Tonight is opening night for the Cape Cod Summer League. Every summer from mid June through mid August, the best college baseball players in the country come to the Cape to showcase their wares for vacationers and scouts. Major league baseball scouts as as thick as black flies on the Cape during the season because it is their only chance to see college stars play with wood bats before the draft next June. In this year’s first round in the MLB draft last week, 14 of the 30 selections played in the Cape League. Three members of last year’s starting rotation for the Falmouth Commodores, Aaron Crow, Christian Fredriech and Shooter Hunt were among the first 31 picks in the draft last week.

About one of evey six major leaguers played in the Cape League including several heavy hitters. Two of this year’s NL MVP contenders, Jason Bergman and Chase Utley of the Phillies are Cape League alumni. Several hot young players like pitchers Tim Linecum of the Giants, Brandon Morrow of the Mariners and Red Sox rookie of the year candidate Jacoby Ellsbury are products of the league.

So if you plan on spending any time on the Cape this summer make sure you get to a few games. The games are a lot of fun because the players play with enthusiam before they cynical and hardened major leaguers. The games are on local high school fields in 10 towns all over the Cape from Wareham to Orleans. Admission is free but they won’t object if you throw a couple of bucks into the hat that they pass around duriang the games.