Martha's Vineyard Sharks

The Martha's Vineyard Sharks is a collegiate summer baseball team based on Martha's Vineyard.[1] It was a charter member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league comprising 7 teams from New Hampshire to western Connecticut. They played in the futures league from 2010 to 2018 before switching to the New England Collegiate Baseball League, where they began playing in the league in 2019. In 2019 the Sharks posted the best regular season record in the league and won best of 3 series with Newport Gulls to win Southern Division. Ultimately losing 2-0 in the Championship versus Keene Swampbats. The team’s mascot is a likely reference to the film Jaws, which was shot in the same town and made the city a popular tourist destination.

Martha's Vineyard Sharks
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
LeagueNECBL (South Division)
LocationOak Bluffs, MA (2010-present)
BallparkThe Shark Tank (2010-present)
Year founded2010
League championships2 (2013, 2018)
Former league(s)FCBL
ColorsPurple, White
   
MascotSharky
OwnershipScott Lively John Roberts
ManagementRuss Curran, President General Manager and Director of Baseball Operations
Grace Moore, Asst. General Manager
ManagerJoneris Mendez
MediaKeith Chatinover and Jonathan Chatinover
Websitemvsharks.com

The team's home games are played at Vineyard Baseball Park, located on the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School campus in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, where $200,000 has been invested in field upgrades and construction of a field house, public Restrooms and a pro style backstop with netting and brick facade.[2]

History

The Sharks began operations in the 2011 FCBL season. The Carminucci Sports Group sought to place a New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) franchise on Martha's Vineyard, but the NECBL declined to expand, so the Sharks and the organizers of the Nashua Silver Knights formed a separate league.[3] Opening Day attendance was 2,139. The Sharks were in 1st place for a majority of the season, before injuries and a team-wide virus. They completed the season at 23-20, in 3rd place. The Sharks won their first FCBL Championship in 2013 and shared the title in 2018.

THe Sharks moved to the NECBL in 2019 and posted the best regular season record, including a 12-game win streak. In the postseason, the Sharks won a best of 3 series over the Newport Gulls. Ultimately, the Sharks lost 2 straight to league Champion Keene Swampbats. The Sharks broke a single game attendance record with 3567 fans in attendance on the last regular season home game of the season.

Field Staff
Head Coach
Jay Mendez
Assistant Coaches
Billy Uberti
Mac Curran
Ryan Uhl

References
  1. "New England Collegiate Baseball League". www.necbl.com. 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  2. Shea, Jack (February 16, 2011). "Wooden bat amateur baseball comes to Martha's Vineyard". The Martha's Vineyard Times. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  3. Zhe, Mike (December 20, 2010). "Summer collegiate baseball team coming to Seacoast". The Portsmouth Herald. Gannett. Retrieved March 5, 2020.


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