2016 Cape Cod Baseball League Season Begins Tonight

HYANNIS – The country’s best collegiate baseball players return to region Friday night as the Cape Cod Baseball League kicks off its 2016 season.

The league, which has been around since the 1885, is the nation’s most prestigious summer league for amateur ballplayers looking to be drafted by Major League teams.

A record 292 Cape League Alumni played in the big leagues in 2015, including current Red Sox players Jackie Bradley Jr. (Hyannis), Travis Shaw (Bourne), Josh Rutledge (Yarmouth-Dennis), Matt Barnes (Wareham), and Steven Wright (Orleans).

The season begins with a full slate of games. At 5 p.m., defending champion Yarmouth-Dennis will host the Wareham Gatemen, and the Orleans Firebirds travel to Brewster to play the Whitecaps. The Bourne Braves welcome in the Hyannis Harbor Hawks for a 6 o’clock first pitch. Cotuit heads to Harwich at 6:30 p.m., and Chatham hosts Falmouth in the lone 7 p.m. start of the evening.

“We’re hoping we get some big crowds here,” said John Garner, the Director of Public Relations for the Cape Cod Baseball League. “If the crowds come to the Cape, they’ll go to the games, because it’s probably the best entertainment on the Cape.”

The league is one of premier tourist attractions on Cape Cod, drawing thousands of fans per night in the middle of the summer. There is no cost of admission for Cape League games. The teams are non-profit organizations supported by volunteers and funded by donations.

“It’s old-fashioned baseball,” said new President Chuck Sturtevant, a 30-year veteran of the Cape League. “If you love the game of baseball, you’re going to have a great time,” Sturtevant said.