1 July, 2004


LaPorta Waves Big Bat for Red Sox

     The sea air seems to be agreeing with Matt LaPorta. Fresh from his first season at the University of Florida, the Port Charlotte native has taken to the Cape like, well, a fish to water.


Soft-spoken Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox catcher Matt LaPorta lets his bat do the talking.
Photo by Bill Delorey

     With two weeks of Cape League baseball behind him as a first-year player for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, the soon-to-be sophomore has played like a seasoned vet, capturing the CCBL’s Coca Cola Player of the Week and knocking out four home runs in the first two weeks. 

     LaPorta earned first-team Freshman All-American honors from Baseball America this spring, hitting .285 for the Gators while showcasing his ability to get the bat on the ball with his team-leading .646 slugging percentage. And while he wanted to make a statement when he arrived on the Cape, even he is taken back by how quickly he’s adjusted.

     “Everywhere I go, I want to be competitive. I want to play the best that I can and work hard. What’s happened here is a combination of the work I’ve done so far this summer and the past spring. It’s a combination of all of it.”

     Hitting .364 through 12 games, LaPorta has proven his commitment to CCBL play. “He gets up early in the morning, heads to work, and then gets to the field, says his host mother, who says he never told her of the Player of the Week award. “He’s very, very modest.”

      If LaPorta is quiet around the house, he’s letting his bat do the talking. The catcher says that the swing involved in working with a wooden bat is vastly different than the aluminum he’s used to. “I give Coach Pick [Scott Pickler] all the credit. He’s really helped me a lot,” LaPorta adds, saying that players make it look a lot easier than it is.

     The Cape League experience has been what he expected thus far, says LaPorta. The competition is stiff, the pitching is prime, and the guys are great to be around. “I knew it was going to be fun and that it would also be the best summer league. Before I got into college I didn’t really think about coming here, but then when I was in college, I thought about it a lot.”

     The Florida coast were LaPorta resides has its share in common with the Cape. A retirement and tourist community, Port Charlotte has pretty beaches and welcoming water. “That’s probably the biggest difference,” says LaPorta. “The water [here] is freezing.”

     Come August, LaPorta has been assured, the baseball and water get even hotter though, so he’s anxious to hang around for both. 

     “I love it here, playing ball and hanging with the boys. And I’m looking forward to being here at the end of the summer, too.” With the Red Sox leading the league in hitting right now, with thanks to players like LaPorta and his 10 RBI, chances are he’ll be right in the thick of things come August.

By Silene Gordon