Can-Am League Offers Red Sox Relief
With the Cape League season long over (congrats again, Y-D), the Little League World Series finished (congrats Columbus, GA), and the Red Sox season falling apart (go Tigers!), it’s hard to find a good baseball game to watch. Luckily, for those near Boston, there is the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball. The league traces its roots back to 1936, though the modern day league was founded on October 6, 2004. The league is not associated with Major League Baseball, but I would say that the level of play is between A and AA Minor League Baseball, leaning toward A. The league fielded eight teams for the 2006 season including the Brockton Rox (Brockton, MA), Nashua Pride (Nashua, NH), New Haven County Cutters (West Haven, CT), New Jersey Jackals (Little Falls, NJ), North Shore Spirit (Lynn, MA), Quebec Capitales (Quebec City, Quebec), Sussex Skyhawks (Augusta, NJ), and Worcester Tornadoes (Worcester, MA).
On Wednesday August 30th, I went to my first Brockton Rox game at Campanelli Stadium. The stadium is considered to be the best in the league, and I was pleasantly surprised. While the stadium has a cheap feel to it (especially since it has a tin press box), it mimics a lot of professional ballparks and draws the largest crowds in the league. The stadium can fit about 6000 people, and drew a reported crowd of 4506 the night I went. They even have a mascot, K-O the Kangaroo! A ticket into Campanelli costs about $4-8. I paid $4 for a standing room ticket, even though not even half the seats were occupied.
Players in the league probably have hopes of playing in the majors, but few will make it there. The occasional ex-pro will stop by the Can-Am League (or another independent league) for one last season. This happened last year, when Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd pitched for the Rox. The league is probably not scouted heavily, if at all. But, what the league does offer is high quality baseball from late May to mid-September.
Playoffs in the Can-Am League begin Wednesday September 6th.
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