Hyannis Mets

The Hyannis Mets are an amateur baseball team based in Hyannis, MA. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Western Division. Hyannis currently plays its home games at McKeon Park, which opened for play in 1979. The team is owned and operated by the non-profit Hyannis Athletic Association and, like other Cape League teams, are funded through merchandise sales, donations, and other fundraising efforts at games such as fifty-fifty raffles.

Hyannis finished the 2007 season in third place in the Western Division with 43 points, falling a single point shy of earning a playoff berth. Hyannis last qualified for the post-season in 2004, and has not won a Cape League Championship since 1991.

History

The Mets were formed in 1976 with the help of former state senator Jack Aylmer after the Bourne Canalmen ceased operations in 1972 [1998 Cape Cod Baseball League Official Yearbook, p. 25] . The team finished in fourth place in the eight team Cape League that season and qualified for the playoffs, losing to the Chatham Athletics in the semifinals two games to none. They were named the Mets because the founders thought that it might lead to financial support from the New York Mets. This never happened.

In only their third year in the league, Hyannis finished the 1978 season with a 31-11 record, the best in the league. The Mets would eliminate the Orleans Cardinals in the semifinals three games to two and ultimately defeat the Harwich Mariners three games to one in the championship series to win the league crown. Hyannis would repeat the feat in 1979 after finishing the regular season with 33 wins, a single season record which still stands today. That team would again defeat Harwich in the championship series in four games to become the first team to defend their Cape League title since the 1975 Cotuit Kettleers.

The Mets would reach the playoffs five times in the 1980s, reaching the championship series twice in 1982 and 1989. Hyannis would be swept both times, losing to Chatham in 1982 and to the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in 1989.

Hyannis would once again claim the Cape League title in 1991 when they swept Chatham in two games to claim the championship. Though the Mets would return to the post-season in 1993, they were promptly swept by the Wareham Gatemen two games to none.

The Mets saw some success early in the 21st century, finishing in second place in the Western Division three times, in 2000, 2003, and 2004. Hyannis would reach the championship series one of those years, in 2000, where they were swept by the Brewster Whitecaps two games to none. [ [http://www.capecodbaseball.org/archives/Records/awards_Champions.htm Cape League Championships] . Retrieved 2007-07-04.]

Notable Alumni

*Rich Aurilia 1991
*Albert Belle 1987
*Kris Benson 1994
*Casey Blake 1996
*Jeromy Burnitz 1988
*Pat Burrell 1996
*Eric Byrnes 1996, 1997
*Ryan Garko 2001, 2002
*Eric Hinske 1997
*Doug Mirabelli 1990
*Matt Morris 1993
*Buck Showalter 1976
*John Valentin 1988
*Jason Varitek 1991-1993
*Robin Ventura 1987

References

External links

* [http://www.hyannismets.org/ Hyannis Mets official site]
* [http://www.capecodbaseball.org/ CCBL Home Page]