Coach & General Manager

Mike Roberts – Head Coach

Coach Roberts, has led the Kettleers to the 2010, 2013 and 2019 Cape Cod Baseball League Championship, claiming the Arnold Mycock Trophy.  In 2012, the team won the President’s Trophy for the best regular season record in the league at 30-14.  This was the first time the Kettleers had reached 30 wins under Coach Roberts’ leadership.

From 1978 through 1998, Roberts was the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Then he went on to UNC-Asheville, where he coached in the spring of 2000. All totaled, Roberts’ UNC teams made nine NCAA post-season and two College World Series appearances.  Five times his teams captured the ACC Regular Season Championship and four times the ACC Tournament Championship.  Ten of Roberts’ former players have been first round draft picks.  Sixteen of his former players at UNC have played in Major League Baseball. His greatest individual coaching success is his own son, Brian Roberts, the two time all-star 2nd baseman who played for the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees.

Walt Weiss, who played for Coach Roberts at UNC-CH went on to become the American League Rookie of the year in 1988, manage the Colorado Rockies and is currently the bench coach for the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta Braves.  Several former players are collegiate head coaches (Mark Kingston, South Carolina; Chad Holbrook, College of Charleston; Todd Interdonato, Wofford).  Some, like Willie Stewart, are assistants, and several others work in professional baseball or are professional baseball athlete’s advisors. “I am pleased so many of the excellent student/athletes I have recruited through the years continue to enjoy a career helping young men try to reach their academic, athletic, and career goals.”

Every summer in Cotuit the goal is to win a Cape League Championship.  We strive to accomplish this goal with mature college student-athletes from around the nation who embrace fundamental practices and love playing at picturesque Elizabeth Lowell Park.  Many of the Kettleers players become involved in our wonderful community with activities such as the Cotuit library reading program and the ever-growing Kettleers baseball clinics. The athletes provide excellent leadership to young people during the summer as they are also building close relationships, many which last a lifetime, with their host families.

Prior to managing Wareham to the Western Division regular season title in 2000, Roberts had led Wareham to the same title in 1984. Each of those two seasons, Roberts’ Cape League teams led the entire League in stolen bases and continued this tradition with the 2012 Kettleers. In 2000, Roberts’ Wareham team tied the Cape League all-time single season stolen base record with 134 stolen bases.

In the off-season, Coach Roberts has studied part-time for his Doctorate in Sports Administration at the University of New Mexico, does base stealing clinics, writes, and produces baseball videos. He has written 2 books on base stealing. The first titled “You Can’t Steal Second Base and Keep Your Foot on First!” published in Dec. 2008 and the 2nd book titled “Baserunning” was published in Dec. 2013.  He is now working for the Pittsburgh Pirates as well as consulting  with many colleges and high schools on base stealing and base running.

Several base stealing videos were filmed at beautiful Elizabeth Lowell Park in Cotuit in 2011 and a hitting video was filmed at Lowell Park in 2012. His son Brian, who led the American League in stolen bases in 2007, contributed to the first book and the DVD which shows clips of Brian stealing bases for the Orioles.

Mike currently works for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He is an adjunct Sports Management professor for Spring Arbor University in Michigan after completing three years as Director of Sports Management at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY.  He has consulted for two sports industry training and technologies companies as the Director of Baseball Development for SmartKage in Tyngsborough, MA.  He holds a similar role with Athletes’ Performance (name is currently TeamExos), driving the Business Development for Baseball with minor league and major league baseball athletes.  AP is featured often in publications and on ESPN as the premier athletic training center for Elite Athletes in the USA and around the world.

In Jan. 2014, Coach Roberts was voted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Coaches Hall of Fame and was inducted in Orlando, Florida on Jan. 3, 2015.  In January 2009, 2011, 2017 and recently again in January 2022 Coach Roberts was a platform speaker at the annual ABCA convention which hosts around 6,000coaches.

Coach Roberts daughter, Angie lives in the Dallas area with husband David and boys Tyler and Brock.  They have enjoyed visiting Cotuit almost every summer since 2004.  His son, Brian lives in Sarasota, FL with wife Diana and boys Jax, Nash, and Cru.

Bruce Murphy – General Manager

Bruce G. Murphy joined the CAA Board in 1989 and served as First Vice President until 1996. In 1996, Bruce was elected President and served three years.

He was elected General Manager in 1999 and continues in that position.  During this time. his family housed players for 13 years.  Bruce’s wife, Gloria worked in the Kettleers store and their two children, were bat kids.

During Bruce’s tenure as General Manager he is second in numbers of years served in the position, behind Legendary Kettleer and CCBL Hall of Framer Arnold Mycock’s 45 years of service.

Under Bruce’s leadership Kettleers’ teams have won the Arnold Mycock CCBL Championship Trophy 4 times; 1999, 2010, 2013, and 2019.  The teams have also won the West Division Champions 4 times; 1999, 2003, 2008, 2012

 

During his tenure, Bruce has seen over 120 Kettleers move on to play in professional baseball.

Bruce is a Cotuit representative on the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Executive Committee and also serves on the CCBL Hall of Fame Committee.

Bruce is active in Cotuit Federated Church and can also be seen running and biking in the area.