Members of the Cotuit Kettleers Board, coach Mike Roberts, and general manager Bruce Murphy spoke to residents of the Southport Condominium Community on Monday as the first public event of the Kettleers season. Many different discussions happened, including what the Cape Cod Baseball League is, the history of the Kettleers, recruiting players, the new technology used in baseball, and more.

Southport is an active condominium community in Mashpee geared towards people 55 and older. They host many activities for their residents throughout their facilities, including hosting the Kettleers on the first Monday of June. Over a dozen residents sat in their main hall, Kettleers hats donned, to listen to members of the team speak.

“This has been done for several years now,” said fan engagement volunteer Alan Gladstone. “The residents absolutely love it. Every year, they look forward to it.”

Some fun facts that residents were surprised to learn included that over 10 major league scouts attend Kettleers games, one in seven players who play make it to Major League Baseball, and an average Kettleers game uses five dozen baseballs.

Murphy, who has been with the team since 1989, discussed the intricacies of recruiting players to play for the Kettleers. Murphy and other members of the Kettleers analytics team start looking for players as early as the summer of the previous year, with players coming from many Power Five schools.

“They like playing in Cotuit,” Murphy said. “The housing, team, fan base, and opportunities are great for players.”

Murphy also addressed the challenges it takes to get players, pointing out five main issues: pitchers having thrown too many innings, players getting drafted by MLB teams in July, the College World Series delaying players' arrivals, Team USA relying on Cape League players to fill their roster, and the newest one– players transferring schools. Murphy explained that kids will transfer to higher-level teams to have a chance at getting paid more under NIL rules. When they transfer, the players often have to report to school early and are discouraged from playing summer baseball.

“We call this week ‘rush week,’” Murphy said, noting how the roster changes with the above issues. “We have lists on lists, spreadsheets on spreadsheets. We have to find housing and see who’s coming.”

Roberts also touched on some of the new changes to baseball, explaining that a lot of it has to do with analytics. Working for the Pittsburgh Pirates when not with the Kettleers, Roberts said that every offensive player meets once a week to go over the pitchers they will face that week. The players are then shown analytics on the pitchers, including what pitch types they tend to throw in certain situations. However, he prefers a more old-fashioned baseball style when coaching the Kettleers.

“We play backyard baseball so the players learn the game as best as they can,” Roberts said. “I want them to enjoy playing the game.”

Roberts also entertained the crowd by bringing in several items, including a Pirates CamWood Fungo bat, used during practice to simulate real game hitting, baseballs painted half black and half white to help throw the ball with more spin, several baseball training gloves by Valle Sporting Goods, his high school glove, and the most popular item, his Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Ring from when he was a minor league consultant with the club

He also coached at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill for twenty years, detailing his time with residents. Roberts said he often sent his players to the Cape Cod League as early as the 1970s. Roberts also shared a story about when he recruited future Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona and not having enough money to put him in a hotel.

“He slept at my house,” Roberts said. “I remember my one-year-old son Brian sitting on his lap in a diaper.”

Despite his accomplishments at the collegiate and professional levels, Coach Roberts still appreciates his time at Cotuit every year. This year will be his 20th season coaching the Kettleers.

“It’s been an absolute thrill to coach for 20 years,” Roberts said. “To see the fans come into Cotuit, whether from the cemetery or wherever they find parking is a thrill. It’s the purest baseball.”

After the talk, residents asked Coach Roberts questions, ranging from the wood type used in bats to whether women would ever play collegiate baseball. Roberts also handed out signed copies of his book, “You Can’t Steal Second Base and Keep Your Foot on First,” posters, and schedules to residents. All of the books and posters were gone in a minute.

Residents were pleased that the Kettleers returned, with several of them saying they enjoyed their time and learned a lot. Some stayed after to ask Coach Roberts and other members of the Kettleers more questions, learning how the half-colored baseballs worked.

Gladstone emphasized that community engagement events similar to this one are important to the Kettleers Organization.

“This is our home team and we want to get the Southporters behind the team,” Gladstone said. “Any given night, you're gonna find 10-12 Southport residents at the game.”

The Southport talk filled the main meeting hall with learning, laughter, and lots of baseball, giving us a glimpse into another year of Kettleer baseball at Lowell Park.