Bear with me for a moment, Cape League fans.
My friend Matt and I decided several years ago that we don’t love the National Football League. Since we’re probably the only people in America who feel this way, we’ve crafted a pretty good argument over the years to make ourselves feel better about being so positively un-American.
The gist of said argument is that the NFL’s oft-praised parity has actually robbed the league of its story and its drama. If you’re a fan of one team, you love parity. Your team might be really bad one year but it won’t take much to turn it around. But if you’re trying to be a fan of the NFL in general, good luck.
Stories and drama are the lifeblood of that kind of fandom, and there just isn’t any in the NFL. The Titans beat the Texans? Is that an upset? I have no idea. The Raiders and Chiefs combined for nine field goals? Awesome. What a game. There are no dominant teams, no terrible teams. Classic games are few and far between because there are so few favorite-and-underdog story lines, so few heroes and villains. We’re just watching 22 guys hit each other.
Stories make sports go for me, and the games of the NFL are often story-less.
Which brings me back to the Cape Cod Baseball League. It’s probably no secret that I love it. I’m obsessed with it. But sometimes parity reigns too supreme and the league veers into that no story lines, every-team-is-the-same territory.
In 2012, the league is nowhere near that place.
The Harwich Mariners are the most powerful team the league has seen in years. Cast them as the favorites.
But there’s a foil. The pesky Orleans Firebirds don’t seem like they’re as good, but they just might be. And Yarmouth-Dennis? That team can hit. Plus, you’ve got Falmouth, quietly minding its own business as the West leader, knowing that Harwich and Orleans can’t play each other for the championship.
The rest of the teams in the league fit in with the parity of years’ past, but because so many teams have stood out, the rest have a role, too. They’re the challengers.
I love these stories, and they don’t end with the teams. The characters are pretty good too.
The home run hitters are like the superheroes of the Cape League season, or the villains if you like pitching. On the other side, there’s a small crew of starting pitchers who are dominating in between the home runs. The top four or five pitchers in the league are as good as we’ve seen in years.
Story lines abound. Will the favorites stay strong? Will Harwich break into the record books? Will Phillip Ervin keep hitting home runs? Will Dylan Clark ever walk anybody?
I could go on and on. The point is that, in my book, the really fun 2012 Cape League season has been really fun because of its stories. The summer so far has a strong narrative, and the drama is on display every night.
The best news? It’s only half over.
I can’t wait for the rest of the chapters.
Great post, Will. I think we already know the answer to one of your questions: Ervin hasn’t homered since June.
Here’s another question: Will someone bat .400 in this Year of the Hitters?
The strength of this year’s Orleans team is its bullpen, which is a good thing because I can’t remember a starter pitching six innings yet. The offense looks good on paper but nobody except Gregor is hitting. What’s wrong with Ficociello? May we please have Aldrich back?
Let’s hope all of these interesting players stick around through the end of the season. I hate it when they leave right after the All-Star Game. And sometimes the playoffs are a joke, with pitchers being forced to play right field.
If I could change anything about the CCBL, I’d get rid of this silly NHL-style playoff format. Only the top two teams from each division should qualify.
Can’t wait for the second half of the cape league this season! There is nothing better! Great job as always Will! I read you every morning in the summer as I have for the past 4 season now! You do a great job! I printed out all your preseason team looks and make sure I have them whenever I go to a game! Appreciate all you do to enhace my cape league experience each year!
Enjoyed this post very much, Will. Excellent piece of writing! I read RFF every morning too. Thanks for all you do.