On Cape Cod, the baseball glove and the beach towel usually end up in the same car.

And somehow, that makes perfect sense.

For kids growing up around baseball on the Cape, the game doesn't always have a clear beginning and end. It just finds its way into the day.

A summer morning might start at the beach with towels, boogie boards and a cooler piled into the back of the car. But there's probably a baseball glove back there, too.

Because you never know when a game might break out.

Maybe it's Wiffle ball in the yard when everyone gets home. Maybe somebody brings a ball to the beach. Maybe there's baseball camp in the morning and swimming in the afternoon.

And when the sun starts getting lower, there's a good chance the day ends somewhere around a ballfield.

That's growing up baseball on Cape Cod.

For EARNED founders Jack and Thomas, it's a routine they've known for years. As Massachusetts kids with a family home on the Cape, baseball here isn't limited to a few weeks in July.

They play travel baseball games on the Cape throughout the spring, summer and fall. Summers bring baseball camps, Wiffle ball with friends, mornings at the beach and evenings around the ballfield.

Baseball is simply part of the rhythm of life here.

And what makes Cape baseball special isn't simply the amount of baseball being played.

It's how naturally the game fits into everything else.

Beach sand and infield dirt.

Flip-flops and cleats.

Beach towels and baseball gloves.

There are folding chairs behind backstops. Bikes leaning against fences. Kids chasing foul balls. Families arriving straight from the beach. Friends running into friends. Gloves and bats sharing trunk space with beach chairs and coolers.

And none of it needs a giant stadium to feel important.

That's part of the magic.

For a kid growing up around baseball on Cape Cod, the memories aren't necessarily about statistics, standings or who won the game.

They're about summer nights.

They're about chasing down a foul ball.

They're about the smell of the grass and the sound of a ball hitting a glove.

They're about playing Wiffle ball until somebody gets called inside.

They're about getting ice cream after the game.

They're about falling asleep in the car on the ride home from the field.

At EARNED, when we talk about baseball culture, this is exactly what we mean.

Baseball isn't only the game you play when someone puts on a uniform and keeps score.

Sometimes it's simply part of where you are, who you're with and how you grew up.

And on Cape Cod, you learn pretty quickly:

Bring the beach towel.

But never forget your glove.