It didn’t feel much like summer in Cotuit, Massachusetts, on June 2. Low clouds persisted and the breeze carried a chill. But baseball players started arriving to Lowell Park around 1 p.m., ready for the first practice of the summer with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
They listened to coach Mike Roberts for a good hour as he ran through everything from practice schedules to pre-game stretching. The first time they picked up a bat or touched a ball, they were in right field. The bats were plastic. The balls were whiffle balls. Eighteen of the best college baseball players in the country looked a lot like big kids. It sets the course for what Roberts wants out of his players – backyard baseball.
Day two of the Summer Nine came 11 days later, in Newport, Rhode Island, home of charming Cardines Field and, as you can see in the photo above, beautiful sunsets.
The Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League were taking on the rival Ocean State Waves of nearby Wakefield. School was still in session, but kids in every corner of the bleachers were convincing their parents to stay a little longer. It was Tiverton Little League night – with dozens of kids in uniforms on hand – and nobody wanted to leave. The Gulls have become a fixture in the Aquidneck Island community, thanks to nights like that and connections with youth leagues, schools and organizations.
Summer baseball is a family and community game, right down to the players staying with host families. They might be Major Leaguers some day, but they’re eating at the kitchen table these days. It’s a cool part of the story of summer baseball.
That’s all for now from day one and two. Day three is actually today, but a little later … and just a little further away. Stay tuned!