Bourne Braves (Cape Cod Baseball League) @ Doran Park (Bourne, MA)
Cape League Baseball just over the bridges
SUMMER OF BASEBALL 2023: STOP 19
*For more on the Cape Cod Baseball League, I wrote about it here, and I personally recommend you check it out.
The Bourne Braves are Cape Cod’s “newest” team (along with Brewster). While other Cape League teams had called Bourne home, the current team was founded in 1988 as an expansion of the league. Pre-COVID, they had one title, but since the Cape League came back from a cancelled 2020 season, the Braves have been the league's dynasty - making the championship series in EVERY season since 2021 (including this past season) and winning three (2022, 2023, 2025).
For whatever reason, however, their Wikipedia page combines them with the previous teams in Bourne and gives them ten titles - the other six of which, obviously, predate the Braves (though for what it’s worth, the team’s media guide only goes back to 1988). Notably, the team kept the “Braves” name when the MLB trademark situation happened (and seems uninterested in changing anytime soon despite the controversy surrounding the name).
I couldn’t find any good information about their stadium history (one of them was apparently the Massachusetts Maritime Academy across the canal in Buzzard’s Bay), but in 2006, they moved from a small field (that seemingly doesn’t have lights) to their current home: Doran Park on the campus of Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School. Doran is unique amongst Cape League parks in that THERE ARE NO METAL OR WOOD BLEACHERS WHATSOEVER (even the more “lawn chair” heavy stadiums have a few); I think there used to be (based on a visit back in 2021), but recent renovations have removed them. Instead, there are terraces around the infield (which were recently renovated), with brick edges you can sit on if you don’t have a lawn chair.
One of Bourne’s biggest advantages if you want to see Cape League action but can’t justify traffic/driving is that it’s literally right between the two bridges! Sure, the traffic pattern getting to/from the stadium kinda sucks, but as long as someone hasn’t messed up in the rotary and shut it down, access is easy from "mainland" Massachusetts! This stadium also features one of the larger parking lots in the Cape (as it’s on the campus of a high school), and the team has contingency plans (read: a nearby ice arena + shuttles) when it gets full, so it’s highly accessible if you’re coming from Boston (like I typically did back in the day).
MERCH
If you’re wondering where all those fans got those hats (or the short sleeve hoodie I got in 2023), the merch store WAS in the lower level of the press box for a while. The terraces made it kinda hard to get to, and there’s only like one sign pointing to its location as the merch store, but it was one of two stadiums with a “walk-in” merch store (the other one being Falmouth). Thanks to the press box blocking home plate from the terraces, the little window to the field here was the only place where fans can get a view from behind home plate.
In 2025, however, the team store was moved to a shipping container at the edge of the parking lot. While I've never seen the team sell player jerseys (i.e. the button down ones) in my many visits, I saw a video on the internet that seemingly indicated that the team sold old jerseys in 2026 - alas, since I haven't been back since a brief 2025 visit, I have no idea if they're still doing this or what they still have...
ON DECK
The final Cape League team of this "catch-up" series - and its most successful one.