Clem Spillane Field
Wareham, MA
Review by Gary
Cape Cod League Baseball (CCBL) has been played at Clem Spillane Field since 1960. The league’s westernmost team and the only squad to play outside of the Cape Cod Canal, the Gatemen have produced dozens of MLBs brightest stars, including Lance Berkman, Barry Zito, George Springer, and the legendary Pete Incaviglia. Officially formed in 1923, but with roots dating back to 1885, the Cape Cod Baseball League is the premier collegiate summer baseball league in the nation.
The ballpark is named for longtime Wareham High School teacher and coach Clement S. Spillane and is adjacent to Wareham Middle & High School. The Wareham River flows around the town, whose boundaries resemble the state of Florida. Spillane Field shares its grass with the school football field as the entire sporting grounds are known as Spillane Field. The gridiron runs 100 yards from the third base foul line to center field, and fits nicely in the square configuration of the complex.
Center field is 400’ away in the corner of the end zone with the foul poles at 325’ in left and 330’ in right. The football grandstands sit on a hill beyond the left field fence while the only fixed seating for baseball sits on smallish wooden bleachers at third base and double that on the first base side. The view beyond the make-shift right field fence is of yet more sports fields and trees.
There is no seating behind home plate. Instead, a three-story press box/concession building with a small balcony stands behind the dish. This building juts out in front of the first base stands, obscuring the view of anyone sitting closest to it. Both dugouts and adjoining stands seem unusually far from the action, so the experience may not be as cozy as some of the other Cape Cod League ballparks.
Parking at Spillane Field is minimal. There is a parking lot beyond the left field corner at the town hall and the school administration offices. The only entry I could find is through a gate behind the football bleachers and down a walkway along the third base side.
While almost all the other CCBL ballparks offer generous room for fans to bring their own seating, Spillane Field’s seating is made up almost entirely of those wooden bleachers, so bringing a seat cushion is a must. Sadly, I was on my way to The Cape and did not have to time to experience a game. Perhaps the Gatemen will produce more great MLB talent in the years to come.
2024
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