“Ball four!” “Take your base!”
Umpires will say that when hitters work a walk and get first base as a result. At Spillane Field in Wareham on Saturday and at McKeon Park the last two days, Hyannis Harbor Hawks hitters have heard those phrases quite a bit.
The 2025 season is only three games old, but the Harbor Hawks have shown an early knack for taking ball four from opposing pitchers. They’ve worked 19 walks thus far, leading the league in that category. The high number of walks also leads to a league-leading mark in on base percentage, with the Hawks sporting a collective .366 mark in OBP.
Hayden Federico, who’s been in the starting lineup and drawn at least one walk in all three Hawks games, leads the team with four. Federico, who compared the pitching in the Cape League to the pitching he faced in the Southeastern Conference in an Ole Miss uniform, relies on a patient approach at the plate.
“I’m going to get something that I can drive and I’m not going to swing at the pitches I can’t handle,” said Federico. “A pitcher has to come at me if they want to get me out. If they do, props to them, but I’m going to stick to my approach and have long at-bats and do what I can to help the team.”
Behind Federico, outfielder Andrew Williamson and first baseman Myles Bailey each have three walks. Infielders Jake Schaffner, Ray Velazquez, and Gavin Roy each have two walks, as does outfielder Matthew Miura.
Bailey, the Hawks’ power hitting first baseman from Florida State University, is still adjusting to swinging wood bats in the Cape League as opposed to the aluminum bats used in college.
While Federico is a patient hitter at the plate, Bailey likes to be aggressive. That doesn’t stop him from taking a walk when necessary.
“I’m trying to be aggressive most of the time,” said Bailey. “If they don’t come to me, I’m not going to go out of my way or go out of my zone to hit what they’re throwing. [I] make them come to me, and if they don’t, I’ll take my base.”
While Hyannis hitters do a good job of taking walks, Hyannis pitchers do a good job of limiting them. The Hawks are one of three teams to have walked less than 10 batters through the season’s first three games, with the Hawks pitching staff having walked nine. One other team is the Harwich Mariners, who the Hawks beat 2-1 in their home opener Sunday.
The other team is the Chatham Anglers, who the Hawks happen to be facing Tuesday night. Chatham, who is 1-2 to start the season, has walked only five batters as a pitching staff.
The Hawks will be looking to put a dent into that number Tuesday night against the Anglers as they look to improve to 3-1 to begin the season. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Veterans Field in Chatham.
