HYANNIS – Judy Walden Scarafile will retire as president of the Cape Cod Baseball League in October after leading the organization for 24 years.
Scarafile made the announcement Thursday night in an email to her board of directors.
“Although I made this decision weeks ago, I did not want to disrupt the CCBL season in any way, especially the All Star Game and the playoffs. It is of utmost importance to maintain the integrity of the Cape League season,” she wrote in the email.
Scarafile began working for the league in 1970 when Dick Bresciani, the longtime public relations guru for the Red Sox, hired her as a scorekeeper.
“She’s synonymous with the Cape League,” said John Garner, the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Director of Public Relations and Broadcasting. “Her passion for the game, her ability to deal with people, all the little things that she does, a lot of the things people don’t even realize that she’s done. She’s been the face of the Cape League.”
“I feel like I’m celebrating my life, I’m celebrating the last 24 years of being president, the last 45 years of being in the league. I’m grateful to have had the privilege of being president,” Scarafile said in an interview with capecod.com.
Scarafile has held many roles with the league since then, including public relations, vice president, and president since 1991. She was the first woman to hold the post of president in the league’s history, and will miss the people of the league and the game of baseball itself.
“Nothing is more satisfying to me than just sitting in the bleachers and watching a well-played game. I love it,” she said.
“The league has, no question, had unparalleled success during her stewardship,” Garner said.
“The league has grown from little backyard local teams to an international power in terms of collegiate summer baseball, and this growth has been under her leadership,” said Paul Gallop, the Commissioner of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
“There are many opportunities I am excited about that convinced me this was the right time,” she wrote about her impending retirement.
Scarafile said she will name a nominating committee in the next few days to begin the search and interview process.
“The Cape League has been a labor of love and it has been a privilege to be part of the league which so much was accomplished over those 24 years. It really was an honor to serve as president,” she said.
The Cape League, considered the premier collegiate summer league in the nation, ended the 2015 season this week as the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox defeated the Hyannis Harbor Hawks for the championship.
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