The Cape Cod
Baseball League has released its 2008 schedule. The 2008 A's
debut Saturday, June 14.The upcoming season will be the 46th in
the CCBL's modern era and the 124th overall; Chatham's Veterans
Field will celebrate its 85th birthday by hosting the Cape League
All-Star Game. 2008
Chatham A's Schedule
The CCBL season begins Friday,
June 13 with only one scheduled game. A special tribute to
Wareham Gatemen GM John Wylde will be held at Spillane Field with
the Gatemen hosting Falmouth. John
Wylde Story
The A's open their season the next day,
Saturday, June 14 at home against the Hyannis Mets at 7pm. The
A's have historically played season openers against Harwich, as
was the case in 2007 when the Mariners won a game shortened by an
electrical failure. Chatham goes on the road for its second game,
a 5:30 twilight matchup with the Commodores in Falmouth.
After
a Monday/Tuesday homestand with Harwich and Brewster, the A's
second road trip starts with Game 5 at Hyannis under McKeon
Park's newly installed stadium lighting. The Mets had played
under the lights from 1983 to 1993 until the ospreys descended on
the McKeon Park light towers. Reinstallation of the lights in
2006 was delayed because of logistical issues, but the Hyannis
Athletic Association completed the project in December of 2007.
Mets
Lighting Story
After the first off day June 19, the
A's have another stretch of five games, including Sunday's
contest with Y-D, the two time defending CCBL champs, and a
rematch of the 2007 East Division Championship Series. The
succeeding four games will all be against West Division teams,
making ten of the A's first 13 games against the West, five of
which on the road.
The A's begin July with seven games in
seven days, four at home. Chatham's first meeting with rival
Orleans doesn't come until the annual Independence Day matchup,
with this year's 4th of July game at Eldredge Park; the Cardinals
come to Chatham the following night. Chatham won five of six
meetings from Orleans in 2007.
Another off day July 8
will be followed by a stretch of five games, an off day, and a
stretch of eight straight games. Seven of those eight are against
East Division opponents and five of the eight games will be at
Veterans FIeld, a combination of circumstances that may define
the 2008 season. The A's have only one game over the following
five days as part of the All-Star Break.
2008 brings the
Cape League All-Star game back to Veterans Field for the first
time in ten years. More details about the July 26 event will be
forthcoming. Chatham has hosted several special contests during
the CCBL's modern era, starting with the first All-Star Game in
1964, a meeting of the Upper and Lower Divisions All-Stars.
Veterans Field again hosted the All-Star Game in 1968 the year
after the A's won their first CCBL title. Between 1970 and 1987,
all-stars from the Cape League and the Atlantic Collegiate League
squared off, in lieu of a traditional all-star game. The
interleague game was held in Chatham in 1971, the year after
Yankee Stadium. The first East/West All-Star Game in Chatham was
played in 1998, the year Chatham won its most recent
championship. Chatham also played host to the Cape League vs.
Team USA game in 2000, an event that drew a crowd of more than
10,000. Most recently, Chatham hosted the U.S. Military All-Stars
in June of 2007. 2008
All-Star Game Release
Chatham will have nine games
remaining after the all-star break, but only three home games.
The A's round out the regilar season with division games at home
against Brewster and on the road against Orleans. The Divisional
Championship Series begin August 9.