
The Bourne Braves asked fans to help decide who is the best MLB player to play for the three-time Cape Cod Baseball League Champions.
From two-time Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso to two-time All-Star Mark Mulder to two-time World Series Champion Kevin Youkilis, there are many options to choose from. We asked fans to select five players via our interactive fan poll shared through social media and our newsletter through December to help decide the rankings.
After tallying the votes here are numbers 10 through 6 with some honorable mentions.
10. Bobby Higginson, Outfielder (1991)
The 11-year MLB vet cracks the top 10 after spending his entire pro career with the Detroit Tigers. Though never an all-star, Higginson batted .272 with 187 homers, 709 RBI, 736 runs scored while slashing .358/.455/.813. He has a career WAR of 23.1.
His first full season with the Tigers came age 24 during the 1995 season, appearing in 131 games and producing 36 extra-base hits. Higginson had a breakout sophomore campaign, hitting .320 with 26 homers, 81 RBI, 35 doubles, 75 runs scored, and 65 walks to just 66 strikeouts. He followed that up in 1997 with the first of two 100-RBI seasons β slugging 27 homers, 101 RBI, 30 doubles, and driving in 101. In total the lefty hitter had four seasons 150+ hits, 30+ doubles, 80+ RBI while also proving to be one of the more difficult players to strike out with nine seasons of less than 100 Ks.
Higginson spent time at all three outfield positions and also served as a designated hitter.
9. Jeremy Giambi, Outfielder/First Baseman/DH (1994)
The younger brother of Jason, Jeremy enjoyed a six-year career playing for Kansas City, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Boston before retiring after the 2003 season. He debuted in 1998, playing in 18 games with the Royals being seeing his playing time increase in 1999 with 90 games. After signing with the Athletics in 2000, he posted career highs in hits (105), doubles (26), runs scored (64), and RBI (57) in 2001.
Giambi's best season came with two teams during the 2002 season, where he recorded 20 homers and 17 doubles for the A's and Phillies. He was acquired by Philadelphia at the trade deadline after Giambi hit .274 with eight homers and 17 RBI in the first half of the season.
He was known a reliable hitter off the bench who provided some pop and a decent eye at the plate (251 walks to 356 strikeouts in 1705 plate appearances).
8. Connor Wong, Catcher/DH (2016)
One of two active player to make the list, Wong has turned himself into an everyday starter for the Red Sox since the team acquired him from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the infamous Mookie Betts trade in February 2020. After debuting in 2021 and appearing in 27 games in 2022, Wong has appeared in 126 games in each of his last two seasons in Boston.
In 2024, he hit .280 with 13 home runs, 52 RBI, 24 doubles, and 54 runs scored while slashing .333/.425/.758. And when he wasn't handling the Boston pitching staff behind the plate, he was helping out wherever manager Alex Cora needed him to keep his bat in the lineup. He appeared in 14 games at first base, six games at second base, and two games in the outfield last season.
7. Mark Kotsay, Outfielder/First Baseman (1994)
The former teammate of Giambi during the 1994 Braves season, Kotsay enjoyed a 17-year playing career and has been the manager of the Oakland Athletics since 2022. Spanning seven teams (San Diego, Oakland, Florida, Chicago White Sox, Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta), Kotsay hit .276 with 127 homers, 720 RBI, 790 runs scored and slashed .332/.404/.737 for his career.
Though never an all-star, he did garner some MVP votes in 2004 while playing for the A's. He hit .314 with 15 homers, 63 RBI, 37 doubles, 78 runs scored, and 190 hits with a WAR of 4.6. For his efforts that season he placed 14th in the American League MVP voting. Kotsay had nine seasons of at least 25 doubles, eight of which included 50+ RBI.
Kotsay loved to attack opposing pitching, and rarely was he beat outright. The left-handed hitter never walked more than 60 times in a season, but he also never recorded more than 90 strikeouts. For his career, Kotsay struck 757 times across 7,110 plate appearances, good for a strikeout rate of 10.6% in 17 seasons.
6. Lou Merloni, Infielder (1991)
A fan favorite during his tenure with the Red Sox, as well being a Framingham native and sports radio personality on WEEI, Merloni ingrained himself in the Massachusetts baseball community. After teaming up in Bourne with Higginson for 1991 season, Merloni introduced himself to Major League Baseball in a big way in 1998. The utility infielder crushed a three-run homer on May 15, 1998 at Fenway Park.
He spent six years in Boston with pitstops in Cleveland, San Diego and Los Angeles (Angels). Merloni notably played in Japan during the 2000 season before rejoining the Red Sox, where he hit .320 with 11 doubles, two triples, and 18 RBI in 40 games.
For his career, Merloni hit .271, with 14 homers, 125 RBI, 138 runs scored, and slashed .332/.384/.716.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Travis Jankowski, Outfielder (2010-11)
The utility outfielder won a World Series with the Texas Rangers in 2023 β his first season with the AL West team. Jankowski has career numbers of .236 AVG, 11 homers, 96 RBI, 212 runs scored, 102 stolen bases, and a .319 on-base percentage in 10 seasons across six franchises. His career WAR is 4.2. Jankowski made career-highs in games played (131 in 2016) and plate appearances (387 in 2018) while playing for the San Diego Padres. He had pit stops with the Reds and Phillies in 2020 and 2021 before being traded from the Mets to the Mariners during the 2022 season.
He received his call-up to The Show just four years after wearing a Braves uniform. Additionally, Jankowski won the Cape Cod Baseball League's MVP trophy in 2011, hitting .329 with 15 stolen bases while leading the league in hits, runs, and triples.
Chad Green, Relief Pitcher (2011-2012)
The right-hander has spent his nine-year career in the AL East, getting called up to the Yankees in 2016 and later joining the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023. Green's career WAR is 8.5 with a win-loss record of 40-28 and a 3.23 ERA in 449 innings pitched.
Green has predominantly worked out of the bullpen, though he has been a starter when asked β starting 15 games with the Yankees in 2019. His best season came in pinstripes in 2017 β his first full season in the Majors β when he threw 69 innings in 40 games with a 1.83 ERA, 103 strikeouts, and just 17 walks.
Green posted an ERA below four in six of his nine seasons.
Mark DeRosa, Infielder (1995)
Though never a standout star, DeRosa played a pivotal role as a quality utility fielder who showed doubles power at the plate. He played six positions (shortstop, second base, third base, first base, right field, and left field) over his 16-year career.
He was called up to the Atlanta Braves roster just three seasons after playing for Bourne, where he played for the first seven years of his career and appeared in the 1999 World Series. He later won a World Series in 2010 with the San Francisco Giants.
DeRosa's best offensive stretch of his career came from 2006 to 2009 when he posted four-straight years of 125+ hits, 20+ doubles, 10+ home runs, 70+ RBI, and 70+ runs scored while playing for Texas, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland, and St. Louis. He posted a 10.6 WAR for his career to go with a .268 average, 100 homers, 494 RBI, and 538 runs scored.
Across his 16-year career, DeRosa played for Atlanta, Texas, Chicago (NL), Cleveland, St. Louis, San Francisco, Washington, and Toronto.