story by Steve McCarthy
August 13, 2010SOUTH YARMOUTH - Based on the
attendance figures from Friday's deciding Game 3 of the
Cape Cod Baseball League Championship Series, it's
pretty certain everyone interested knows by now that the
Cotuit Kettleers beat the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox 6-0 to
hoist the Arnold Mycock Trophy for the first time since
1999 and the Kettleers faithful were rewarded after
enduring a pair of Finals sweeps.
Most accounts of
the afternoon at “Red” Wilson Field in South
Yarmouth will highlight playoffs MVP Jordan Leyland (UC
Irvine), who hit .462 in the seven games against
Falmouth, Wareham, and Y-D. Others will commend Nick
Tropeano's (Stony Brook) six and two thirds shutout
innings in relief, four days after hurling five in a
start against Wareham. A Yastrzemski homering against
the Red Sox was also big, as was the pitching and
defensive showcase which surrendered just two runs over
three games to the same Y-D lineup that shattered
scoring records in the Eastern Division Final.
Those statistics
are a snapshot of what happened on one day, conveyed by
someone that doesn't know how to correctly pronounce
Andriese (Besides coach Mike Roberts). The Kettleers in
no way resemble the Buffalo Bills of the 1990's, and
Leyland is not the son of Detroit Tigers manager Jim
Leyland.
I had the privilege
of recording every out of all 51 games this summer in
three different scorebooks. From the sweltering June
days when the team began wearing their batting practice
jerseys as game uniforms, to the 18 inning afternoon
split between Hyannis and Chatham, the temporary players
to the full contract, the undrafted division three
pitcher to the sixth overall pick, this group became my
brothers. But this article isn't about me.
It's about Deven
Marrero, in conversations as the top shortstop on the
Cape this summer, who got drilled with a pitch in the
chest Friday while squared around to bunt. The Kettleers
didn't have another infielder available, so Marrero
played four more innings without the ability to swing
the bat. All he could do was square around again and
stare pain in the eyes.
“Deven Marrero
had as much to do with us winning that game today as any
player on this field,” Roberts said. “He could have
easily not played the last five innings. He's a
phenomenal young man and a fierce competitor.”
Tropeano started
and finished the season on the mound for Cotuit and I'll
admit I was one of the crowd that called him
“Hard-luck” in the early going. The truth is, he was
just hard-working. Roberts called Tropeano the most
competitive college pitcher he's ever worked with and
that fire was at full roar when the coach pulled him
after the fifth inning of a 2-2 game on Monday. I
overheard Tropeano tell Roberts he would be available in
a closer role if needed on Thursday and there was no
hint of hesitation as the lanky right-hander hurried to
the aid of ailing starter Brady Rodgers in the third
inning Friday. Tropeano also contributed a base hit to
help his own cause in Chatham and would have caught his
own pitches if asked to.
“There was no
doubt in my mind that if Nick Tropeano finished that
ballgame, the Cotuit Kettleers were going to win,”
Roberts said.
James McCann
declined an invitation to try out for Team USA and his
maturity in and out of the catcher's gear was an
under-appreciated factor in the postseason success of
the Kettleers pitching staff. His teammates saw it, when
McCann proved he could call the right pitch in any
situation. The coaches saw it when after 9 innings in
the crouch, McCann would not leave Lowell Park until the
tarps were laid out and darkness had settled in. Then
he'd go to the batting cage and hack away, struggling
with the transition to the wood bat. Justice was finally
served when McCann hit in five of the seven playoff
games, including two home runs and five runs batted in.
“To have a
20-year old young man take your pitching staff and call
all of the pitches for the rest of the year, to me in
today's world, is amazing,” Roberts said.
Yastrzemski
(Yes...Carl's grandson) carried so much weight on his
5-foot-10, 168-pound frame it's a wonder he led the team
in stolen bases. He was prepared for it, because it's
been there his whole life. Yaz had a pretty memorable
summer in Cotuit. He broke up a no hitter with two outs
in the ninth inning, hit a grand slam, and homered in
Game 3 of the Finals to ignite the Kettleers rally. He
also signed autographs, stood for pictures, honored
media requests, and promised to say “Hi” to Grandpa,
even after each of Cotuit's five walkoff losses. The
comparisons to his grandfather are constant, but Mike
Yastrzemski played every game this summer as though he
were a temporary contract player fighting for an
opportunity to stay. If he makes it to the Big Leagues,
it won't be an achievement that was just handed to him.
It will be because he plays the game the right way and
never shortchanges himself or his teammates.
“There's not a
player in this league that has more pressure on him than
Mike Yastrzemski,” Roberts said. “He is a wonderful
young man, and whoever has taught him to play the game,
they taught him to play it the right way.”
This Cotuit
Kettleers team was a model of character, maturity, and
passion for both the game of baseball and being
responsible members of the community. Each player came
with a story, built new ones, and left the village of
Cotuit with one to savor forever. None of these young
men felt they were bigger than the game or more
deserving to be in the league than the next.
In a Mike Roberts
managed baseball team, one will find class, in and away
from the dugout. These are some of the best college
athletes in the world, some on the brink of signing
professional contracts, but Roberts prepares them to
succeed in life whether or not they throw another pitch
or swing a bat ever again. Like any coach, his decisions
during the game are scrutinized, but one thing that can
never be questioned is Mike Roberts' heart. He cares
about the integrity of the game, the community which has
welcomed him back for seven summers, and each talent
that commits a summer of nothing but their best effort
regardless of the result. The Cotuit Kettleers have been
in the Championship Series each of the past three
summers because at home and on the road, on and off the
diamond, Roberts' club is full of winners.
Finally, the
Kettleers were rewarded.
|
