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The Cape Cod Baseball League holds a special place in this area and one person who really knows that is Mike Richard.
Along with Boston baseball author Bill Nowlin, and with a foreword by Baseball Hall of Fame writer Peter Gammons, Richard co-edited the book Cape Cod Baseball League: From College Stars to Big League Futures.
Nowlin and Richard did the book for the Society of American Baseball Research.
"I'm very proud of how the book turned out," Richard said.
Richard is an historian of the Cape Cod Baseball League and he shows off that knowledge in this book.
It covers over 100 years of the history of the league including stories about the players, managers, umpires, scouts, host families and volunteers who have contributed to the longtime success of the top amateur college baseball league in the country.
"One of the most impressive things to me that, in the back of the book, there's a 38-page section of every baseball player that played in the Cape Cod League and then went on to the major leagues," Richard said.
"It's done alphabetically.
It has their name, the team, or teams, they played for here on the Cape, the year they were here, and then who they broke in with in the major leagues." That is a list of more than 1,800 former Cape League players who played Major League Baseball.
That is a comprehensive look at the league, the players and the many people who have made the Cape League so special over the years.
What comes through in the book is how much the Cape League has a rich history and continues to be a special league to this day.
The league has been a launching pad for so many top Major League players and it's impossible not to realize its importance when you go through the pages of this book.
"To this day, I would say that probably one out of every three Major League Baseball players at some point in time played for the Cape League," Richard said.
"It may be closer to one out of every five, but it is amazing." When you watch the Cape League and read this book, you will wonder which players are the next ones to make an impact on the next level.
Richard captures the aura and importance of the Cape League and this book drives home why this is the top amateur summer baseball league.
The history is just unmatched and Richard makes that clear with his unrivaled research.
"I think (this book) gets across (how amazing the Cape League is) because in addition to talking about the game itself, it talks about how many people are needed to put it together," said Richard, who emphasized the role of the host families and volunteers who help every step of the way.
Richard will be at the Cape League All-Star game on Saturday, July 18 at Harwichs Whitehouse Field to sell copies of the book.
If you are looking for further information on purchasing the book, contact him at [email protected].
Adam Kurkjian covers softball, baseball, girls tennis and outdoor track & field for the Cape Cod Times.
You can contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @AdamKurkjian.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: New book tracks more than 1,800 Cape League players who reached MLB.