Cape Cod Baseball League

Infobox sports league
title =Cape Cod Baseball League
logo =Ccbl.png pixels =200
sport =Baseball
founded =1885
motto =Where the Stars of Tomorrow Shine Tonight
teams =10
country =USA
champion =Harwich Mariners
website = [http://www.capecodbaseball.org/ Capecodbaseball.org]

The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) is an amateur baseball league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, in which many college baseball stars play during the summer. Many future Major League Baseball players have started there during their college years; MLB has provided financial support to the Cape League for over 40 years. During the 2007 MLB season, 200 CCBL alumni played in the majors or were on injured reserve; additionally over 1000 CCBL alumni were playing in professional baseball. [ [http://www.capecodbaseball.org/archives/Arc2006/Alumni/alumni2006.htm CCBL - Alumni in Major League Baseball 2006] . Retrieved on 2007-05-28.] The league is also notable for its continuing use of wooden bats. Because it draws top-tier college players, the level of play is often considered the equivalent of high-A Minor League Baseball.The CCBL Hall of Fame is located in the "Dugout", the lower-level of the JFK Museum in Hyannis, Massachusetts. [ [http://www.capecodbaseball.org/Weekly/Week2008/ThisWeek/thisweek_19BJul08.htm New Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame and Museum in Hyannis Opens to the Public on Tuesday, July 22] . Retrieved on 2007-05-28.] The Cape Cod Baseball League is one of eight leagues in the National Alliance of Summer Baseball. [ [http://www.nacsb.org/ National Alliance of College Summer Baseball] . Retrieved on 2007-05-28.]

The teams

The Cape Cod League regular season starts in mid-June and runs through mid-August. The playoffs determine the East and West Division Champions, who then compete for the League Championship.

Many of the teams in the Cape League are named after MLB teams, and the Hyannis Mets continue to receive their uniforms from the New York Mets. [cite book |last= Weissman |first= Steve |title= |publisher= BookSurge Publishing |year= 2005 |month= May |isbn= 1-4196-0508-9 ]

The Cape Cod League in popular culture

The Cape Cod League was the setting for the 2001 Hollywood film "Summer Catch". The 2003 documentary film "Touching the Game" by Jim Carroll chronicled the 2003 CCBL season and explored the league's history.

There are several books on the Cape League. "Baseball by the Beach" (ISBN 0-9719547-4-7) by Christopher Price was published in 1998 and discusses the league and its history. In 2002, writer Jim Collins followed the Chatham Athletics for the season and wrote "The Last Best League" (ISBN 0-306-81418-8) about the team and its players. "Baseball on Cape Cod (Images of Baseball)" (ISBN 0-7385-4508-7) by Dan Crowley has many photos of the early and modern Cape League eras. The 2004 novel "Slider" (ISBN 0-06-058033-X) by Patrick Robinson takes place in a Maine summer league, but is actually based on the Cape League. In 2005, "Beach Chairs and Baseball Bats" (ISBN 1-4196-0508-9) by author Steve Weissman and "Cape Crusaders" (ISBN 1-4137-6232-8) by author Mike Thomas were published. The latter focuses on player interviews, while the former goes behind the scenes of a typical Cape League season.

References

See also

*2007 Cape Cod Baseball League Season

External links

* [http://www.capecodbaseball.org/ Cape Cod Baseball League]
* [http://www.capecodonline.com/capeleague Cape Cod Times Cape League home page]
* [http://blogs.capecodonline.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?webtag=cc-ccbl Cape League Insider Blog]
* [http://www.codball.com/ CodBall: Unofficial Blog of the CCBL]
* [http://rightfieldfog.blogspot.com/ Right Field Fog]
* [http://www.touchingthegame.com/cape/ Touching the Game: The Story of the Cape Cod Baseball League DVD]

Team websites

* [http://www.bournebraves.org Bourne Braves]
* [http://www.brewsterwhitecaps.com Brewster Whitecaps]
* [http://www.chathamas.com Chatham Athletics]
* [http://www.kettleers.org Cotuit Kettleers]
* [http://www.falcommodores.org Falmouth Commodores]
* [http://www.harwichmariners.org Harwich Mariners]
* [http://www.hyannismets.org Hyannis Mets]
* [http://www.orleanscardinals.com Orleans Cardinals]
* [http://www.gatemen.org Wareham Gatemen]
* [http://www.ydredsox.org Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox]