Besides the Kettleers donning red jerseys and digi-camo Cape League hats, Red Shirt Fridays allow for Cotuit to honor someone who has served the village in some capacity, such as police officers, firemen or veterans of the armed forces.

After the end of the third inning, the home plate gate opens, a hero walks out, and the fans cheer for someone who’s dedicated their life to serving their community.

On Friday, the Kettleers honored former Marine and Cotuit native Travis Bird, whose house is a five-minute walk from Lowell Park. Bird has come to Kettleers games ever since he was a kid in the 1980s, operating the scoreboard for the team with some of his friends. After being honored at the bottom of the third inning, Bird received a handshake from coach Mike Roberts and a signed baseball from members of the Kettleers team.

“Back in the '80s, we used to have a scoreboard you had to manually change the numbers on,” Bird said. “We used to do that as kids while we were watching the game, and they would give you 50 cents after the game to do that. We would also retrieve the flag at the end of the game, fold it, and bring it to the dugout.”

Bird remembered Lowell Park in the 1980s as similar to today but with less green grass. He also said that there was only one set of stands — made of metal along the third base side. After the games ended, Bird would go down to the Cotuit Fresh Market (aka The COOP) and buy penny candy with the money he earned from operating the scoreboard.

After graduating from Barnstable High School, Bird enlisted in the armed forces instead of going to college. He said being in the armed forces was a great decision for him.

“When I was in high school, I really wasn’t a student that could sit behind the desk and do the schoolwork itself,” Bird said. “But I did like the sports part of going to school and the social part, so I wasn’t going to go to college. I decided that I would join the armed forces and serve my country and my community.”

Bird was a mechanic stationed in California from 1989 to 1993 and part of the 3rd Marine Air Wing 242. He worked on F/A-18 Hornets and other planes, fixing them after they returned for the day. The squad is also known as the “bats” — the animal, not the baseball equipment.

“I used to work night crew out there, so we would have our days to ourselves and go to work after 4 o’clock,” Bird said. “We’d work until about midnight, 1 o’clock, working on the jets after the guys flew them all day. It was nice.”

After leaving the Marines, Bird returned to the Cape and started working at the National Cemetery in Bourne, Massachusetts, saying he now honors veterans with their final resting place. His wife, Kathy Bird, served in the 102nd Medical Group for the Massachusetts Air National Guard at Otis Air Force Base. After Kathy Bird retired, they moved their family to Cotuit, attending four to five Kettleers home games every season. Travis Bird said he likes watching the young baseball talent work hard to achieve the next level.

“I love it here on the Cape,” Bird said. “I like the Cotuit community. I like the beaches. I like the people — they are very friendly around here.”

Bird said that besides his children, he and his wife’s greatest accomplishment was serving in the U.S. Military, showing how his dedication to Cotuit and his country made him a perfect choice for Cotuit's Hero of the Game.

Photo by Holden McBerty (Memphis).