B.F.C. Whitehouse Field, or Whitehouse Field, is a baseball venue in Harwich, Massachusetts, home to the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL).
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| Address | 75 Oak Street |
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| Location | Harwich, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 41°41′34.80″N 70°03′56.9″W / 41.6930000°N 70.065806°W |
| Capacity | 4,000 |
| Field size | Left Field: 330 ft Center Field: 395 ft Right Field: 330 ft |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | The 1998 scoreboard was replaced with a new scoreboard for the summer of 2021 and beyond. The 1998 scoreboard was Donated by Fay Vincent, Jr. in memory of Fay Vincent, Sr. |
| Opened | 1969 |
| Tenants | |
| Harwich Mariners | |
Opened in 1969, Whitehouse Field was named for Mr. B.F.C. Whitehouse and was dedicated in July 1969 as part of Harwich's 275th anniversary celebration.[1][2] The ballpark was built on land adjacent to what is now Monomoy Regional High School, and features a deep outfield fence with a symmetrical configuration. It is accessed via an extended woodland trail that opens into the tree-ringed clearing where the field is located.[3][4]
As early as the 1920s, Harwich had a franchise in the CCBL, albeit originally a combined Chatham-Harwich team.[5] The Mariners became Harwich's own team in 1930,[6] and prior to 1969 played their home games at Harwich's Brooks Park. At the 1969 dedication ceremonies for Whitehouse Field, Mr. Whitehouse concluded his remarks by stoking Harwich's historic small-town border rivalry, turning to the Mariners players and exhorting, "Now go out there and beat Chatham!"[7]
In 1998, a new scoreboard was donated by former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent, Jr., in memory of his father, Fay Vincent, Sr. The commissioner had been a longtime summer resident of Harwich and a fan of the Mariners and the CCBL, and wished to honor his late father who had been the baseball captain at Yale University in 1931.[8] The scoreboard was dedicated on July 6, 1998 as part of "Fay Vincent Night at Whitehouse Field",[9] and has been billed by the CCBL as being "the largest scoreboard in New England south of Fenway Park".[10] A 2008 grant from the Yawkey Foundation helped fund major upgrades to Whitehouse that included the installation of a new lighting system and protective netting.[11][12]
Whitehouse Field hosted the CCBL's annual all-star game and home run derby festivities in 1992, 2002, 2012 and 2018,[2][13][14][15] and has seen the Mariners claim CCBL championships in 1983, 1987, 2008 and 2011.[16][17][18] The ballpark has been the summertime home of dozens of future major leaguers such as Kevin Millar,[19] Josh Donaldson,[20] and DJ LeMahieu.[21]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Harwich Dedicates...Cardinals Win". The Cape Codder. Orleans, MA. July 17, 1969. p. 23.
- ^ a b Eldred, Rich (July 23, 1992). "A Glance at Whitehouse Field, Site of the 1992 All-Star Game". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. pp. S2, S6.
- ^ Walsh, Sean M. (June 30, 1994). "Greener Grass, Brighter Diamonds: Ranking the Fields of the Cape League". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. pp. 5, 27.
- ^ Sean Walsh (May 19, 2015). "Top 10 Coolest Places to Watch a Sporting Event on Cape Cod". capecod.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ "Cape Cod Baseball League Schedule". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. July 6, 1929. p. 2.
- ^ "Cape League Forms Plans as Baseball Season Nears". Falmouth Enterprise. Falmouth, MA. April 17, 1930. p. 1.
- ^ Price, Christopher. Baseball by the Beach, Hyannis, MA: Parnassus Imprints, 1998, p.189. ISBN 0-940160-71-4.
- ^ "Fun facts you may not know about the Cape League". capecodtimes.com. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ^ "Bauer, Falmouth top Wareham, 6-1". capecodtimes.com. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ^ "Cape Cod to host Division III Baseball Regional". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ^ Matt Rice (January 29, 2008). "New lights in the works for Whitehouse". wickedlocal.com. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ^ "Offseason of change for CCBL". wickedlocal.com. February 13, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ Gordon, Silene (July 25, 2002). "Cape League plans all-star gala Saturday in Harwich". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. p. 10.
- ^ Craig Forde (July 26, 2012). "Harwich hosts the return of Cape League All-Star Game this Saturday". boston.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ Matt Goisman (July 22, 2018). "Cape League All-Star Game: Brickhouse, Stowers power West to victory". capecodtimes.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ Finn, Jr., Frank R. (August 25, 1983). "Harwich ekes out CC Baseball League championship". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. p. 26.
- ^ Bulkley, Nat (August 20, 1987). "Mariners capture Cape League title over Red Sox". The Cape Cod Chronicle. Chatham, MA. p. 45.
- ^ Adler, Eric (August 15, 2008). "How Sweet It Is! Harwich Mariners Win First CCBL Championship In 21 Years". The Cape Cod Chronicle. Chatham, MA.
- ^ Ira Berkow (March 30, 2005). "Millar keeps 'em loose". capecodtimes.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ "Cape League Notes". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. July 13, 2006. p. 20.
- ^ Matt Faye (March 2, 2017). "Cape Cod League alums find reunion on Colorado Rockies roster". denverpost.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.