06/14/2004 10:49 AM Article By:
for immediate release: 14 June, 2004
120th Cape League Season Opens Thursday
CAPE COD, Mass. – The 120th season of the Cape Cod Baseball League begins in earnest Thursday with a full slate of five games. They include Cotuit at Bourne at 4:45 pm, defending league champion Orleans at Brewster and Yarmouth-Dennis at Hyannis at 5 and Harwich at Chatham and Falmouth at Wareham at 7 p.m.
In the Y-D at Hyannis game, 84-year-old Bob Wood, son of legendary Boston Red Sox pitcher Smokey Joe Wood, will throw out the first pitch. The elder Wood enjoyed the greatest season in Red Sox mound history in 1912 at age 22 when he posted a 34-5 record with 258 strikeouts and just 82 walks, with 12 shutouts and a 1.91 ERA. Included was a 1-0, 15-inning complete-game victory over Walter Johnson before the largest crowd in the history of Fenway Park.
CAPE LEAGUE LAUNCHES SAFE TRANSPORTATION PROJECT
For the first time in league history, the Cape Cod Baseball League will be traveling together in style. The CCBL is launching a new program that will ensure safe travel to and from games for all players, coaches and team personnel.
The Safe Transportation Project, known as the STP, will provide school buses for all 10 teams to travel from game to game. This project will take more than 230 cars off the road as teams are safely transported by bus, while also cutting down on pollution.
The four sponsors for the Safe Transportation Project are: First Student (Bus Company), Figawi Charities, Shields MRI and The Red Sox Foundation.
“We greatly appreciate and thank the sponsors of the Safe Transportation Project who have provided funding for the buses,” said CCBL President Judy Walden Scarafile.
NINE CCBL PLAYERS SELECTED IN FIRST ROUND OF MLB DRAFT
The pitching-rich Cape Cod Baseball League lived up to its reputation when nine of its hurlers were among the 30 first round selections in the 2004 Major League Baseball First-Year players draft.
The Rice troika of Phil Humber of Yarmouth-Dennis, Jeff Nieman of Harwich and Wade Townsend of Wareham were selected third, fourth and eighth by the New York Mets, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Baltimore Orioles, respectively.
Another Gateman pitcher, Jeremy Sowers, was selected by Cleveland with the sixth pick, while the Orleans duo of William Bray and David Purcey were taken 13th by Montreal and 16th by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Chris Lambert of the Chatham A’s was selected No. 19 by St. Louis, while Brewster southpaws Taylor Tankersley and Matt Campbell were taken 27th and 29th by the Florida Marlins and Kansas City Royals.
Taken in the compensation round were J.P. Howell of Wareham and Brewster by Kansas City at No. 31, big lefty Zach Jackson of Hyannis by Toronto at No. 32, Tyler Lumsden by the Chicago White Sox with the 34th pick and finally, the Cape League first non-pitcher, slugging outfielder Danny Putnam of the Hyannis Mets by the Oakland A’s.
CCBL GAMES BROADCAST ON PIXY 103 AND FREE TEAMLINE
The Cape Cod Baseball League Radio Game of the Week will will be broadcast live on PIXY 103 (WPXC, 102.9 FM), Mondays beginning at 6:45 p.m. Larry Egan and John Garner will provide play-by-play.
Radio games include: June 21 - Brewster at Orleans; June 28 - Orleans at Falmouth; July 5 - Cotuit at Harwich; July 12 - Wareham vs. Hyannis at Sandwich; July 19 - Hyannis at Chatham; July 24 - CCBL All-Star Game at Orleans - 5:45 p.m. (6 p.m. first pitch); July 26 - Bourne at Wareham; August 2 – Yarmouth-Dennis at Harwich; TBA - CCBL Championship Series – Time TBA. All broadcasts begin at 6:45 p.m. unless otherwise indicated.
All 220 regular season games will be broadcast live over the internet by Free Teamline. It will be available by visiting the home team’s web-site and clicking onto the Teamline logo. The CCBL All-Star Game and the radio games of the week will be simulcast on the league’s web-site, www.capecodbaseball.org.
FIRST PITCH BRUNCH ATTENDED BY 150 PEOPLE AT RAMADA INN
The CCBL First Pitch Brunch was attended by 150 officials, coaches, volunteers, fans and media Sunday, June 13 at the Ramada Inn/Hyannis. All 10 Cape League field managers previewed their 2004 teams and Committee Chair Jim Higgins announced the Hall of Fame inductees.
FALMOUTH TO DEDICATE ARNIE ALLEN DIAMOND AT FULLER FIELD
The Falmouth Commodores will officially dedicate Arnie Allen Diamond at Guv Fuller Field during pre-game ceremonies of their home opener vs. defending league champion Orleans on June 18th.
The festivities include a singing presentation by Trooper Dan, introduction of guests by GM Chuck Sturtevant, "My Hero - Arnie Allen" letter read by Jimmy Alyward, uniform No. 30 Retirement by Chuck Sturtevant, Darin Weeks and Robin Burns escorting Allen family to scoreboard area and presenting family with the "Arnie Allen Diamond" logo, scoreboard sign unveiling, first pitch thrown by Keith Allen and Trooper Dan singing the National Anthem.
CCBL DOCUMENTARY TO AIR ON WB56 AND WGN SUPERSTATION
The Cape League documentary, Touching the Game: The Story of the Cape Cod Baseball League will be broadcast on both WB56 in Boston and WGN Superstation in Chicago. WB56 will air the two-hour program into four :30 minute segments, which will air from 10:30-11pm, immediately following the 10p newscast July19-22. It will show the program in its entirety Saturday, July 24th 8-10 p.m.
WGN Superstation in Chicago will air a two-hour broadcast from 4-6 p.m. central time July 25th. WGN reaches approximately 63 million households nationally. Produced by Fields of Vision, the documentary DVD will contain an extended version of the film and many extras pulled from over 70 hours of footage the crew shot last summer.
The documentary includes extensive interviews with league officials, players, managers, fans and over 60 current Major Leaguers who played on the Cape, mostly interviewed during spring training. The documentary is expected to premiere in mid-July and also sold at Cape League parks later this summer.
KEYSPAN TO SPONSOR COMMUNITY MVP PROGRAM
For the third straight season, KeySpan will partner with the Cape Cod Baseball League to sponsor the Community MVP program. It will recognize the Cape’s most valuable “players”, these individuals and organizations whose dedication and commitment have made a positive impact on the quality of life on Cape Cod. The communities included in the program are Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Cotuit, Dennis, Falmouth, Harwich, Hyannis, Orleans, Yarmouth and Wareham.
Once the Keyspan Community MVP has been selected and introduced at a selected home game, he/she will be entitled to choose a local organization that will be the recipient of a $200 donation.
John Garner, Jr.
CCBL Director of Public Relations & Broadcasting
(508) 790-0394 [email protected]
