All Star Game Halted by Rain

On July 23rd, the Cape Cod Baseball League All Star Game was held at Fenway Park for the first time in 22 years. But the day could not have been worse to have the best players in the Cape League from the East and the West to compete as the game was called early due to rain. Before the game began the home run derby contest got the 14,000 Cape League fans at friendly Fenway ready for the East to take on the West. The home run derby is usually held in a Cape League field without the Green Monster in the way, so the home runs were minimal in this derby. Only two home runs were needed to advance to the second round and only two to win the final round. Connor Powers was the winner of the contest and his showing at Fenway was much better than the previous All Star game at Chatham. Powers was the only returning hitter from 2008 and was finally able to escape the first round of the derby. Powers proved why he was this year’s winner with his home runs that were smashed over the Green Monster and out of Fenway. Powers said he was more relaxed this time around so it was easier to hit. Hard to imagine this college baseball player to be more relaxed in a professional arena in front of the biggest Cape League All Star attendance of all time.
After Powers was awarded the homerun award, the East and West began to warm up for the game that would only last 4.5 innings. As fans huddled under the roofs of Fenway Park, the West took the field as the home team. Brandon Workman (Texas) from the Wareham Gatemen got the start for the West. Workman had a quick 1, 2, 3 first inning including two strikeouts. Rob Rasmussen (UCLA) from the Orleans Firebirds was given the start for the East but did not match Workman’s performance. Rasmussen gave up a triple to Zach Cox (Arkansas) of Cotuit scoring his West teammate Todd Cunningham after he reached on an error. Cox was then able to score off of a fielder’s choice to make the score 2 – 0 after one inning. These were the only runs the West needed to score to clinch the win. The West added one more run in the second inning giving them a 3 – 0 win over the East. The East only had one hit in the contest compared to the West’s four hits. As the rain picked up in the middle of the 5th inning Fenway’s ground crew laid down the tarp on the field and announced that the game had been called, they also wanted to uphold the field for the Red Sox’s home stand this weekend.
The MVP’s from both the East and the West were decided shortly after the game was called. For the West Zach Cox was named MVP for being responsible for two of the three runs for the West. Pitcher Chris Sale (Florida Golf Coast) was named the MVP for the East after throwing just six pitches in the third inning and struck out two batters. Although the game ended quickly and Cape League fans left a little bit wet, the All Star game was a success and allowed these college students to play at the most beloved ball park in the country.