STARKVILLE — For over 100 years, the Cape Cod Baseball League has functioned as the pinnacle of summer collegiate baseball.
Thirty players comprise 10 teams, living with host families in picturesque beach towns up and down the Massachusetts coast where the only responsibility is baseball.
But for the first time since 1947, the CCBL will not be held due to concerns over COVID-19 in the Northeast United States. And with the country’s premier summer league now canceled, it stands to have an impact on a number of players from Starkville.
“I think it’s really, really important because everybody in the country lost valuable valuable reps whether it’s working with them daily in practice or SEC play and seeing and facing some of the best arms in the country or vice versa, right?” MSU hitting coach Jake Gautreau told The Dispatch last week of why summer league is so important this year. “….So yes, you want guys to be able to get out there and play and kind of earn some of those reps back.”
For those participating, the CCBL represents a chance to play in front of countless major league scouts with the best collegiate players in the country. For two months, teams compete on a semi-daily basis. An all-star game has also become part of the mid-season norm.
In all, 305 CCBL alumni were on MLB rosters as of 2018, with more sure to join those ranks soon.
At MSU, the Bulldogs have made a concerted effort to send their best to the Cape. In 2018, five former MSU players spent at least one summer on the Cape. Last season, four Bulldogs were scheduled to join the league, though only Jordan Westburg did so after Rowdey Jordan, Tanner Allen and Justin Foscue were added to the U.S. Summer National team.
In response, Westburg righted his late-season hitting woes to the tune of a .326 average, six doubles and four home runs in just 95 at-bats over 25 games.
Monday, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo projected the New Braunfels, Texas, native as the No. 29 pick in the upcoming MLB First-Year Player Draft.
“I mean, we coach a lot, but we don’t coach coach,” longtime MSU head coach and Hyannis Harbor Hawks assistant Ron Polk told The Dispatch. “Basically, we’re up there just to help them and if they’re struggling to work with him. But mainly to put them on the field and make sure they get to showcase for all the scouts, the agents and front office personnel. That’s what they’re going to miss the most is the exposure.”
As for this season, the CCBL and other summer leagues of its ilk were already set to be even more important than previous years given the cancelation of the spring season. Speaking with The Dispatch in late March, Louisville coach Dan McDonnell stressed this importance.
“The Cape Cod League will be the most talented it’s ever been,” he said. “Because you look at last year, you have all those guys that go to the USA trials, and if they don’t make it they go home. You get guys that are tired, guys that threw too many innings, guys that are trying to get healthy playing the last two months hurt. You’re gonna have some injuries. Some guys that have arm injuries are out for a year, but for the most part you’re going to have everybody else healthy, hungry, chomping at the bit. I think summer baseball is really as college coaches what we are hoping for.”
At present, summer leagues across America are debating cancelations and postponements. The Valley League has announced it won’t play at all this year. The Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, New York Collegiate Baseball League and Texas Collegiate Baseball League have all decided on later start dates.
Speaking with reporters in early April, MSU coach Chris Lemonis said his staff had placed players in anticipation of summer leagues being played. Should leagues continue to cancel or postpone, Lemonis and his assistants may be in line for a game of musical chairs with their player’s summer destinations.
“We’ll have to regroup on some of our guys once we know the ones that are playing and when they’ll start,” MSU pitching coach Scott Foxhall told The Dispatch last week. “But I think that there’ll be places for him to play if we decide that’s the best thing for him.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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