Wareham Gatemen

Wareham Gatemen
Information
League Cape Cod Baseball League (Western Division)
Location Wareham, Massachusetts
Ballpark Clem Spillane Field
League championships 1976, 1988, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2018
Post-Season Division championships 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2012, 2018
Regular Season Division championships 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2018
Colors Red, Blue
Mascot Gary Gateman
2018 season 25–17–2 , 52 points
1st place, Western Division
CCBL Champions
Management Tom Gay (President/General Manager)
Manager Don Sneddon (Field Manager)

The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Western Division. Wareham currently plays its home games at Clem Spillane Field in the town of Wareham.

Like other Cape Cod Baseball League teams, the Gatemen are funded through merchandise sales, donations, and other fundraising efforts at games such as 50–50 raffles. At the midway point of the 2010 MLB season, the Wareham Gatemen had 23 players at the MLB level.

The Gatemen finished the 2018 Cape Cod Baseball League Season with a 25–17–2 record, placing them first in the Western Division. Wareham went on to sweep the CCBL Playoffs to earn their 8th Cape League Title.

History

Wareham has been a member of the Cape League since 1963. In 1976, Wareham defeated the top-seeded Chatham Athletics three games to two to claim the team's first title.

Wareham would reach the playoffs two more times between 1977 and 1983, losing in the semifinals both times. In 1984, the Gatemen were defeated in the championship series by Cotuit two games to none. In 1988 Wareham won the league title for the first time in 12 years.

Wareham made the playoffs every year from 1990 to 2002, a 13-year streak that remains the league record. During the streak, Wareham reached the championship series seven times – winning four times – including back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002.

In 2006, Wareham returned to the playoffs and lost the championship series to the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, two games to one. The Gatemen then missed the postseason the next two seasons, finishing fourth in the Western Division in 2007 and fifth in 2008. Wareham bounced back in 2009 with a third place 19–19–6 record and lost a one-game playoff to Cotuit to end its season. The Wareham Gatemen have won more games than any other team in the league since 1981.[1]

In the 2010 regular season, the Gatemen finished fourth in the Western Division, thus qualifying for the final playoff spot in the West. They swept the top-seeded Bourne Braves in the division semifinals, but were swept by the Cotuit Kettleers in the division finals.

In the 2012 season, the Gatemen won only seven of their 22 home games, but finished second in the West. In the postseason, they faced the Falmouth Commodores in the first round, whom they swept. In the Western Division finals, Wareham faced the fourth-seeded Bourne Braves, whom they also swept. In the Cape Cod Baseball League Championship series, they met the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox in a rematch of the 2006 CCBL Championship series. The Gatemen won Game 1 by a score of 5–4, with a 9th-inning home run to put them ahead in the series. Back at Wareham's home, Spillane Field, Y-D won Game 2, 5–1. With Game 3 back in Y-D, the Red Sox looked to be closing in on a championship, leading in the bottom of the 8th, 5–2. But similarly to Game 1, the Gatemen tied it up in the top of the 9th, with a two-run home run and a solo shot. In the top of the 10th, after shutting down Y-D in the bottom of the 9th, Wareham again scored by way of two home runs, giving them their first lead of the game. Y-D scared the Gatemen in the bottom of the 10th with a solo home run of their own, but Wareham held off the Red Sox by a score of 8–6 to win their seventh league title.

In the 2018 season, the Gatemen won their first 4 games, never losing more than two games in a row. They also won their first division title since 2001. In the postseason, they faced the 4th-seeded Cotuit Kettleers in the first round, sweeping them 3-2 and 15-6. In the West Championship Series, Wareham faced the 3rd-Seeded Falmouth Commodores who they also swept 4-3 and 7-4 to win the West. That sent them to the CCBL Championship, where they faced off against the East Champions, the Chatham Anglers. Game 1 at Spillane Field was a back and forth battle between aces Ryan Garcia for Wareham and Austin Bergner for Chatham, but poor defense by the Anglers gave Wareham 3 unearned runs en route to a 5-3 victory. Game 2 at Veterans Field was played in two parts due to a fog-out in Chatham, but Wareham's timely hitting, poor defense again by Chatham and a clutch home run robbery by right fielder Isaac Collins led the Gatemen to a 9-3 victory. The Gatemen won their 8th title, their first since 2012, and became the first team since the playoffs expanded to 3 rounds to sweep the CCBL Postseason. Third Baseman Austin Shenton hit .522 with 3 home runs and 12 RBIs to claim postseason MVP honors.

Notable alumni

Ike Davis, first baseman for
the New York Mets

Media

All 44 Gatemen games, in addition to any preseason and postseason games, are broadcast online on Youtube, which can be accessed through the Gatemen's website. All home games feature live video/audio broadcasts, while away games consist of only live audio. All home games are also broadcast on Wareham Community Television. The Gatemen play-by-play broadcasters for the 2018 season are JD Raucci, Cameron Stuart and Henrique DaMour.

The New Bedford Standard Times ("SouthCoastToday"), The Cape Cod Times and Wareham Week (warehamvillagesoup.com) cover the Wareham Gatemen regularly.[2][3]

John Wylde

Longtime Gatemen President and General Manager John Wylde died in February 2009 after a battle with liver cancer. The Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Famer was the force behind the Gatemen for 25 years. In the early 80s, the Wareham Gatemen franchise was in financial trouble with very little local support and was on the verge of collapse. Wylde stepped in as President and General Manager and turned the Gatemen into a model franchise. On June 13, 2008, the Cape Cod Baseball League and the Wareham Gatemen honored him during special ceremonies. In 2007, Wylde was inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League's Hall of Fame.[4]

References

  1. ↑ . Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  2. ↑ . Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  3. ↑ . Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  4. ↑ . Retrieved July 20, 2010.
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