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Field of Dreams
In just a few short weeks legions of cars will cross over the Cape Cod Canal, part of an annual summer pilgrimage. Some folks come to wiggle their toes in the sand. Others come to indulge in heaping plates of fried clams. But a chosen few come to the Cape with stars in their eyes, dreaming of a career in professional baseball.
The Cape Cod Baseball League has long been known as the country’s marquee amateur program. The CCBL boasts one of every six players in the majors first played here on the Cape. If so, the pipeline to “The Show” apparently runs right down Route 6.
Anchoring the westernmost edge of this 10-team league are the Bourne Braves. This season, in addition to a bevy of new players, the team will add journeyman Kevin Graber to its coaching staff. Harvey Shapiro, longtime manager of the Braves, has made quite a catch in snaring Graber. With pro ball experience both inside the dugout and between the foul lines, Graber is sure to be a hit.
“I’m looking forward to having him,” mused Shapiro. “We talked on the phone. I spoke to a couple of my former players who coached against him. He sent his resume in and we went from there.” When asked how he imagined utilizing his new assistant coach Shapiro painted with a broad brush. “He’ll throw batting practice, help the hitters, help the offense. I might ask him to put together a defensive positioning chart and lineup card. His job is to make my job easier.”
These days you can find Graber coaching the varsity baseball squad at Phillips Andover, a position he’s held since 2009. In the past eight years, his team has won four Central New England Prep championships, garnering a №1 ranking in the New England Baseball Coaches poll in both 2018 and 2019. Andover has a long legacy when it comes to baseball, producing such notables as club owners Philip Wrigley, Bill Veeck, President George W. Bush, and former Commissioner of Major League Baseball, A. Bartlett Giamatti.
Thus far, Graber’s young crew has made their mark on the field. During his brief tenure, fifty-four players have gone off to play college ball, including 32 to Division I programs. Graber knows what it takes to make this leap, because before he was a coach, he was a player.
After leading the College of Saint Rose (NY) to an NCAA Division II regional berth, Graber…
