Summer Sustenance

Lou Merloni’s pregame meal of choice.

This weekend’s Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame induction was a time for sharing memories. And based on this article in the Cape Cod Times, mostly what everyone remembers from those weeks on the Cape is what the players ate.

Lou Merloni shared a fond reminiscence of his house mother:

“I was struggling early in the season. She made me steamers one day, put everything in it, carrots, linguica. I got three hits that night off Billy Wagner. Next day, she made steamers again, and I had two more hits… I went on to win the batting title all because of that host family and those steamers.”

Former Cape Cod League player Mike Loggins, who never made the majors but spent several years in the Royals’ system, offered a cautionary tale about his own house mother and the unredeemable unfairness of life:

“After my first home run, she told me she was going to make me a London Broil. It was so tender I told myself I was going to hit some more. I hit one again soon after, and I got another one. Then in three games I hit something like five homers, and I never got another London Broil.”

Sad. Lastly, and leastly, David Aardsma’s house mother revealed to the world young Aardsma’s “penchant for eating Spaghetti-O’s.”

In case you’re not familiar with the Cape Cod Baseball League, it’s a wood bat summer league for college players. The Cape Cod Times article linked above really captures how memorable the experience is for the young players, who typically stay with a host family and work day jobs on the side. Like any developmental league, some players go on to star in the majors, most don’t. If you’re interested in the league, or you just want to think summer thoughts as the weather cools down, several books have been written about it.