Six facts to know about the 2023 Cape Cod Baseball League season

André Simms, Cape Cod Times
·2 min read

Monday featured dreary winter weather conditions outside. But the Cape Cod Baseball League released the 2023 schedule, spurring fans to start thinking about the summer.

The Bourne Braves are the defending league champs, and they'll kick off the season with a finals rematch against the Brewster White Caps. The league will also celebrate its centennial.

Here are six quick facts to know about the upcoming season.

More:There's 362 Cape Cod Baseball League alumni in the MLB. Who has had the best careers?

Cape Cod Baseball League celebrates 100th anniversary

This season marks 100 years since the league was formed in 1923 and the league plans to celebrate the milestone.

“The Cape League’s centennial is a special opportunity to celebrate all the history the league has," Michael Lane, Cape League Director of Public Relations, said in a press statement. “Thousands of professional players got their start here on Cape Cod, and hopefully that tradition will continue for another 100 years.”

Baseball on Cape Cod actually has roots dating back to 1885. Three of the league's original four teams from 1923 still remain (Chatham, Falmouth and Hyannis)

Cape League Opening Day

The action kicks on June 10 when Brewster hosts Bourne in a rematch of the 2022 championship.

More:Bourne climbs the mountain: Looking back at the 2022 Cape Cod Baseball League season

All 10 teams will be in action on Opening Day. The other matchups include:

Chatham at Cotuit

Yarmouth-Dennis at Harwich

Orleans at Hyannis

Wareham at Falmouth

Cape League All-Star Game

The best players in the league will all take the diamond on July 22 at Harwich's Whitehouse Field.

Last year was the league's first all-star game since 2019. The East Division (Yarmouth-Dennis, Brewster, Harwich, Orleans and Chatham) won last year's game, 4-1.

More:CAPE LEAGUE ALL-STAR GAME: Pitchers and an unexpected MVP steal the show in showcase game

Cape League road games

For the second year in a row, Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford, Connecticut, and Worcester's Polar Park, will host Cape League games. The Hyannis Harbor Hawks will play the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in Connecticut on July 26, and the Wareham Gatemen will take on the Bourne Braves at Polar Park on July 31.

Former Boston Red Sox player Steve Lyons (left) and catcher and current assistant Bourne coach Jarrod Saltalamacchia share a moment before the Bourne game with Falmouth in Bourne in Aug. 4, 2022. Lyons threw out the ceremonial first pitch. (Photo: Ron Schloerb/Cape Cod Times)
Former Boston Red Sox player Steve Lyons (left) and catcher and current assistant Bourne coach Jarrod Saltalamacchia share a moment before the Bourne game with Falmouth in Bourne in Aug. 4, 2022. Lyons threw out the ceremonial first pitch. (Photo: Ron Schloerb/Cape Cod Times)

Cape League playoffs

The 2023 playoffs begin on Aug. 4, following the same eight-team format as in years past with three rounds of best-of-three series. The two-division championship series will start on Aug. 7, and the championship series will begin on Aug. 10.

Cape League has a new president

Andrew Lang was recently announced as the league's new president. He becomes just the 12th president in league history and is taking over for Chuck Sturtevant, who held the position from 2015-2022.

Lang has worked in the league since 2013 and was Wareham's general manager from 2015-2021.

Contact André Simms at asimms@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @that1guyandre.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Six things to know about the 2023 Cape Cod Baseball League season