The last time Matt Goyen was a part of the Cape Cod Baseball League, it was certainly different. The Brewster Whitecaps actually played in Harwich at Cape Cod Tech. It was only in ‘06 that the ‘Caps moved to their current venue, Stony Brook Field.

Now, Goyen is set to return to the Cape. This time for a special occasion, as he is being inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame on Nov. 15. Not even former Whitecaps such as Aaron Judge or David Ross have heard their names called into the exclusive club.

“It's awesome,” Goyen said. “It wasn't something that I was expecting or had on my radar at all. It's a cool thing. I had a fun summer up there more than 20 years ago. I've always wanted to take the family back, and so this gives me a good reason and excuse to do so.”

Goyen played for the Whitecaps in the summer of 2004, as a draft-eligible hard-throwing southpaw, hoping to make a name for himself. The Georgia College and State University pitcher had anything but an easy journey to even make it into the league.

In 2003, after a solid sophomore season, Goyen had his sights set on playing for Chatham. Unfortunately for Goyen, at the end of his college baseball season, he dislocated his ankle, ending any summer ball opportunity. The following year, Goyen attempted to return to the Cape, only to run into a common problem for college baseball players: he was draft-eligible.

When a player becomes eligible to be drafted to the pros, teams are less likely to take a risk on players that could potentially leave in the middle of the season, and would rather give opportunities to younger players looking to raise their draft stock.

Luckily for Goyen, his coach had his back.

“My college coach, who had coached up there, had a lot to do with pushing the right buttons to get me and get me a spot on Brewster,” Goyen said. “When I got up there, I just wanted to make the most of the opportunity and help to prove those that had put some faith in me correct. I had a great team, and a fun summer. I got to play with and against a ton of really good players. It's the best college baseball league in the country.”

While on the Cape, Goyen proved his supporters right, cutting through batters with 80 punch outs with a 1.25 ERA and a 5-2 record. Eventually, Goyen’s success took him all the way to the professional level, leading to the Florida Marlins selecting him 95th overall in the third round of the 2005 MLB Draft.

“I was 27th round before I'd even gotten to the Cape,” Goyen said. “So that summer had that kind of lingering over me. Coming out and pitching so well when I was up there really put me in a position to set me up for that following year. So, especially coming from a smaller school, those summer leagues are a big deal because they allow you to compete against the best players in the country.”

Spending time on the Cape not only helped Goyen get drafted, but also prepared him for the plethora of hardships that come with Minor League Baseball. Though Goyen never made it to the MLB, he spent four seasons playing for the Marlins’ MiLB affiliates. Both summer baseball and the minors come with challenges, with consistent travel and up to six games a week.

“There's always been a pretty big correlation between the day-to-day lifestyle that both present,” Goyen said. “Players are all obviously at a very, very high level. It's a little bit different because in the Minor Leagues sometimes the incentive is not necessarily for the individual team to win. The Minor Leagues, there's more of a development perspective, and so it's a little bit of a different feel. But from a day-to-day basis, there's actually a lot of overlap and correlation.”

More importantly, Goyen made an impact on the Cape in areas outside of baseball. Not only did he have a day job painting doors at a long-term care facility, but he also made it a priority to meet with the people who lived out there–people who now get to see him return as a Hall of Famer.

“I didn't get to know as many of the people that were just coming in, maybe for the summer,” Goyen said. “But the folks that lived there, worked there, the folks I was able to work with and talk baseball with every morning at where I was working, who would come to the games. It was a unique and fun experience.”

Nowadays, Goyen is like most fathers, working a day job and supporting his kids and wife in any of the activities they participate in. From an early age, Goyen made sure his kids were involved in some type of sports, even coaching his son’s baseball and daughter’s softball teams.

However, as his kids have taken up tennis as their main sport, taking after their mom, Goyen has admittedly stepped further away from the game. He still watches games and will tune in from time to time, but not at the same level he used to.

“I really enjoyed coaching both kids and getting to teach the game at that level,” Goyen said. “As they got older and got good enough and the teams got good enough where you can kind of start implementing more of the nuances of the game. Honestly, having sat through, watched, and been around baseball as much as I was at that age, I still enjoy watching. But it's not something that is a day-to-day basis at this point. I’m so involved with the kids' activities.”

Outside of sports, Goyen remains focused on his duties as a husband and a father–an experience that Goyen says is one of the most rewarding parts of his life. With his induction into the CCBL Hall of Fame, he will now have the opportunity to give his family a glimpse into his past successes.

“Both my wife and I invest a lot of time in just enjoying the process of watching them grow up,” Goyen said. “Both academically and athletically. To me, sports is such a massive tool in the ability of understanding how to overcome obstacles and how to really set goals and put hard work in and try to achieve them. And so, you know, our stance was always like, well, you know, no matter what you do, you know, you got to do something.”