Category: ON THIS DAY

Heading into an August 3, 2012 game at Brewster, Sean Manaea had already cemented himself as the league’s best pitcher and best prospect.

And then he out-did himself.

In his final start as a Hyannis Harbor Hawk, Manaea took a perfect game into the eighth inning, losing it, coincidentally, at the hands of another future Big Leaguer as Aaron Judge singled. But it was Manaea’s night, no-hitter or not. He ended up going eight innings and allowing just the one hit. He struck out 10, bringing his season total to a new Cape League modern era record of 85.

It was his third consecutive shutout, bringing to a close one of the most remarkable stretches in Cape League history. He had been good early in the season but he was otherworldly down the stretch, allowing one earned run and striking out 56 in his final 34 innings.

He finished the summer with a 1.21 ERA, 85 strikeouts, 7 walks and 21 hits allowed.

It was pretty obvious we were witnessing something special.

Manaea made his Major League debut last year and is in the A’s rotation as we speak.

 

On the Fourth of July in 2005, one Charles Blackmon pitched three shaky innings of relief for the Cotuit Kettleers at Falmouth. He gave up four runs on five hits and walked five.

Perhaps it was a sign.

Charlie Blackmon is one of the Cape’s top big league alumni, but his path was different than guys like Kris Bryant or Buster Posey. Blackmon was a star pitcher at Young Harris College and didn’t have a single at-bat in his summer with the Kettleers. The July 4 blow-up notwithstanding, Blackmon actually had a solid summer on the mound, posting a 3.42 ERA while pitching mostly as a reliever.

But his future was at the plate. Blackmon eventually transferred to Georgia Tech, where he became a star, hitting .396 with eight home runs in his final season. He was a second-round pick of the Rockies in 2008, made his big league debut in 2012 and has since morphed into one of the best players in the game.

On June 29, 2006, Shaun Seibert of the Brewster Whitecaps tossed six shutout innings of two-hit ball in a win over Wareham.

That was pretty typical.

Seibert had one of the best pitching seasons in Cape League history that summer. The Arkansas righty finished with a 0.39 ERA in eight starts. Eleven years later, it still ranks top three all-time. Only Mitchell Jordan in 2015 and Eric Milton in 1996 did better, tying for the Cape League record with a 0.21 ERA.

Seibert earned Co-Pitcher of the Year honors, but his next two years at Arkansas were injury-marred and he was not drafted.

On June 28, 2012, Aaron Judge hit his first Cape League home run, in his first Cape League game.

He’s hit a few more since.

The breakout star of Major League Baseball in 2017 finished his summer in Brewster with a .270 batting average and five home runs. Interestingly, he was not at the forefront of that year’s juiced ball home run binge. Tyler Horan set a single season record with 16. First-round pick Phil Ervin had 11. Kyle Schwarber hit eight.

But it wasn’t hard to imagine Judge – then listed at 6-7, 250 – growing into even more power. Baseball America ranked him as the league’s sixth best prospect, though questions remained.

The top prospect in the Alaska League in 2011 despite not hitting a home run, he’s still raw at the plate, struggles to get to quality inside pitches and is almost patient to a fault, waiting for a perfect pitch to crush. A center fielder for Brewster, he fits best in right field with his solid speed and arm strength.

“He’s similar (physically) to Giancarlo Stanton,” the NL scouting director said. “Big, tall, long limbs, long arms, big power. How much contact he’ll make and how much power he’ll get to is the question.”

I guess that’s not a question anymore.