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      • July 31st vs. Harwich
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​How Whitecaps players have improved despite the challenges of the Cape League
 
To call Christian Molfetta a veteran of the Cape League is an understatement.
A redshirt junior at Stanford University, Molfetta has appeared in more games on the Cape than he has at Stanford. After spending just three games with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks in the summer of 2016, Molfetta joined Brewster the next summer and won the Cape Cod Baseball League Championship before re-joining the Whitecaps last summer in 2018.
 
Molfetta’s seen it all. Which is why this summer he’s taking a step back. “The one thing I want to do this summer is just play and have fun,” Molfetta said. “Over the last three years, four years in college, everything is so intense in that a lot of times I think all of the players really focus on what’s going to happen in the future.”
 
Coaches, scouts, competition and the spotlight of playing in the world’s greatest amateur baseball league creates a kind of pressure that is understandable yet unrelatable.
For many collegiate ball players, baseball is not just a game; it’s their future, the same way medical school is for doctors and law school is for lawyers. Factor in the reality of there only being 750 roster spots in Major League Baseball and the competition ratchets up to a level that can be, at times, unhealthy.
 
“I think a lot of players are scared of what’s going to happen in the future,” Molfetta said.  “I think it’s really difficult to play when you have some fear in you.”
 
The majority of the players who enter the Cape League have no experience with the surrounding area. Most of the league’s competitors are 19 to 20 years of age, with many of them mentally or physically drained from competing in 50 plus games during the regular collegiate season.  But despite these challenges, in many cases, these young men have translated the lessons they’ve learned from their summer on the Cape to their following collegiate seasons.
 
Take Arizona State sophomore infielder Gage Workman as an example. A native of Queen Creek, Arizona, Workman was 18 years old when he played for the Whitecaps last summer.
In his first season with Brewster he struggled. Posting a .547 OPS after posting an OPS over .800 as a freshman for the Sun Devils.  But that one season on the Cape for Workman translated into results the following spring; he is now hitting .326 with seven home runs and a .415 on base percentage as of May 17th for Arizona State.  “I learned how to be an infielder on the Cape,” Workman said. “(Coach Tommy Weber) taught me a lot about infield and how to just play the game a little bit and deal with failure.”
 
In a league where teams play six to seven days a week, dealing with and learning from failure is critical. There’s no time to grieve over a poor performance when there’s another contest the following day.   “It’s a tough league; there’s a lot of ups and downs,” Workman said. “You try to keep it as smooth as possible.”
 
For Brewster, the man most responsible for keeping the Whitecaps young talent on the right path has been manager, Jamie Shevchik.  Also, the head coach at Keystone College in Pennsylvania, Shevchik’s hands off approach has allowed each of his players to learn about their own strengths and weaknesses without interference or unwarranted pressure. But when a player needs guidance or a helping hand, Shevchik and his staff never hesitate in administering advice.
 
“Coach Shev is a great guy and a great coach,” returning Whitecaps pitcher Jeff Criswell said. “I had a great time playing for him. He kept the environment loose and light. And one thing he really stressed was letting us play and letting us learn and make mistakes on our own.”
 
“I was pretty fortunate to be put on Brewster. (I had a) great host family (and a) great coaching staff where they let us have all the freedom to play how each of us play,” returning Whitecaps first baseman and outfielder Jesse Franklin said.
 
“I really liked last year and how good the coaches were at making you feel comfortable with whatever you’re doing,” returning Whitecaps catcher Joe Donovan said. “It was just so much fun because there was just a loose atmosphere. A lot of funny guys on the team and I think it just helped us play better.
 
“We might have not had the most successful beginning of the season but as the season went on, it was so much fun and we just got better as we went.”
Criswell, Franklin and Donovan are all sophomores at the University of Michigan. And after just one summer under Shevchik’s guidance, each current member of the Wolverines improved following their summer in Brewster.
 
As of May 19th, Franklin has walked nearly three times more than he did as a freshman. Criswell has been able to maintain an ERA under three despite throwing over 40 more innings than he did a season ago. And following a freshman campaign that was homer less, Donovan has six home runs in his sophomore campaign with a slugging percentage that’s .160 percentage points higher than last season.
 
All of this in large part thanks to Coach Shevchik and his coaching staff. They’ve maintained a loose environment that has encouraged players to grow and learn from their own mistakes, which, in turn, has created an atmosphere that’s mitigated the pressures of playing in a league that hosts some of the baseball world’s finest amateur talent.
 
“There’s so many great players and nobody has their college jersey or hats on,” Franklin said. “So, everyone can just play baseball and no one thinks about whose team you’re on, SEC or Big 10; it’s just straight baseball.”
 
Koki Riley, May 25 2019
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  • Home
  • The Whitecaps
    • 2021 Schedule
    • 2021 Roster
    • Meet the Coaches
    • Front Office
    • Interns 2019
    • Whitecaps Yearbook 2019
    • 2019 Standings
    • 2019 Statistics
  • Support Us
    • Support Our Team
    • Donate
    • Become a Host Family
    • Internships
    • Volunteer
    • Merchandise Shop
    • Post-Game Team Meals
    • Sponsors
  • Shop
  • News
    • Game Reports
    • Whitecaps News
    • Live Broadcast/ Tweets
    • LC TV Broadcast Info
  • Clinics
    • Youth Clinics
    • Youth Clinics Gift Certificates
    • Advanced Skills Clinics
    • Community Events
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Directions
    • Governance
    • History and Alumni >
      • Hall of Fame inductions
      • Whitecaps Yearbooks
      • 2019 Team Awards
      • 2018 Roster
      • Statistics 2018
      • 2017 Championship Season
      • 2017 Game Day Reports (archive)
      • 2017 Roster
      • Statistics 2017
      • 2017 Count Down to Opening Day
      • 2016 Roster
      • Statistics 2016
      • 2015 Roster
      • Statistics (2015)
      • Standings (2015)
      • Prior Years' Pix
      • 25th Anniversary Team
    • 2017 Championship Season
  • Photography
    • 2019 photos >
      • July 31st vs. Harwich
      • July 29th vs. Bourne
      • July 28th vs. Orleans
      • July 27th vs. Orleans (Double Header)
      • July 24th vs. Cotuit
      • July 22nd vs. Falmouth
      • July 21st • All Stars
      • July 19th vs. Chatham
      • July 17th vs. Harwich
      • July 16th vs. Chatham
      • July 13th vs. Falmouth
      • July 10th vs. Y-D
      • July 7th vs. Chatham
      • July 6th vs. Falmouth
      • July 5th vs. Y-D
      • July 4th vs. Harwich
      • July 3rd vs. Harwich
      • July 2nd vs. Falmouth
      • June 30th vs. Y-D
      • June 29th vs. Y-D
      • June 28th vs. Bourne
      • June 26th vs. Wareham
      • June 22nd vs. Chatham
      • June 19th vs. Harwich
      • June 18th vs. Bourne
      • June 17th vs. Hyannis
      • June 16th vs. Hyannis
      • June 14th vs. Cotuit
      • June 12th vs. Orleans
      • June 10th vs. Wareham
    • 2018 Photos >
      • August 10th, 2018
      • August 6th, 2018
      • August 1st, 2018
      • July 29th, 2018
      • July 27th, 2018
      • July 25th, 2018
      • July 12th, 2018
      • July 11th, 2018
      • June 27th, 2018
      • June 24th, 2018
      • June 22nd v. Cotuit
      • June 14th, 2018
    • 2017 Photos >
      • August 13th, Championships
      • August 11th, Championships
      • July 29th, 2017
      • July 20th, 2017
      • July 12th, 2017 Advanced skills
      • July 8th, 2017 Meet & Greet
      • July 5th, 2017
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      • June 27th, 2017
      • June 25th, 2017
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      • June 18TH, 2017
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    • 2016 Photos >
      • August 2, 2016 - player Awards >
        • Stony Brook School Field Day
      • July 26, 2016
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    • 2015 Photos >
      • Host Families and player awards day
      • Pre-season Team Dinner
      • June 6, 2015
      • Youth Clinic
      • August 2, 2015
      • August 3, 2015 - Playoffs
    • 2014 Photos