29 June 2006

GMs deliver another stellar season
in the Cape League sun

The players are the stars, the managers the face, but quite often it is the general manager who is the heart and soul of a Cape Cod Baseball League organization.

From player acquisition, and the related housing and compliance issues, to fund raising, field maintenance, yearbooks and baseball clinics, CCBL GMs work 12 months a year in preparation for each opening day.

"We can't wait to throw the first pitch," says Yarmouth-Dennis GM Jim Martin while overseeing last-minute improvements to the Red Sox home field at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School.

How they find the time for all their Cape League responsibilities and maintain their "real jobs" is a question most GMs have a hard time answering.

"It's definitely crazy," says Bourne Braves GM Mike Carrier. "You just try to stay ahead of the paperwork during the slow times."

Opening Day dilemmas

It was an hour before the Kettleers' first pitch, and Cotuit GM Bruce Murphy had his hands full. As the Kettleers prepared to mark their 60th year in the bucolic surroundings of Lowell Field, Murphy had little time to enjoy the ambiance.

Game day rosters were missing, pre-game ceremonies needed to be finalized, eager fans looked for a moment of his time and just minutes before game time the battery for the on-field microphone died.

These are all issues that give Murphy and his counterparts many a sleepless night.

"I've been up until 2 a.m. the last couple of nights," he says of the frantic pace leading to the start of the season. "I take a power nap around 10 p.m. and then I'm set to go for a few more hours."

In the end, local youth teams were celebrated, the national anthem sung, the first pitch thrown and Murphy settled into his front row seat to enjoy the fruits of his labors, if only for a few moments.

And in the back of his mind was the need to call a couple of players who were flying in the next day.

The end of one season, the start of another

Just weeks removed from the 2005 championship series, Bourne's Carrier was hard at work laying the groundwork for his 2006 squad. Throughout the fall he was in constant contact with longtime coach Harvey Shapiro as they worked to sign players for the coming season.

"Most contracts are signed by mid October," says Carrier, who is often inundated with e-mails and phone messages from scouts and college coaches eager to place a player in the Cape League. "Every Cape team has good relationships with certain colleges and is often offered their top players."

As opening day approaches, it can seem like all that hard work is for naught, as injuries, Team USA tryouts and the College World Series erode rosters that have been carefully crafted throughout the off-season.

"It's hell week for us right now," says Martin as he waits to hear from players arriving from the CWS. With seven players missing from his original roster, Martin had to keep close tabs on his missing players.

"We wished them the best at the World Series, but also hoped they would get here quickly," he says.

"You're just trying to get the best team possible and get them here as soon as possible," adds Carrier, who also had seven temporary players on his opening day roster.

When players arrive, it is often the GM who is there to welcome them to the Cape, file the appropriate paper work, and deliver the player to their host family. Which in the case of Carrier could be his own house, as he and his wife have hosted a Brave player for the last six years.

From question mark to millionaire

Renowned as the best amateur league in the country, the Cape League has had its number of stars over the years, including current Red Sox infielders Mike Lowell and Mark Loretta. But in many cases, a GM is unaware of a players' potential when he signs a player.

Case in point was 2005 Bourne Braves star Brad Lincoln. Arriving as an unheralded player from the University of Houston, Lincoln was more regarded for his bat than his arm.

"He had a sub-par sophomore year," says Carrier.

But an eye-opening season on the mound for the Braves (3-1, 1.32 ERA) followed by a strong junior year for the Cougars (12-2 1.69) garnered the hard-throwing righty the Dick Howser College Player of the Year award, and the fourth overall pick in this year's Major League Baseball draft.

"He set the stage to be a millionaire," says Carrier of Lincoln's breakout summer season on the Cape. "We like to think the Cape League offers a unique opportunity to these kids."

As a new crop of Cape Leaguers look to take advantage of that opportunity, GMs across the league will once again step to the sidelines to quietly enjoy the little slice of baseball heaven that they've worked so hard to create.