A Mammoth of a Man

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?

Last week, most of America’s sports enthusiasts were consumed with a variety of events including the U.S. Open, NBA Championships, Euro 2008, and the College World Series. Our entire office was captivated on Monday watching the last few holes as Rocco Mediate tried to hold off Tiger Woods. Fresno State continued their miraculous run defeating both Rice and UNC. The Boston Celtics destroyed the Lakers in Game Six of the NBA Championships to take home the title. Yet it was another event in New England that touched the hearts of a few thousand spectators in a way they will never forget.

Friday, June 13 was “John Wylde Night” at Spillane Field in Wareham, Massachusetts, home of the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League. This was a special night, not because it marked the opening day of the CCBL for 2008, but because it honored the service and dedication John Wylde has given to the league and the Wareham team for 25 years.

John Wylde was diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the liver in the fall of 2007. A mammoth of a man, John is officially listed as “Very tall” on his Wareham Gatemen baseball card. But it is his passion for baseball, the league, the players and the fans that is truly mammoth.

John started as a fan, then became a sponsor and eventually served as President, Treasurer and General Manager of the Gatemen, but he is known mainly for his voice. John is the Public Address Announcer for the Gatemen. He also manned the press box for all three Cape Cod High School Classic games held by Baseball Factory at Spillane Field. Through his voice and delivery, John has a way of capturing the purity of the game through the reading of a lineup card.

Doctors initially told John that he would be lucky to make it through the summer, but he is responding well to treatment and the size of his tumor has decreased. This is a blessing for all fans of baseball. America’s Pastime is a beautiful game because of the impact of people like John Wylde...a larger than life figure who continues to put his heart and soul into this game we love.


A few more stats on John’s baseball card:

Miles Traveled to regular season games: 30,384
Miles Traveled to playoff games: 2,456
Miles traveled for preseason scouting: 42,360
Hot dogs eaten during regular season games: 2,112
Hot dogs eaten during playoff games: 130
Cape Cod Baseball League Championships: 5

Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.