Cape Cod Baseball League

One evening in Cape Cod, we drove to cheer on the Orleans Firebirds, a team part of the Cape Cod Baseball League. The crowds packed every green space and tailgate available. Parents seemed to be able to catch their breath as their children made new friends and proceeded to roll down the hill together, oblivious to dirt and grass stains. Little boys looked onto their future idols and mimicked their movements. Teenagers walked around in too-short shorts, holding their expensive phones, discussing the latest gossip. Older men sat in silence or compared current players to those they had watched in years past.

For one, cool evening, it was nice to remember that the overpaid major league baseball players we hold in such high regard began their careers on small baseball fields just like this one, void of any national advertisements or endorsements other than the local resident reading their name and the small roar from the crowd.