Former Wareham Gatemen George Springer named World Series MVP

Nov 2, 2017

From Spillane Field to baseball’s biggest stage, Houston Astros center fielder George Springer has come a long way.

Springer, a former Wareham Gatemen who played for the team in 2009 and 2010, was named World Series MVP on Wednesday night. The Gatemen are part of the Cape Cod Baseball League, one of the premier amateur leagues in the country that attracts top college talent every summer.

Over the course of seven games, Springer hit five home runs, tying a World Series record. Springer is also the first player in World Series history to homer in four straight games.

“I don’t really know how to describe it,” Springer told ESPN after Game 7. “This is the happiest day of my life so far.”

Springer helped bring Houston its first World Series championship after the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Wednesday.

During his time in Wareham, Springer stayed with Gatemen host family, Bob and Jane Gleason. Joining Springer for those summers was Matt Barnes, a current pitcher for the Red Sox.

Bob Gleason likened them to a “married couple.”

“They bickered a lot, but in a good-natured way,” joked Gleason. “They were both young kids who were really fun to have around.”

The Gleasons have kept in touch with a few of the players through the years, sending Christmas cards and occasionally catching a game. Two years ago, the family attended an Astros-Red Sox match up and watched the former roommates face each other in Fenway Park.

Gleason said his 23-year-old son Henry is the closest with Springer. The two keep in touch via Facebook.

Mostly, the family was content to watch the former Gatemen’s performance on television, which made an already exciting World Series that much more interesting.

Springer wasn’t the only Gatemen alum on the World Series winning team. Houston Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel and catcher Max Stassi also competed. Keuchel played for the team from 2007 to 2008 and Stassi played in 2009.