Major League Baseball

FOX Sports uncovers stories of aspiring MLB players in 'Cape Cod: A Journey to the Bigs'

Published Apr. 20, 2018 3:11 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

NEW YORK – The stories behind on-field success and failure aren’t always what they seem, but players know that an invitation to the Cape Cod Baseball League means they must do one thing: Prove they belong in the big leagues. Cape Cod: A Journey To The Bigs tells the story of aspiring college and amateur baseball players as they commit on and off the field to make their dreams come true.

Cape Cod: A Journey To The Bigs premiered April 17 on FS1. The special also airs on FOX Sports regional networks, including FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports Kansas City.

April airings include:

Friday, April 20, at 3:30 p.m. on FSMW and FSKC

Saturday, April 21, at 10:30 p.m. on FSMW

Thursday, April 26, at 6 p.m. on FSKC

Saturday, April 28, at 6 p.m. on FSKC

Sunday, April 29, at 5:30 p.m. on FSMW

Every summer, players from around the country gather in Cape Cod, Mass., in front of top Major League Baseball scouts to try to make their dreams of making “The Show” a reality. But the Cape Cod Baseball League provides more challenges than that. It is a taste of the unseen grind of life in professional baseball.

The special follows Griffin Conine (Duke), Tristan Pompey (Kentucky) and Chandler Day (Vanderbilt), who all played in the Cape Cod Baseball League last summer with varying degrees of success. Conine, the son of former big leaguer Jeff Conine (who played with the Royals), began forging his own baseball identity by winning MVP of the league. Pompey, after hitting two home runs in his first game, struggled to regain the form that had scouts calling him a “bigger, faster, stronger” version of his brother, major leaguer Dalton Pompey. Day, a pitcher, battled demons on the mound after the drowning of his best friend and teammate. But the players’ unique paths are connected by a mutual relentless desire to make it.

Six years removed from the Cape Cod Baseball League is Jason Wheeler, who, while his wife (whom he met in the Cape) cheered him on from the stands, finally saw his determination made fruitful when he stepped on the mound for the Minnesota Twins in 2017. But like all professional athletes must learn, sports is a business. Within a week of making his MLB debut, Jason was traded twice and landed back in the minors. Now 27, Wheeler and his wife have a decision to make: retire and finally start a family or try to keep the baseball dream alive for one more season.

The Cape Cod Baseball League has produced hundreds of major leaguers, including current players and All-Stars Aaron Judge, Andrew Miller and Jason Kipnis as well as former Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and former NL MVP Ryan Braun. But the league’s most star-studded class reigned in 1988. Dubbed "The Great Cape in ’88," 42 players made it to the majors that year, including FOX’s own MLB analysts Frank Thomas and Mark Sweeney.

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball