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CCBL Hall of Fame selection immortalizes Seth Etherton’s winning pedigree
This is Part 2 of a two-part series highlighting Chatham’s two 2026 CCBL Hall of Fame inductees: Grant Green and Seth Etherton. You can read Part 1 on chathamanglers.com.
CHATHAM, Mass. — It was a different time, one where Randy Flores was on Chatham’s mound instead of watching it. Now, it’s June 14, and the St. Louis Cardinals’ director of scouting is standing behind the Veterans Field bleachers, his arms crossed as he relives his glory days. There’s paper in his hand, ostensibly with names for him to watch, because he’s just a spectator today. It’s been decades since Flores was a name on a paper for scouts to look out for.
In those days, though, he wasn’t the only arm their eyes were on. Not with Seth Etherton in his rotation.
“(Etherton had) way better command, way better confidence, a way better changeup, way more velocity,” says Flores, a former eight-year MLB pitcher. “He was just head and shoulders better.”
Just about anyone who encountered Etherton on the Cape says the same thing. Etherton spent the 1995 and 1996 summers in Chatham, earning two All-Star selections and finishing both seasons with an earned run average below 2.00. And, as if that statistical dominance wasn’t enough, he finished his A’s career by leading Chatham to its fourth-ever championship in 1996.
Taken individually, any of those accomplishments would’ve made someone a mighty fine Cape player. But taken together, they elevate one to a different pantheon. That’s why, come November, Etherton will be forever enshrined in the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame.
“I think if you look at his stats, what he did, the fact that he was a multiple-year pitcher and he was a dominating strikeout artist, he’s very, very deserving,” said John Garner, who formerly chaired the CCBL Hall of Fame selection committee.
Put simply, Etherton was a winner. The 1996 CCBL championship proved that, as did the 1998 NCAA Tournament championship he won with the University of Southern California. He managed to make the big leagues, tossing 115.2 innings with a 6.30 ERA, and finished his MLB career with a 9-7 record.
And somehow, his time on the Cape was directly preceded by a loss. A pretty big one, at that.
A photo of Seth Etherton, donning USC gear, in Chatham's team program from the 1996 summer. Etherton won the CCBL championship with Chatham that season, and he won the College World Series with the Trojans in 1998. Courtesy of Mike Richard
As a freshman, Etherton was part of the 1995 USC team that made it all the way to Omaha, all the way to the College World Series final, just to get handed an 11-5 loss to Cal State Fullerton. He didn’t pitch in that game, but the loss still stung. Only a year into his college career, Etherton had already fallen just short of the sport’s pinnacle.
“(I was) obviously disappointed,” Etherton said. “However, I knew what was to come, kind of looking at our nucleus coming back the following year.”
It took a couple years for everything to fall into place, but Etherton’s prediction ended up coming true. Armed with confidence after a breakout summer on the Cape, Etherton entered his sophomore season as one of the Trojans’ primary starters.
But he didn’t begin the year too hot. In the middle of an early start against Cal State Fullerton, then-USC head coach Mike Gillespie called out his focus. Basically, he told the righty that it was time for him to get himself together.
He took that advice to heart — “I had to change my mindset,” Etherton said — and the results reflected it. Etherton was a fixture in the rotation for his last three years at USC, and finished his Trojan career with420 strikeouts across 399.1 innings of work. Those marks rank second and third in program history, respectively. He even saved his best season for last.
That was his senior year, when he won 13 games, fanned 182 batters, had a 3.23 earned run average and was named one of five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the best player in college baseball. That was also the year that his freshman-year intuition became reality and USC won the College World Series with a 21-14 victory over Arizona State.
Etherton was a ninth round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1997, and if he’d signed, he never would’ve realized that dream ending as a senior. But he was never going to leave USC. He knew there was unfinished business.
“Failure is good,” Etherton said. “It kind of gives you something to hunt for.”
That mentality wasn’t exclusive to his time in Los Angeles. Etherton had it throughout his summers in Chatham, so in a sense, his college career paralleled his Cape League career.
Unlike USC, though, it didn’t take him long to establish himself on the Cape. As soon as Etherton arrived, everyone knew he was going to feature prominently in Chatham’s rotation. But he hadn’t proven anything yet, so he never acted like he had.
“Everyone knew who Seth Etherton was, (this) big, stud right-handed pitcher out of USC,” said Todd Murray, one of Etherton’s A’s teammates. “But he never had a cocky swag about him.”
That’s not to say he was silent. He just let his performances speak for him. Statistically, that first summer in Chatham might’ve been his best, as he threw 49 innings, put up a minuscule 1.29 ERA and struck out 65 batters. Heading into that year, Etherton said he focused on learning and having as much fun as possible, and everything fell into place soon after.
Seth Etherton (left) stands next to Randy Flores in the Chatham Anglers' 1995 team picture. Flores, who also pitched with Etherton at USC, said Etherton was "head and shoulders better" than him. Chatham Anglers File Photo
The A’s manager, John Schiffner, kept things “fun and loose” in the dugout. “That's where I feel like I really started enjoying the game as a whole,” Etherton said. It was a talented group of A’s, with future MLB players like Flores, Eric Byrnes and — of course — Etherton. That helped them advance all the way to the championship series against Cotuit.
Etherton doesn’t recall much from it, but Jerome Alviso — a Cal State Fullerton infielder who was the A’s shortstop in 1995 and 1996 — remembers the team running out of pitching by the end, and having to “piece it together.” Whatever the reason, Chatham lost Game 3 — and, in turn, the series — in a contest where the Kettleers erupted for seven fifth-inning runs.
Just like USC, Etherton finished his first year in Chatham one game short of immortality.
Just like USC, Etherton came back for more, needing to finish his unfinished business.
Initially, it seemed that business would stay unfinished. The A’s ended the 1995 season with a 25-17-1 record, and took home the East Division crown. But the following summer, they dropped to second in the East with a relatively mediocre 22-21-1 record.
“I mean, we couldn't hit as a team,” said Mike Colangelo, an outfielder on Chatham’s 1996 team. “We were bad at hitting.”
The rotation — which Colangelo said was “the best in the league” — was dominant, with Etherton and California righty Keith Evans trading gems back and forth. Etherton, with his 1.98 ERA in 50 innings, did enough to get the A’s into the playoffs, giving himself the chance to end his Cape career just how he later ended his collegiate career: with a title.
In the championship series, Chatham faced Falmouth, and Etherton got the ball in Game 1 at Guv Fuller Field. The righty tossed eight shutout innings — none of which he remembers — struck out 14 Commodores, and earned the win in Chatham’s 3-0 triumph.
The series went to Veterans Field, and Evans tossed a complete game to down Falmouth and give Chatham its fourth CCBL championship. The College World Series would come later for Etherton; the Cape League crown would have to do for now.
“I remember us just being very confident in what we were doing going into that championship series,” Etherton said. “I just remember that we felt like we were the best team out there.”
Flores wasn’t on that 1996 squad, or the 1998 World Series-winning USC team. He barely missed out on both, but there’s no hard feelings. He still can’t help but smile when he thinks about Chatham.
That’s why, as the sun sets on this June evening, he’s back at Veterans Field. The national anthem is beginning. He’s still got a story to tell, so he quiets his voice as he continues. Etherton has no clue how Flores remembers it. He just does.
In the summer of 1995, Etherton’s host family had a boat. One day, the USC teammates took it out on the water. The vessel ran out of gas. “It was kind of getting sketchy,” Etherton recalls. If you take Flores’ word for it, the two walked the boat all the way back to Etherton’s host family’s home, wading through horseshoe crabs and changing tides.
He doesn’t remember exactly how long the walk was, but he guesses at least a mile. The two laughed the whole way back. Flores wasn’t thinking much; “I just didn't want to die,” he says.
“Two Southern California kids had no idea what to do,” Flores says. “But we made it.”
And there it is. Perhaps the one time in his two summers on Cape Cod that Seth Etherton, the soon-to-be CCBL Hall of Famer, ever found himself out of his depth.
Because it certainly never happened on the mound. Ask Schiffner about it.
“I don’t think he pitched a bad game in the Cape Cod League.”
CHATHAM, Mass. — It was a different time, one where Randy Flores was on Chatham’s mound instead of watching it. Now, it’s June 14, and the St. Louis Cardinals’ director of scouting is standing behind the Veterans Field bleachers, his arms crossed as he relives his glory days. There’s paper in his hand, ostensibly with names for him to watch, because he’s just a spectator today. It’s been decades since Flores was a name on a paper for scouts to look out for.
In those days, though, he wasn’t the only arm their eyes were on. Not with Seth Etherton in his rotation.
“(Etherton had) way better command, way better confidence, a way better changeup, way more velocity,” says Flores, a former eight-year MLB pitcher. “He was just head and shoulders better.”
Just about anyone who encountered Etherton on the Cape says the same thing. Etherton spent the 1995 and 1996 summers in Chatham, earning two All-Star selections and finishing both seasons with an earned run average below 2.00. And, as if that statistical dominance wasn’t enough, he finished his A’s career by leading Chatham to its fourth-ever championship in 1996.
Taken individually, any of those accomplishments would’ve made someone a mighty fine Cape player. But taken together, they elevate one to a different pantheon. That’s why, come November, Etherton will be forever enshrined in the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame.
“I think if you look at his stats, what he did, the fact that he was a multiple-year pitcher and he was a dominating strikeout artist, he’s very, very deserving,” said John Garner, who formerly chaired the CCBL Hall of Fame selection committee.
Put simply, Etherton was a winner. The 1996 CCBL championship proved that, as did the 1998 NCAA Tournament championship he won with the University of Southern California. He managed to make the big leagues, tossing 115.2 innings with a 6.30 ERA, and finished his MLB career with a 9-7 record.
And somehow, his time on the Cape was directly preceded by a loss. A pretty big one, at that.
A photo of Seth Etherton, donning USC gear, in Chatham's team program from the 1996 summer. Etherton won the CCBL championship with Chatham that season, and he won the College World Series with the Trojans in 1998. Courtesy of Mike Richard
As a freshman, Etherton was part of the 1995 USC team that made it all the way to Omaha, all the way to the College World Series final, just to get handed an 11-5 loss to Cal State Fullerton. He didn’t pitch in that game, but the loss still stung. Only a year into his college career, Etherton had already fallen just short of the sport’s pinnacle.
“(I was) obviously disappointed,” Etherton said. “However, I knew what was to come, kind of looking at our nucleus coming back the following year.”
It took a couple years for everything to fall into place, but Etherton’s prediction ended up coming true. Armed with confidence after a breakout summer on the Cape, Etherton entered his sophomore season as one of the Trojans’ primary starters.
But he didn’t begin the year too hot. In the middle of an early start against Cal State Fullerton, then-USC head coach Mike Gillespie called out his focus. Basically, he told the righty that it was time for him to get himself together.
He took that advice to heart — “I had to change my mindset,” Etherton said — and the results reflected it. Etherton was a fixture in the rotation for his last three years at USC, and finished his Trojan career with420 strikeouts across 399.1 innings of work. Those marks rank second and third in program history, respectively. He even saved his best season for last.
That was his senior year, when he won 13 games, fanned 182 batters, had a 3.23 earned run average and was named one of five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the best player in college baseball. That was also the year that his freshman-year intuition became reality and USC won the College World Series with a 21-14 victory over Arizona State.
Etherton was a ninth round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1997, and if he’d signed, he never would’ve realized that dream ending as a senior. But he was never going to leave USC. He knew there was unfinished business.
“Failure is good,” Etherton said. “It kind of gives you something to hunt for.”
That mentality wasn’t exclusive to his time in Los Angeles. Etherton had it throughout his summers in Chatham, so in a sense, his college career paralleled his Cape League career.
Unlike USC, though, it didn’t take him long to establish himself on the Cape. As soon as Etherton arrived, everyone knew he was going to feature prominently in Chatham’s rotation. But he hadn’t proven anything yet, so he never acted like he had.
“Everyone knew who Seth Etherton was, (this) big, stud right-handed pitcher out of USC,” said Todd Murray, one of Etherton’s A’s teammates. “But he never had a cocky swag about him.”
That’s not to say he was silent. He just let his performances speak for him. Statistically, that first summer in Chatham might’ve been his best, as he threw 49 innings, put up a minuscule 1.29 ERA and struck out 65 batters. Heading into that year, Etherton said he focused on learning and having as much fun as possible, and everything fell into place soon after.
Seth Etherton (left) stands next to Randy Flores in the Chatham Anglers' 1995 team picture. Flores, who also pitched with Etherton at USC, said Etherton was "head and shoulders better" than him. Chatham Anglers File Photo
The A’s manager, John Schiffner, kept things “fun and loose” in the dugout. “That's where I feel like I really started enjoying the game as a whole,” Etherton said. It was a talented group of A’s, with future MLB players like Flores, Eric Byrnes and — of course — Etherton. That helped them advance all the way to the championship series against Cotuit.
Etherton doesn’t recall much from it, but Jerome Alviso — a Cal State Fullerton infielder who was the A’s shortstop in 1995 and 1996 — remembers the team running out of pitching by the end, and having to “piece it together.” Whatever the reason, Chatham lost Game 3 — and, in turn, the series — in a contest where the Kettleers erupted for seven fifth-inning runs.
Just like USC, Etherton finished his first year in Chatham one game short of immortality.
Just like USC, Etherton came back for more, needing to finish his unfinished business.
Initially, it seemed that business would stay unfinished. The A’s ended the 1995 season with a 25-17-1 record, and took home the East Division crown. But the following summer, they dropped to second in the East with a relatively mediocre 22-21-1 record.
“I mean, we couldn't hit as a team,” said Mike Colangelo, an outfielder on Chatham’s 1996 team. “We were bad at hitting.”
The rotation — which Colangelo said was “the best in the league” — was dominant, with Etherton and California righty Keith Evans trading gems back and forth. Etherton, with his 1.98 ERA in 50 innings, did enough to get the A’s into the playoffs, giving himself the chance to end his Cape career just how he later ended his collegiate career: with a title.
In the championship series, Chatham faced Falmouth, and Etherton got the ball in Game 1 at Guv Fuller Field. The righty tossed eight shutout innings — none of which he remembers — struck out 14 Commodores, and earned the win in Chatham’s 3-0 triumph.
The series went to Veterans Field, and Evans tossed a complete game to down Falmouth and give Chatham its fourth CCBL championship. The College World Series would come later for Etherton; the Cape League crown would have to do for now.
“I remember us just being very confident in what we were doing going into that championship series,” Etherton said. “I just remember that we felt like we were the best team out there.”
Flores wasn’t on that 1996 squad, or the 1998 World Series-winning USC team. He barely missed out on both, but there’s no hard feelings. He still can’t help but smile when he thinks about Chatham.
That’s why, as the sun sets on this June evening, he’s back at Veterans Field. The national anthem is beginning. He’s still got a story to tell, so he quiets his voice as he continues. Etherton has no clue how Flores remembers it. He just does.
In the summer of 1995, Etherton’s host family had a boat. One day, the USC teammates took it out on the water. The vessel ran out of gas. “It was kind of getting sketchy,” Etherton recalls. If you take Flores’ word for it, the two walked the boat all the way back to Etherton’s host family’s home, wading through horseshoe crabs and changing tides.
He doesn’t remember exactly how long the walk was, but he guesses at least a mile. The two laughed the whole way back. Flores wasn’t thinking much; “I just didn't want to die,” he says.
“Two Southern California kids had no idea what to do,” Flores says. “But we made it.”
And there it is. Perhaps the one time in his two summers on Cape Cod that Seth Etherton, the soon-to-be CCBL Hall of Famer, ever found himself out of his depth.
Because it certainly never happened on the mound. Ask Schiffner about it.
“I don’t think he pitched a bad game in the Cape Cod League.”
