An overview of the Cape Cod Baseball League

The Cape Cod Baseball League (also known as the Cape League or CCBL) is one of my favorite baseball leagues as all of its teams are so close to one another (plus a much BIGGER reason I'll get into in a sec), so I figured I should give you a big picture view of the league.

The Cape Cod Baseball League has been long regarded as the top summer league for college players looking to become pros - after all, its catchphrase is "Where the Stars of Tomorrow Shine Tonight". It features an EXTENSIVE list of notable alumni, including current MLB stars such as Aaron Judge, Pete Alonso, and Paul Skenes among others. In fact, from 2018-2024, the first overall pick in the MLB Draft for all but one year spent time playing on Cape Cod (the exception being Jackson Holiday being drafted out of high school in 2022 - though his grandfather was managing a Cape League team at the time).

Major League Baseball has long been a partner of the league; I'm not sure entirely what this parnership entails mind you, but there was one notable "brush-up": Prior to 2009, six of the league’s ten teams shared names with MLB teams. However, MLB opted to enforce its trademarks that year, thus forcing the teams to either comply with or change their names. Three of the teams - the Chatham Athletics, Hyannis Mets, and Orleans Cardinals - changed their names to the Anglers, Harbor Hawks, and Firebirds respectively. The Bourne Braves and Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (who, coincidentally, share names with Boston’s two historical MLB teams) kept their names (I forget why they were allowed to do this), while the Harwich Mariners were “immune” to this dispute as they were founded LONG before the Seattle PILOTS, let alone the Mariners.

I've been to all ten Cape League fields at least three times each (a minimum of one visit each year between 2021 and 2023, though the baseline number is probably four or five), and they're largely community and/or school fields where a lot of the "bells and whistles" you find in the Minor Leagues are beyond nonexistant; in fact, three stadiums don't have lights and thus can see games end early due to darkness. However, the nature of being community fields does mean that a few of them do have nearby playgrounds, and a number of them allow you to walk completely around the field (and even get up close and personal with the players in the bullpens). However, the community aspect of the Cape League, plus its status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, leads to its most notable feature: with a singular exception (the annual All Star Game), admission to games is free! In fact, it’s because of this free admission that I spent two summers wandering around the Cape almost every day after work (it is a large time and gas investment after all).

The ten teams collect donations/do a 50/50 each game, and all sell concessions and merchandise. However, alcohol is not served at Cape League games, though given that there are no “gates” to be found at any of the stadiums, you could feasibly bring your own drinks into the stadiums (as well as your own food; check Reddit/Yelp for recommendations). I have no clue if the Cape League has policies on food or drinks (one team mentioned bringing your own picnic), though remember: this is technically an NCAA environment, so NCAA rules do apply. I don’t recall seeing a lot of fans bringing alcohol this year for what it’s worth.

One thing to keep in mind, however: parking situations generally range from okay-ish (i.e. Bourne and Harwich) to downright AWFUL (looking at you Cotuit). For the most part, it's fine if you're there early enough (though think CAREFULLY before parking next to the field), but if you're getting there close to game time (or after the game has started), be prepared to be searching for a LONG time (this is important to know if you intend on attending multiple games in a day, as they all start relatively close to each other). Of course, that entails you driving down to Cape Cod see games: if you're thinking of doing a day trip from Boston to check out the League on a weekend, don't forget to factor in 495 to 25 to the Bourne/Route 3 to the Sagamore to Route 6 traffic - most especially the latter as it's the main route to get to seven of the league's ten stadiums!

Also, most of these teams do not sell merchandise online. This is a common thing across New England’s summer collegiate leagues unfortunately, but it does mean that if you’re looking for things like hats, you’re almost certainly going to have to come down here to get them. Throw in that a lot of these teams have limited supplies of a lot of things due to their need to avoid cost overruns, and merch hunting is a rather difficult ordeal (and another reason I kept going to Cape League games in 2022 and 2023).