FALMOUTH, Mass. — Between them, they’ve been inducted into 11 halls of fame, won two JG Taylor Spink awards, written numerous New York Times bestselling books and been awarded more sportswriter of the year awards than you can count. These are just some of the accolades piled up by whom many deem the “Mount Rushmore of Boston sports writing.” On Tuesday, Bob Ryan, Peter Gammons, Leigh Montville and Dan Shaughnessy stopped by Guv Fuller Field here in Falmouth to watch the Commodores take on the Cotuit Kettleers.
Ryan, a longtime writer for the Boston Globe, shamefully admitted that this was only his second Cape League game, and claims that the “hole in my athletic soul living in Boston all these years has been the Cape League.” Although he says he isn’t very familiar with the league, according to Ryan, “the league’s reputation obviously precedes itself.” What struck Ryan’s eye, however, wasn’t a difference in the play on the field, high level baseball is high level baseball no matter where you look. What stuck out to him was the lack of change. “The only thing was the people with the lawn chairs on the hill, people enjoying the game outside the bleachers, I guess as part of the Cape League charm,” Ryan said. If nothing else, he perfectly described “Cape League charm” with that statement. Not unlike the Cape League, the northeastern icon has a prestigious reputation of his own. Throughout his time covering the 18-time NBA champion Boston Celtics, Ryan quickly found his niche in a way few writers ever accomplished, developing relationships with players well enough to be included in team dinners, becoming a big enough voice to have referees take time during a dead ball to explain a call to him and even being referred to as “the commissioner” by his colleagues. Even as a basketball-oriented guy, Ryan’s range of coverage includes 20 NBA Finals, nine World Series, five Super Bowls and seven Olympics. I dare you to find a resume that compares.
However, if you’re looking for the Cape Cod Baseball League expert, look no further than Peter Gammons. Anyone who respects the history of both baseball and the written word likely holds Gammons in higher regard than almost any man in history. He is a winner of the JG Taylor Spink award, given by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, an award which many believe to be the most prestigious achievement possible for a sports journalist. For Gammons, the Cape League presents a version of baseball other avenues of the sport simply cannot offer. “I always look for, which is one thing every scout should look for as well, is how much a player loves playing baseball.” He says his preference for the Cape League over NCAA ball is the freedom of the players. “I think they’re freer. One of my major complaints about college baseball coaching is that the coaches are too controlling of players,” Gammons said. He believes that these are grown men, and they should be allowed the freedom to play the game the way they deem necessary.
Falmouth Commodores Communications intern Whitman Clark (right) sat down with legendary hall of fame baseball writer Peter Gammons before Tuesday’s game against Cotuit.
Throughout my discussion with this living legend, I quickly came to realize how he not only climbed the mountain but has stayed atop it for so long: He’s got the memory of an elephant, the vocabulary in his writing is comparable to that of historic poets, and he has a love for the game of baseball that few have ever known.
As far as pure writing skill is concerned, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better author than Leigh Montville, who has as many NYT bestselling books as a half-inning has outs, as well as six other successful authoring jobs. He has written biographies on the some of the biggest names the wonderful world of sports has ever offered, including the likes of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Muhammed Ali and even Dale Earnhardt Sr. For Montville, he takes the approach of ‘never worked a day in my life’ to his job, saying that “you never think you’re working, even when you are.” While a lot of people say that, it’s evident to me that the same opinion will always ring true in the sports world. Montville pointed out the fact that no matter what sport, and no matter what venue, everyone always seems to want to be there. It’s something that not many office buildings in America can say, when everyone from top to bottom is exactly where they’d like to be. Montville says his biggest influence in terms of athletes is undoubtedly Ted Williams, the man who not only fought two wars, but managed to find time to bat .406 in between them. Some of these men have made their money through the newspaper, others through television, others have even written books themselves. But when it comes to sports literature, Leigh Montville is more than likely your favorite author’s favorite author.
Dan Shaughnessy represents the fourth leg of this historic sporting media stool. The 14-time Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year built his legacy by becoming a perfect representation of Boston media: unforgivingly critical, and an unprecedented drive to deliver the truth for not only Bostonians, but all New Englanders and Americans. Another JG Taylor Spink award winner, Shaughnessy holds a level of prestige among baseball writers that most aspiring journalists could only dream of. As far as his take on the Cape, he feels it gives advantage to everyone involved with big-time baseball. For scouts, it’s a chance to see which players can and cannot hide behind the aluminum lumber, and who actually has power when swinging a wooden bat. For coaches, they enjoy their respective players getting the opportunity to continue sharpening their iron and working on their craft for the summer. For players, it’s a chance to take in the fair weather, astounding coastline views and enjoy the greatest of what a young, American summer has to offer.
These four men have seen more baseball than most of us would be lucky enough to watch in five lifetimes, and for decades they have been both the literary and television voices of one of the hardest media markets in the world. Boston expects winners, Boston expects the truth, no matter how harsh, but most importantly, Boston expects the best of the best, be it on the field or off. If I had to offer you one takeaway from my time with these legends, it’s that Boston can hang its hat on knowing these four have delivered on all three of those, and then some.
