I'm hard pressed to think of something more American than Cape Cod Baseball. It's the kind of neighborhood park you envision in Norman Rockwell painted towns.
Lucky for us, the stars aligned and we were in Cotuit on a pleasant summer evening to see the Kettleers play the Bourne Braves. The Georgia Tech player we were there to see was playing for Bourne, but it was hard not to root for every guy on every team and every play. After all, you're seeing some of the best college baseball talent in the nation, and many of these guys will go on to play for your favorite MLB team. We definitely saved the roster in the hope that we recognize more than just the former GT players in the coming years.
It's not quite free, since they ask for a donation for attendance, but it's nice to not have to deal with tickets. They've also got a 50/50 raffle to help pay for the costs. The stands were packed, there were plenty of folks with chairs along the fences, and there were even some coming in through the woods behind the outfield fence, so it was a good crowd. Not only did the winner get over $350 in cash from the raffle, they also had at least a dozen other prizes from local businesses.
It's a great atmosphere for kids. Our toddler insisted on running around with the 100 or so other kids just playing behind the stands and along the outfield fence, only half paying attention to the foul balls. One of the 4 of us was always up to chase him. Some of the kids even loaned us a tennis ball for us to play "catch", and were pretty good about watching out for the kids who aren't as big, fast, or capable.
There's a massive concession stand with an impressive selection of food. They sell plenty of Cotuit Kettleers merchandise, and a few Cape Cod Baseball league items.
If you're on the Cape between June and August, stop in for a game. read more