Over a century later, Pine Tree Baseball League still offers Mainers a place to play
A Kennebec Sturgeons player slides into third base as a Bangor Mets player looks to tag him out during a Pine Tree Baseball League game May 17. (Courtesy of Jessica Oppermann)
Matt McCarthy started playing for the Winthrop Red Sox when he was a junior in college.
Now 39, he brings his three kids to his games.
“It’s a great group and great relationships, and we’ve developed a lot of good relationships with other guys that have been in the league for a long time, too,” said McCarthy. “And seeing similar faces and seeing their families grow … there’s other guys that you see their kids in the dugouts, and so it’s a really cool environment.”
McCarthy’s story is similar to others who have spent much of their adult lives playing in the Pine Tree Baseball League, an amateur organization operating across Maine since 1925.
The league is full of former high school or college players who want a way to continue playing the game they love.
McCarthy was planning to continue his baseball career at UMaine-Farmington, but lingering knee issues from a broken leg he suffered during basketball season his senior year at Winthrop High School kept him from competing at the college level.
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A couple years later, the Pine Tree Baseball League came into the picture, and since then, he’s been playing for Winthrop’s team.
“My junior year (in college), I ran into somebody that was playing wooden bat baseball, and it seemed like a pace that I could compete at, and so I got myself into the league and ended up going back to my roots as a catcher,” McCarthy said. “I was a catcher in Little League. And so they needed somebody to catch, so I’ve caught every season since.
Inside the Kennebec Sturgeons’ dugout during a Pine Tree Baseball League game against the Bangor Mets on May 17. (Courtesy of Jessica Oppermann)
The Red Sox are one of 18 teams that play games almost every Sunday from May to August. Players are eligible once they turn 18, according to the league rules. Some are still playing in their 50s.
“When I first started playing, there were only eight teams in the league,” said Tyler Rose, who serves as the league’s president. “… For 2026, we have 18 teams in the league, and we’re from Bethel to Bath to Bangor, and everywhere in between.”
Rose, 33, took over as president in 2024. He creates the schedule and works as the league’s statistician, updating scores, stats and standings on the organization’s website. He also plays for the Kennebec Sturgeons, the team he previously managed for five seasons.
In addition to his roles within the league, Rose works as an accountant for a hospitality management company and does part-time work running a nonprofit in Greene.
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“Day-to-day, really it can be pretty quiet at the start of the week, but guys get so excited,” Rose said. “These grown men get so excited to play on Sunday that usually about Thursday or Friday, I’ll start getting texts from managers around the league asking about their opponents or just asking questions about league rules or who their umpires are going to be or what the field conditions are like.”
That excitement and passion for the sport is deeply ingrained in the Pine Tree Baseball League and has been a paramount to its success during its 101-year history.
Penn Bay Pirates players high-five during a Pine Tree Baseball League game against the Kennebec Sturgeons on April 18. (Courtesy of Jessica Oppermann)
There are other summer leagues in the state, such as the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The difference is the Pine Tree league isn’t focused on helping players prepare to compete professionally.
“This isn’t just a league to have someone scout (for pro ball),” Rose said. “You’re playing because you love your team, you’re playing because you love baseball. You’re not playing because you’re looking to get to the next league after. You’re looking to stay here and stay with your team and stay with your guys.”
Commitment to the league, year after year, can be seen up and down the 18 rosters. For some, it’s become a rite of passage in their towns, or even within their families.
Jake Bessey, 32, started playing as soon as he turned 18, joining his father (Chris Bessey, the head baseball coach at UMaine-Farmington) on a team that at the time was called the Jay Orioles.
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“Eventually, he stopped running the team and the team kind of folded, and I stopped playing for a little bit,” Bessey said. “But then me and him joined the Monmouth team, and there’s been so many teams I’ve been a part of in this Pine Tree League.”
Bessey, a Spruce Mountain High graduate, now plays for the Turner Marlins. He also serves as the team’s manager, which is fitting given that he’s the head baseball coach at UMaine-Augusta.
“I’m learning a lot as a coach that I was never able to implement when I was playing in college, and then it’s fun to be able to implement some of the stuff that I teach into what I’m playing, obviously, at this men’s league level,” Bessey said.
Tyler Rose, president of the Pine Tree Baseball League, pitches for the Kennebec Sturgeons. (Courtesy of Jessica Oppermann)
The Pine Tree Baseball League playoffs are set to start this weekend, but more important than advancing far or winning a title is having a place to continue playing baseball.
“At the end of the day, it’s a game of baseball that people just love, and the league is made up of guys that just like to play ball,” McCarthy said. “There’s rarely more than a few fans there, it’s not very glamorous, but it’s guys that just love to get between the lines and compete on Sunday mornings. And it’s a nostalgia aspect to it. We’ve all been playing since we were little kids, and to be able to continue to play into our 30s, 40s, 50s, it’s a great feeling.”
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Jimmy covers sports for the Sun Journal, primarily contributing to the Varsity Maine team. He is from Hagerstown, Maryland, and graduated from the University of Richmond in May of 2025 with a B.A. in journalism. More by Jimmy James
