of the 7th inning, Michael Lippe singled a ground ball to bring 1 run in for the Gatemen. The game ended 11-1, Chatham.   Before we left the ballpark I ask the group if they wanted to take a group photo. Majority ruled and the answer was “NO!”. Nonetheless, it was a fine evening spectating the Cape Cod League. The Gatemen have since gone on to win their last three games, now with a record of 3-1. Our clubhouse plans to travel to Doran Park next month, to watch the Bourne Braves play.   And I almost forgot to mention, a club member ended up getting outfielder Bobby Boser to sign that foul ball!