"Touching the Game" - Documenting a Cape Tradition

This foremost amateur, collegiate league has been a true Cape Cod tradition since 1885. Each summer the country's best of the best are invited to play ball on Cape Cod. The CCBL is made up of two divisions of five teams each. The teams play on fields from Wareham to Orleans. The players come from towns all across America and are hosted by volunteer families. Many of the players hold day jobs ranging from landscaping and sandwich making to clerking at the local CVS.

Intimate Portrayals

The DVD is a wonderfully entertaining documentary about not only the league and players, but about the folks who support them. From mid June to mid August, the games attract throngs of fans young and old, tourists and locals. "Touching the Game" captures the love of the game in an almost poetic way. Game footage is interwoven with Cape Cod summer scenes, small town Americana and an intimate look at the lives of some of the players and their host families. It follows a few players through their Cape and league experiences--the sometimes difficult switch from aluminum to wooden bats, the sun and fun, the day jobs, their adopted Cape families and their hopes, dreams and thoughts about the game of baseball and making it to the majors. As the season progesses, the players become part of the fabric of Cape Cod. They are future MLB idols and heroes to the young fans who attend the games and youth clinics sponsored by the league and taught by the players themselves.

 

"Touching the Game" has a little something that will appeal to anyone be they a fan of baseball or a Cape Cod resident or visitor. After watching the DVD it is easy to understand why fans in Orleans mark their seats with towels, blankets and beach chairs hours before the first pitch is thrown on game days.

Fans supporting the Orleans Cardinals.
Extra Innings

The DVD comes with a second disc of bonus features including a closer look at CCBL youth clinics, extended interviews with MLB players about their Cape Cod summer jobs, a tour of the Barnstable Bat Company in Centerville, a stunning video montage of Cape Cod and more. "Touching the Game" is a production of Fields of Vision and Eye Candy Cinema. It was produced, written and edited by Jim Carroll. The director of photography was Eric Scharmer and the documentary was narrated by Steve Buckley. The full length (1 hour, 39 minutes) DVD is available at local shops, on their website at www.touchingthegame.com or at other online retailers.