Cotuit Kettleers
Encyclopedia
The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable
Barnstable, Massachusetts
Barnstable is a city, referred to as the Town of Barnstable, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod. The town contains seven villages within its boundaries...
. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League
Cape Cod Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League is a collegiate summer baseball league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, in which many college baseball stars play during the summer. Many future Major League Baseball players have started there during their college years; MLB has provided...
and plays in the league's Western Division. Cotuit currently plays its home games at Lowell Park
Lowell Park
Lowell Park is a 1990-based historical novel, and authored by Mike Chapman. The book will be made into a movie of the same name by Empire Film Group and is scheduled to come out sometime in 2011. - Plot summary:...
. The team has been owned and operated by the non-profit Cotuit Athletic Association since 1947 and, like other Cape League teams, are funded through merchandise sales, donations, and other fundraising efforts at games such as fifty-fifty raffles.
The Kettleers finished the 2008 regular season in first place in the Western Division with a total of 54 points. The team advanced to the Championship Series, but lost to the Harwich Mariners
Harwich Mariners
The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, MA. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Eastern Division. Harwich currently plays its home games at Whitehouse Field in the historic village of Harwich Center...
.
In 2009 the Kettleers qualified for the playoffs, but were swept in the Championship Series by the Bourne Braves. In 2010, Cotuit won the Cape Cod Baseball League title against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
The Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, or Y-D Red Sox, is a collegiate summer baseball team based in South Yarmouth, MA. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Eastern Division...
, 2 games to 1. Cotuit has won more Cape League titles in the Modern Era than any other team in history with thirteen.
The Pre-Modern Era
The Cotuit Athletic Association began sponsoring the Cape League's Kettleers in 1947. Cotuit won the last two Cape League titles of the Pre-Modern Era in 1961 and 1962.The Modern Era
The Kettleers won the first two Cape League championships of the Modern Era. After finishing the regular season with an astonishing 28-4 record in 1963, Cotuit defeated the Orleans CardinalsOrleans Cardinals
The Orleans Firebirds are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Eastern Division....
two games to none to win the title. The next season, the Kettleers finished the year with a 31-3 record and won the Cape League championship three games to one over the Chatham Athletics
Chatham Athletics
The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, MA. Prior to the 2009 season, the team changed its name to the Chatham Anglers due to Major League Baseball Properties' trademark of...
.
From 1969 through 1987, Cotuit was the most consistent team in the Cape League, making the playoffs in eighteen out of the nineteen seasons. The Kettleers would reach the championship series ten times during that span and win the title a total of eight times, including winning four consecutive championships between 1972 and 1975.
It would take five years for Cotuit to return to the championship series after this astounding run. In 1992, the Kettleers won the Western Division Regular Season title and then defeated the Wareham Gatemen
Wareham Gatemen
The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, MA. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Western Division...
to advance to the championship series. There, however, Cotuit was swept by Eastern Division champions Chatham two games to none.
In 1995, exactly ten years after their last title, Cotuit got revenge on Chatham, defeating the Athletics two games to one for the Cape League championship. The Kettleers would win the title again in 1999, again defeating Chatham in three games.
With all of their success from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, Cotuit is seen as the historically most prolific Cape League team of the Modern Era. The Kettleers hold the record for most league championships with thirteen and most playoff appearances with 28 and are second to only Chatham with fifteen championship series appearances.
Famous alumni
- Garrett AtkinsGarrett AtkinsGarrett Bernard Atkins is a Major League Baseball first baseman who is currently a Free Agent. He bats and throws right-handed....
1998–99 - Mark BellhornMark BellhornMark Christian Bellhorn is a Major League Baseball second baseman who is currently a free agent. He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed. He stands 6-1 and weighs 205 lbs.-Personal life:...
1993 - Will ClarkWill ClarkWilliam Nuschler Clark, Jr. is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the San Francisco Giants from to .Will was known by the nickname of "Will the Thrill"...
1983 - Scott EricksonScott EricksonScott Gavin Erickson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.-Career:Erickson was born in Long Beach, California, and began his professional career, after being drafted by the NY Mets in 1986, Houston Astros in 1987, and Toronto Blue Jays in 1988, in when he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins...
1989 - John Franco 1980
- Joe GirardiJoe GirardiJoseph Elliott Girardi is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager of the New York Yankees. During a 15-year playing career, he played from 1989–2003 for the Chicago Cubs, the Colorado Rockies, the New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals...
1984 - Jeff KentJeff KentJeffrey Franklin Kent is a retired Major League Baseball second baseman. Kent won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2000 with the San Francisco Giants, and is the all-time leader in home runs among second basemen...
1988 - Jason KipnisJason KipnisJason Michael Kipnis is an American baseball player who plays second base for the Cleveland Indians. He was called up from the minor leagues to the Indians on July 22, 2011....
, 2008 - Mike MathenyMike MathenyMichael Scott Matheny is the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. He is also a former baseball catcher, playing for four different teams during his thirteen years in the major leagues...
1989 - Lou MerloniLou MerloniLouis William "Lou" Merloni is an American radio personality and a former Major League Baseball player. Merloni was scouted by hall of fame scout 'Buzz' Bowers, and played for his hometown Boston Red Sox from -...
1992 - Bill Richardson 1967
- Tim SalmonTim SalmonTimothy James Salmon is a former Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter who played his entire career with the California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels...
1988 - Scott SpiezioScott SpiezioScott Edward Spiezio is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He is currently an infielder for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League . He is well known for his time as a member of the Anaheim Angels, when he hit a 3-run home run in Game Six of the 2002 World Series against the...
1993 - Drew StorenDrew StorenDrew Patrick Storen is an American baseball relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals. The Nationals selected the 6'1" 170 lb. right-hander No. 10 overall in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft...
2008 - Chase UtleyChase UtleyChase Cameron Utley is a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. A native of the Greater Los Angeles area, he was raised in the city of Long Beach. He was a star baseball player at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, before moving on to UCLA...
1999 - Greg VaughnGreg VaughnGregory Lamont Vaughn is a former Major League Baseball left fielder and right-handed batter who played for the Milwaukee Brewers , San Diego Padres , Cincinnati Reds , Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Colorado Rockies . He was born in Sacramento, California, where he attended Kennedy High School...
1984–85