Average attendance was up at SteepleCats games despite the frequent threat of rain. See photos from the season here and here.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Just as they are almost every year, the North Adams SteepleCats were back in the New England Collegiate Baseball League playoffs on Monday evening.

 

And just as he always has been, Sean McGrath was on hand to watch the team he led as coach and general manager for 11 years.

 

But in his new role as NECBL commissioner, McGrath was not at Joe Wolfe Field to root for the home team. And, officially at least, he did not care about the score.

 

McGrath keeps score a little differently this year.

 

"A great indication of the league's success was at the All-Star Game this year where we had probably 30 (professional) scouts in attendance," McGrath said prior to the 'Cats season-ending, extra-inning loss to Vermont at Joe Wolfe Field. "That's what Major League Baseball wants. If their scouts feel this league is providing Major League quality talent for them to watch, we're doing our job.

 

"We had almost 100 draft picks again this year. We've got 95 guys who have made it to the big leagues. There was a huge article in the Danbury (Conn.) Times just yesterday about the NECBL being the road to the Majors. That's what MLB wants, and that's why they're willing to make that investment."

 

Major League Baseball supports the NECBL and leagues like it who are members of the National Alliance of Summer Collegiate Baseball. MLB decides how much money is allotted to each league each year, so the NECBL has to continue to prove its point that it is providing a player development opportunity and a service to the 13 communities, like North Adams, that host teams.

 

As a representative for all those teams, McGrath cannot play favorites, but it is clear that he is proud of what he helped build in the Steeple City and pleased with how the franchise has continued since his departure.

 

"I think when I go around to see all the other teams, I come back and it just reinforces how proud I am of the SteepleCats and everything we did to build it up," he said. "It's a great ballpark, a great community, a great fan base, great host families. It's really one of the proud organizations in the NECBL, no doubt about it."

 

North Adams also has a track record for consistency on the playing field, reaching the playoffs 11 times in its first 12 seasons in the league.

 

Team President Daniel Bosley said the 2013 season — despite ending in the first round of the playoffs — was a success in his book.

 

"The [players] we have this year are some of the best we've had in my affiliation with the team," Bosley said. "They've done a lot of work in the community, made a lot of community appearances. They man the camps, the YMCA camps. They've been mentors for the kids in the host families. It's been very satisfying to see these young men do so well for themselves in the community.

 

"I just wish we had some more hits."

 

Undeoubtedly, offense was a sticking point for the SteepleCats this summer. They languished at the bottom of the league stats in hitting and runs scored, and on Monday, they managed just one run in a 12-inning loss.

 

But on the other hand, 14 of the 'Cats' 24 losses came by three runs or fewer, and their pitchers had a combined earned run average of 3.37, which was fifth in the 13-team league.

 

Fans and volunteers keep the 'Cats going.

"Win or lose, we weren't blown out in any game this year," Bosley said. "We were in every game we played. It's been good baseball. It's been entertaining. From a community perspective, I think we hit that mark.

 

"Attendendance has been down because even when it hasn't rained, it looked like it might. ... But the hard-core fans, the people you see at every game, they're here, rain or shine. We appreciate that."

 

And although Bosley's impression was that attendance was down, it actually was up slightly from last year, from 824 people per game up to 913 this summer. While that pales in comparison to league-leading Newport (R.I.), which averaged nearly 2,000 fans per game this summer, the 'Cats were a respectable fifth in the league in that department.

 

As nice as it is to have the collegians in the community as camp counselors or making visits to area elementary schools, which they do each June, the goal is to play entertaining baseball and get people to the ballpark. And Bosley can point to a long run of both for the county's most stable summer ball franchise.

 

"I'm the most competitive person I know," he said. "It's nice to win. But it's more important to be a community-oriented organization, which we try to be.

 

"It's important to do all that stuff in the community. But it's also about: Where else can you go and get this kind of entertainment in this beautiful venue for five bucks? A family pass is 12 bucks. You get five people in for 12 bucks. You come on Sunday, and you get dollar dogs. It's the cheapest entertainment around, and it fits very nicely with everything else we do (in North Berkshire).

 

"We talk about the beautiful mountainsides and the hiking and fishing and boating. And then we've got Mass MoCA and Wilco and the [Williamstown] Theatre Festival and everything else we do. And then you have to add the sports venue to that. That's what we are."

 

And that is why the 'Cats continue to be a success on and off the field in a league that seeks to stay near the top in an area that continues to grow each year.

 

"I think the reputation of the league still is that we're one of the top two or three leagues in the country," McGrath said. "The Cape league is the one that's been around the longest and has the greatest reputation. But beyond that ... talk to players who have played in the NECBL, and they'll tell you the league is run extremely well and the competition is as good as you're going to find in the entire country."

 

And North Adams?

 

"Certainly there are some things I might see that some [NECBL] team might do better," McGrath said. "Everybody has their little niches. That's what I've learned. Everyone has their little niche in their community or their ballpark. But as long as North Adams stays true to what it's been doing for 12 years with the commitment to the community and the quality of baseball, they'll continue to be a successful organization."