Ever since the 2025 Cape League season began, the Commodores have looked forward to the largely advertised meet the coaches event at St. Barnabas church on Thursday, July 10. Everyone around town had been eager for the chance to finally shake hands with the new coaching staff, highlighted by 2013 World Series champion Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
What we weren’t expecting, however, was a day in which the term sub-par weather would be an understatement. But I’ve always held firm belief that God is a baseball fan, and a pretty big one at that, so while the skies remained gray, rainfall never once threatened the event and the Falmouth faithful were treated to the teams biggest community event of the year, highlighted by autographs, giveaways, and a food truck with one of the best hot dogs I can recall.
The festivities started around 6 o’clock Thursday evening, with the Chairman of the Falmouth select board, Robert Mascali declaring July 10, 2025 “Falmouth Commodores Day.” Mascali said that the Commodores are “woven into the fabric of our community,” but that should come as no surprise, as the team is now halfway through its 102nd season on the Cape.
Immediately following the Chairman’s remarks, it was time for the main event. Salty and his coaching staff took to the stage to speak to their community and answer all the questions people have been waiting to ask since the hire of the former big-league catcher and his band of assistants. Saltalamacchia described the event as “important to the community,” saying that “we don’t get a lot of opportunities during the game to meet the fans.” He later mentioned that every team he had ever been a part of had stressed getting out into the community at some point or another to help “build that connection.” He said that his biggest takeaway he hoped people would leave with was just how much goes into not only constructing a successful Cape League team, but any Cape League team at that. Between juggling with players that arrive late due to their respective college team’s postseason success and players that leave halfway through the year to hear their name called in the MLB’s first-year player draft, building and sustaining a winning culture throughout the locker room is no light task. However, with the ’Dores now sitting atop the Western division, it’s clear that this new staff is more than up to the challenge.
The event was largely sponsored by the Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, with the president and CEO Lisa Oliver in attendance to help call out the winning raffle tickets of Saltalamacchia-signed Cape League jerseys and baseballs. Oliver defined the day as “an awesome opportunity for us and the community to get up close and personal with the new coaches.”
While Thursday may have been the last chance for fans to be able to shake the hands of coaches like Salty or Beau McMillan, you still have a little less than half of the Cape League season to come out and watch our guys in action. If you want my opinion, I highly recommend doing so, the team has caught fire, busting out of an early season batting slump while continuing to stay dominant on the mound. You never know when your last chance will be to watch a future Major League all-star partake in America’s pastime in one of America’s true five-star summer destinations, so check the schedule, pick a night (or two), and head out to Guv Fuller Field to check out what the new era of Commodore baseball is all about.
