When Cotuit and Falmouth faced off in a home-and-home series, it wasn’t just a matchup between the Kettleers and Commodores. It was a matchup between two members of the Cooper family.
Cotuit is managed by Rob Cooper, who is in his first season with the Kettleers. His son, Jake Cooper, graduated from the University of West Florida this past year and now works as an assistant coach with the Commodores.
Cotuit and Falmouth faced off for the first time this year Friday, with the Commodores claiming a thrilling 14-11 victory at home. Even though Rob was on the losing end, there were no hard feelings.
“You show up, and you see him, and you're so fired up that he loves the experience he's getting here,” Rob said about his son after the game. “As a dad, you want your kids to chase their dreams, and he's surrounded by some really good people.”
Maureen Cooper, Rob’s wife and Jake’s mom, was also in attendance for the game. At the conclusion of the contest, Rob wasn’t sure of her whereabouts, but he made an educated guess.
“She's probably standing on the winning side because she would rather be associated with a winner right now,” he joked.
The Coopers met up for a rematch the very next day, with the Commodores coming out on top yet again, this time by a 10-6 margin. And yet again, Maureen watched the game, but this time, she received a gift before it started.
Bruce Murphy and Tyler Young, the general managers of Cotuit and Falmouth, respectively, gave Maureen a split jersey. The left side of the jersey featured stripes and maroon letters in support of Cotuit, while the right side was solid white with Falmouth’s font.
The jersey was fitting for a house divided, but the Coopers would have been happy no matter what the results of the games were. Coaching against a relative is a unique experience and one that Jake described as “crazy.”
"He taught me so much about the game, and he really was the reason I fell in love with baseball,” Jake said about Rob. “To be able to share the field with him and coach against him is pretty surreal and definitely something I'm grateful for.”
Given how close the two are and the mutual respect between them, Jake admitted to feeling somewhat bad about how the games unfolded.
“The night before we played our first game, I came over, and he cooked me a steak dinner, and he's taking me out to dinner tonight,” Jake said. “I'm sure he doesn't really want to be taking me out after we beat him twice, but it's been nice.”
To that, Rob offered a simple solution after the second matchup: “They've won two games, so I might make them buy.”
The Kettleers and Commodores are slated to face each other again in just three days. It might be Jake’s third win in a row, or it might be Rob’s time to get his revenge. Regardless, the experience of coaching in the Cape Cod Baseball League together is greater than any win or loss.
“It's pretty cool to look over and see (Jake) doing something he loves to do,” Rob said. “We exchanged lineup cards today, (and) for my wife to see that… It's cool. It’s something that we cherish.”
