A man hosed down the dirt around home plate as fans entered the Shark Tank last week for a game against the Seacoast Mavericks. Sharky, the team’s mascot, loped around in his sombrero, while fathers and their young children filed in holding hands. A group of five teenage girls found seats a few rows away from a group of five teenage boys.
James Corcoran of Oak Bluffs sat in the right field bleachers with his daughter Olivia. While Olivia was positioned to chase foul balls, Mr. Corcoran was there for simpler reasons.
“It’s baseball,” he said.
The Sharks are part of a collegiate summer baseball league that includes teams from all over the Cape. The Sharks began on the Vineyard in 2011, and while the players are technically amateurs, the quality of play is professional.
This year, Jack Roberts is the only Vineyard player on the team. He graduated from the regional high school as the valedictorian in 2013, and plays on the Williams College baseball team. For the Sharks, he anchors second base. This is Jack’s third season with the Sharks.
The team is coached by Mike Cassidy. Russ Curran, in his first year as general manager, was instrumental in assembling this year’s team.
“I emailed every coach I could find,” he said, describing the process. “Then they would give me a list of guys.”
Mr. Curran then formed a committee of four to create the team from the available players. “We had a formula. We wanted a team where players got on bases a lot and pitchers got a lot of strikes.”
Currently, the team is in third place in the league. Assistant general manager Tad Gold, also in his first year on the job, says the team is strong but the players are still gaining their footing.
“It’s early in the season.”
As to whether the team will reach the playoffs? “I’m very confident,” Mr. Gold said. “One hundred per cent.”
Tad Gold is Vineyard baseball royalty. An Island-grown kid who worked his way up from Little League to the high school team and college baseball, he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2014. He returned to the Vineyard to give back to the community that taught him to love baseball.
Mr. Gold says community outreach is one of his favorite parts of the job. He plans to work more with the Island’s Little League program and the Babe Ruth League. “If I could give a Vineyard kid the same experience I had growing up with baseball, I would be happy,” he said.
The Sharks connection to the Island community extends beyond the baseball field. The team works with Camp Jabberwocky, a summer program for people with disabilities. They also reach out to all the youth around the Island. Player Mac Curran, son of general manager Russ Curran, said he enjoyed meeting the Oak Bluff School’s fourth graders this spring.
“They had a lot of questions,” he said.
The team also visited the Tisbury School and reads to kids at libraries.
Another part of Mr. Gold’s job is securing sponsorships from Island businesses such as longtime supporters, Island Tire and Auto. Mr. Gold says there is value in the banners that hang around the field, but many of the businesses see it as symbolic support as well. Restaurants support the team by providing meals for the players after the game.
Feeding the players is a full time job, and no one knows this better than Dianne Powers. Ms. Powers, along with several other Islanders, has been hosting players at her house for six years. This year Ms. Powers is hosting six players. Although she says that no one has accidentally busted a lamp or pulled off a doorknob yet, six strong college boys in one house along with her four dogs is quite a scene.
Ms. Powers provides the boys with breakfast; they are responsible for the rest of their meals.
“My fridge is very interesting right now,” she said. Of the six players, one of which is being hosted temporarily, three are from Nashville, one is from Chicago, one is from California and one is from New Jersey.
“They’re great young men,” Ms. Powers said.
Jonathan Chatinover and his wife Elizabeth O’Connor are also hosting six players. The couple enjoys getting to know people from different backgrounds and said it is a good experience for their son Keith, who is now one of the team’s interns and the broadcast announcer.
“When our son was a little younger it was great to have four or five big brothers,” Mr. Chatinover said.
This year Braidyn Fink of Oklahoma is one of Jonathan and Elizabeth’s guests. It is Braidyn’s first time on the Island.
“It’s awesome, they’re a lot of fun,” he said of his host family. “And I get to hear a different view.”
Politics aside, Mr. Chatinover has been enthralled by Braidyn’s stories of competitive bull riding and hot Oklahoma summers.
“I would recommend it to any family on the Island who has a room,” said Mr. Chatinover. “The kids are really good kids.”
For a full schedule and more information about the Sharks season, visit mvsharks.com.
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