24 August 2006


Red Sox, Kettleers lead All-League team

Divisional champions Cotuit and Yarmouth-Dennis, the two best teams during the regular season, each had four players chosen to the Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star team, as did the Falmouth Commodores.

League MVP Justin Smoak (South Carolina), Cotuit first baseman, led the league with 11 home runs, while driving in 27 runs for the Kettleers. His teammate, Eric Farris (Loyola Marymount), was chosen at second base for his .298 batting average and his speedy legs that carried him to a league-leading 17 stolen bases while only being caught twice.

Buster Posey (Florida State) of the champion Y-D Red Sox, was named the league's best shortstop on his second-best 46 hits and 23 runs scored. Matt Mangini of the Hyannis Mets (Oklahoma State) holds down the hot corner with a league-leading .310 batting average and 48 hits.

Orleans Cardinals catcher Matt Wieters (Georgia Tech) batted .307 and had a .417 on-base percentage, second in both categories. Falmouth catcher Mitch Canham (Oregon State) was also named to the team.

The outfield is patrolled by Falmouth's Brad Chalk (Clemson), Y-D's Tyler Henley (Rice) and Cotuit's Matt Angle (Ohio State), with Hyannis center fielder David Macias (Vanderbilt) and his .281 batting average in the fourth spot.

Whitecaps powerhouse Matt LaPorta (Florida) earned DH honors with a .463 slugging percentage, 6 home runs and 19 RBIs. Brett Wallace (Arizona State), the DH for Falmouth, was also named after he drove in 22 runs during the regular season.

Brewster's Shaun Seibert (Arkansas) and Y-D's Terry Doyle (Boston College) led the pitching selections. Seibert was 6-0 during the regular season with a league-best 0.39 ERA, allowing only 26 hits while recording 36 strikeouts. Doyle had five wins and led the league with 52 strikeouts.

Cotuit's James Simmons (UC Riverside), Harwich's Dan Merklinger (Seton Hall) and Hyannis' Charlie Furbush (St. Joseph's-Maine) round out the rotation, which posted a combined regular season record of 22-6.

In the bullpen, Joshua Fields (Georgia) helped lead his Red Sox to their championship with a league-leading 13 saves and Sam Demel (TCU) of Falmouth was close behind with 12.

Josh Donaldson (Auburn), Dominic de la Osa (Vanderbilt) and Matt Cusick (USC) were named to the All-League Team in utility spots for their effectiveness in multiple positions. Donaldson split his time evenly between the outfield and catching; de la Osa showed his talents at both shortstop and in the outfield; and Cusick proved his value at both corners of the infield.

    
By Adam McGillen, CCBL Intern.

Awards, awards, awards

Three more Cape Cod Baseball League awards were presented as the season wound down last weekend.

Matt Wieters, Orleans Cardinals, Outstanding Pro Prospect: The 6-foot-4 Georgia Tech catcher carried his hot season from college ball into the summer as a designated hitter and catcher for the Cardinals. He finished with a .307 batting average, eight home runs and a .417 on-base percentage, all second best in the league. Orleans' assistant coach Robb Gorr called him "the best hitter on the Cape. You don't need the stats to see that."

Matt LaPorta, Brewster Whitecaps, Daniel Silva Sportsmanship Award:The U. of Florida standout displayed not only great baseball talent but outstanding sportsmanship on and off the field. For the past three years, a catcher has received the award. He was chosen by the Boston Red Sox in the 14th round of the draft. It was his second season with the CCBL -he was on the 2004 Y-D Red Sox championship team and made the 2004 and 2006 East Division All-Star teams and competed in both of the home run hitting contests.

LaPorta had six homers and was one of the league leaders in slugging percentage at .463 and had 19 RBIs.

The Silva Award is voted on by the ECAC umpires and is named after former Cape League commissioner and umpire-in-chief Daniel Silva, who was an inductee into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2000.

Peter Hall, Curly Clement Award: After working Cape League games for more than two decades, Hall received the award for officiating excellence and contributions over the years to baseball umpiring.

Hall is a 1969 graduate of Harvard, where he was an All-Ivy League defensive end. He served as a teacher/coach in the Weston public school system before retiring to work in the financial services industry. He is currently a sales consultant and also an assistant football coach at Nauset High School.

By George Kostinas