After 51 days and 40 games, 20 at Spillane Field and another 20 over the bridge across all of Cape Cod, the 2026 Wareham Gatemen season comes to an end with the regular season coming to a close.
Wareham finished its summer tied with Cotuit at 28 points, but the Kettleers took the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division due to owning the tiebreaker from the season series. The Gatemen finished 2026 with 14 wins and a 11-9 home record after going below .500 at Spillane Field last summer. Despite Wareham playing its best ball of the summer at the most important time of the CCBL calendar with wins in three of its last five regular season games, the late push fell just short.
Although the Gatemen fell short of their goal of winning a title, the season still created many impressive moments.
Wareham sent four players to Whitehouse Field’s Cape Cod Baseball League All Star Game, two pitchers and two positional selections. Starters Ethan Baiotto (Tennessee) and Mark Brissey (Arkansas) represented the Gatemen’s staff, with catcher Levi Clark (Tennessee) and outfielder RJ Hamilton (Duke) being the top nods from the lineup.
The ASG only lasted two full innings, but Baiotto made an appearance as well as Home Run Contest participant Coen Niclai (Oregon State). Niclai finished the summer with six home runs, the most of any Wareham hitter and tied for the third-most across the entire Cape League.
In 2027, All-Star weekend makes its way over the bridge to Spillane Field as talent from the all 10 franchises in the nation’s most competitive summer collegiate baseball league. MLB scouts and fans alike will pack into Wareham’s ballpark for an unforgettable night to catch the big leagues’ next top stars.
Speaking of stars, Wareham’s 2026 Opening Day starter was selected just weeks later in the MLB Draft. Garrett Lambert (Mercer) was the first pick in the sixth round to the Colorado Rockies, one of 13 Wareham players taken in the draft. The Gatemen also had three players sign as free agents with MLB teams.
The wins and losses fade as the 2026 Cape Cod Baseball League season ends. The relationships and memories made with teammates and the Wareham community never die.
“A lot of my favorite moments are just being around the cages with the guys, being on the field, chatter in the dugout, the stories, the camaraderie. Getting to know these guys on a personal level, not just from a baseball standpoint. That’s that's the cool thing for me,” Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth said. It's two and a half months that you might get to know some of these guys on a different level, which is pretty quick. Keeping those relationships going for a long time and following their careers. That's the special part.”
Smyth prepares for his fifth season with Wareham next summer. He will once again lead a team of shuffling names throughout the summer, collegiate athletes making the transition from metal to wooden bats and some players in the midst of transitioning schools. But hey, that’s Cape League baseball.
“So excited to get back to work again, already starting to count the days down.”
