Cape League: Field manager Harvey Shapiro leaving Bourne for Wareham
Bourne manager Harvey Shapiro holds on to the Cape League trophy as his team dowses him with ice water after beating Cotuit in the Cape League finals at Cotuit in 2009. Ron Schloerb/Cape Cod Times File
Harvey Shapiro, who served as field manager of the Cape League’s Bourne Braves from 2003 to 2021 and under whose leadership over the years the Western Division team has achieved success, has decided to accept an offer to become field manager of the Wareham Gatemen starting next season, Shapiro told the Cape Cod Times on Wednesday.
“The season ended and I didn't have a definitive contract with Bourne,” Shapiro said. “I wasn’t looking for a new job, but I wasn't ready to retire. Wareham's general manager called me with a better situation that I couldn’t turn down.”
Shapiro's contract with the Braves expired at the end of the season and he reached out by email to the Bourne board of directors asking about an extension.
"By the time I was going to see a contract, it was going to be September," Shapiro said. "They didn't show me the contract, which has been different in the past. They said they were going to give me a contract but it was going to be sometime in September. There was no negotiations and I had to start recruiting."
Bourne general manager Darin Weeks said he received an email from Shapiro around Aug. 13 and told Shapiro the organization wanted to bring him back and that they would talk about the details in September. The board of directors planned to discuss Shapiro's contract extension at a meeting scheduled for Sept. 2.
"I'm not sure what happened but he ended up with Wareham," Weeks said. "Maybe he thought it was time for a change and he was a free agent so we can't hold it against him. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want. Nothing but good thoughts for him going forward and I hope he does well."
Wareham general manager Andrew Lang said that it was an easy decision when he selected Shapiro as the Gatemen’s next coach.
“Harvey is a great coach and has been involved with the Cape League for over 20 years,” Lang said. “He has a lot of experience and was available, and we were looking for a new head coach so the timing worked out.”
Lang said Wareham needed a new coach and was happy that Shapiro could step in.
“Jerry Weinstein was supposed to be our field manager (in 2021) but he had commitments with USA baseball so Don Sneddon, who was the coach in 2017 and 2018, came in and coached for just this summer,” Lang said.
Weinstein, Wareham's field manager in 2016 and 2019, worked as an assistant coach for the Gatemen the first few weeks of the 2021 season.
Shapiro said he is looking forward to joining Wareham, a team he has worked with in the past.
“Many years ago, I was an assistant coach at Wareham for two years, so I have some history with them,” Shapiro said. “They have had a great organization through the years. Right now I am recruiting, which is the significant part of the job right now.”
Cape League commissioner Eric Zmuda said he is looking forward to seeing Shapiro on the field again.
“Harvey is someone that wants to keep contributing to the Cape League,” Zmuda said. “It will be a little different but it will be good to have him as still a part of the league.”
Shapiro led Bourne to seven regular season Western Division titles, including this past season, when East champ Brewster swept Bourne 2-0 in the league championship series after the Braves had defeated Cotuit 2-1 in the West.
Wareham has won nine CCBL championships between 1930 and 2018, its most recent league title. The team finished third in the West Division this summer behind Bourne and Cotuit with a 14-18-5 record, missing the playoffs as only two teams from each division qualified this season.
Shapiro, who also was manager of the Falmouth Commodores from 1994-1998, is Bourne’s all-time leader in victories with 415 and as a Cape manager has the third-most wins in the league with 529, including 30 playoff victories.
“I had a lot of good memories with the Braves and that starts with the players that I coached and the assistant coaches I had throughout the years,” Shapiro said. “The great thing about coaching is that you meet a lot of people. I think we had quite a success at Bourne.”
He steered Bourne to league-high wins in the 2014 and 2021 regular seasons, and managed the Braves to the league playoff finals five times, with one championship in 2009. Shapiro managed the West in seven Cape League All-Star games and will be inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame this November, the team said.
"I think it's wonderful he is returning because of what he brings to the league every year," Cape League president Chuck Sturtevant said. "He has done a tremendous job over in Bourne and Falmouth. I am glad to see he is going to be remaining with us."
This summer, following a 2020 season canceled due to the pandemic, Bourne won 24 of 36 games during its regular season, which included three ties. The Braves started the season with six consecutive victories and two ties, and remained undefeated through their first 11 games before losing to Cotuit on July 5.
Brewster field manager Jamie Shevchik said he thought Shapiro was retiring and had "no idea" that he was going to be with the Gatemen.
"I don't think there has been a long history of guys going from one Cape team to another, unless they have been out of it for a couple of years and came back," Shevchik said. "I'm happy that he is still going to stay in the league. It's probably good for everybody, and Bourne and Harvey get a fresh start."
Shapiro was set to be inducted into the Hall of Fame last year, but the season was canceled due to the pandemic. He said it feels like it’s been a long time since he received that news a year and a half ago and is ready.
“It was exciting receiving the news about the Hall of Fame and I am looking forward to it,” Shapiro said. “I hope that the pandemic improves and we don’t go through a second round.”
Arizona State freshman Joe Lampe, who played at shortstop and center field for the Braves this past season, said that Shapiro was a simple and dedicated manager, and “a great guy.”
"He made me realize another side of the game when it came to hitting,” Lampe said. “He gave me good tips, like what to do to tip off a pitcher and how to hold players on base and pick them off. He gave me a lot of in-game advice that I know is going to help me in the future."
More than 90 of Shapiro’s players went on to become major leaguers, and 15 of them were first-round draft picks. Players coached by Shapiro who became big leaguers include Nick Ahmed, Pete Alonso, Chad Green, Colin Moran, Mitch Moreland, Travis Shaw, Nick Solak, Darin Erstad, Adam Kennedy, Eric Milton and Jeff Weaver.
Concerning his future, Shapiro said he is not thinking about retirement and that he comes back every year because he loves the game.
“I just like being on the field and being a coach,” Shapiro said. “I like helping the players and having a small influence on them.”
