1988 Ballpark Cape Cod Prospects
Chatham – Jeff Bagwell, 1B/3B
Boston Red Sox, minors
Chatham Anglers, 1987-88
It looks like Bagwell is on the path to Cooperstown. Oh, what could have been – the Red Sox dealt the University of Hartford product down the stretch in 1990 in exchange for proven relief hand Larry Andersen. Andersen was gone the following year; while Bagwell went on to clock 449 home runs in the Majors, all for Houston. Not the smoothest move by the pride of Stonehill College, Lou Gorman. In Gorman’s defense, Bagwell was blocked at first base by Mo Vaughn and the GM was dubious of his ability to play third, particularly with Tim Naehring and Scott Cooper also in the system at the time.
Before embarking on a Hall of Fame-worthy career, Bagwell was among the top talents on the Cape for two seasons and was featured in the only set of CCBL baseball cards, issued in 1988.
2007 World Series MVP and 2011 Cape League Hall of Fame inductee Mike Lowell (’94) also played for Chatham (known as the A’s prior to 2008), and reliever Andrew Miller (’04-’05) spent two seasons with the team and was elected to the league Hall of Fame in 2012.
The list of other Chatham alums that spent time with the Red Sox includes slugger Jason Bay (’99), long man Kyle Snyder (’98), and possibly the worst pinch-hitter in RBI Baseball, catcher Marc Sullivan (’78).