Dreams, Journeys Rise To Forefront At Cape League’s Fenway Day

BOSTON – Penmen Field in the town of Hooksett, home of Southern New Hampshire University’s baseball team, has seating capacity for about 200 people.

 This past March, the listed attendance for the first leg of a home opener doubleheader versus American International College was 114. The second game was 103. Casey Cumiskey, the Division II program’s shortstop, went 2 for 4 with an RBI, and the Penmen won 13-12.

 About 14 weeks later, Cumiskey — playing this summer for Orleans — stepped onto the field at Fenway Park. He and fellow Firebirds and players from the Cape Cod Baseball League’s nine other clubs were at the Boston Red Sox’s home park Thursday, July 2 as part of the league’s annual day of workouts on those history-rich grounds. Cumiskey wasn’t at Penmen Field anymore.

 “It was crazy,” he said. “It was just surreal…I just didn't realize how cool it'd be until I was actually in there.”

 The day at Fenway is all about dreams. The event — overseen last week by Ray Fagnant, Northeast regional scouting supervisor for the Red Sox — acts as a showcase. Players from each Cape team took infield/outfield and batting practice as scouts from all 30 Major League Baseball franchises watched.

 For any player, including those from bigger-name collegiate programs (many of which will occasionally play at MLB stadiums), Fenway Day is a notable experience. But it’s within the brisk journey of someone like Cumiskey — from playing in a Manchester suburb to America’s Most Beloved Ballpark in a few months’ span — where it really becomes clear how the Cape League is a breath away from the pros. 

Cumiskey had never played on a big league field prior to the workouts. He had been to Fenway once previously, as a fan for a game when the Yankees were in town. But then Cumiskey was suddenly hitting balls hard toward the Green Monster during batting practice Thursday, even sneaking one over the wall, a moment he’ll be able to hold onto his whole life, he said.

“You almost feel like a kid again,” Cumiskey said. “After a couple swings, you didn't even realize, you were just like, ‘Holy crap, I'm hitting baseballs in Fenway Park,’ and it's just something you try to take all in and really appreciate.”

 So too did it become clear during the Cape League’s Fenway Day how dreams can move fast in baseball. Take Chatham Anglers catcher/first baseman Harlin Hovater, for example. Hovater wasn’t playing Division II ball this past spring like Cumiskey; he was in junior college. He was playing his second season for Meridian Community College in eastern Mississippi, facing other small schools in the region with enrollments numbering lower than the attendance figures at some Cape games.

 Hovater, who’ll next play collegiately at Mississippi State, similarly had never taken the field in a major league park before. A little over two months since Meridian had concluded their season against Northeast Mississippi Community College, Hovater was taking batting practice at Fenway.

 “It really came fast for me,” he said.

 For Hovater, the day at Fenway was a blessing, and he was just happy to be there, telling everybody how fun it all was. He wasn’t going to lose sight of his roots, either.

 “Junior college really helped me out, helped me get stronger, and it got me to where I am today,” Hovater said.

 Circulating around the ballpark throughout the workouts were dozens of scouts, many wearing the gear of their MLB teams, some even in full uniform. They served as the reminders that, while practicing at Fenway was a cool moment in the present, the pressure-filled proceedings that day had broader ramifications ranging into the future for Cape Leaguers. Hovater, regardless, said his mindset was just to go out and have fun.

 “If they don't like me, they don't like me, but I mean, I'm just going to have fun,” he said. “I'm going to play my game and just going to do my part and do what I can to help my team. That's my mindset every day. I'm just going to go out there and compete against anybody.”

Orleans ended the Cape League’s day at Fenway — which started in the morning and concluded after 8 p.m. — with a scrimmage against a scout team of collegiate players (and one high schooler) assembled by Fagnant. Cumiskey played third base. 

He looked around and thought about how many of the game’s greats once had the same view he did.

“It's crazy to be in the same spot as all those guys,” Cumiskey said. “It was really cool.”

Orleans won the scrimmage 4-1. Those players on the scout team, just like the Cape Leaguers, had their own aspirations. Some of them had previously played on the Cape, as recently as earlier this season. They were kids identified by the scouts as worthy of additional, final looks. Many had traveled great distances to make it for the practice game.

“Kids want to play here,” Fagnant said. “It’s Fenway Park.”

All of them — the Cape Leaguers and the scout team — came to play on that field in front of those eyes. Didn’t matter if they started this spring at a Mississippi community college or in front of a hundred people in New Hampshire. They all wanted to play there.