FORT MYERS, Fla. – Gil “Gib” Chapman and Rich Bryce are a long way from their home state, but they wouldn’t trade their current situation for anything.

Chapman, a Houlton native and University of Maine alumnus, and Bryce, a Bangor man who played sports at John Bapst Memorial High School, handle field security for the Boston Red Sox at City of Palms Park.

“I work here for about a month and a half,” said Chapman, former athletic director and men’s basketball coach at the University of New Hampshire. “This gives me an opportunity to get close to the players and get to know them. Being here on the visitor’s dugout is neat because I can get to know the other players.”

Chapman, 72, has been living in Fort Myers for the last 10 years. He’s been with the team for the last five.

“I live here eight months of the year,” he said. “I’m in Maine and New Brunswick, where my son lives, from the first of June to about the first of October, but I haven’t really lived in Maine since the late 1960s.”

Bryce, a retired U.S. Army first sergeant who still has a home in Hermon, has been living here since 1993 and employed by the Sox since 1995.

“I started working in security in the clubhouse and I was the clubhouse manager at Sarasota for the Red Sox Florida State League team,” he said. “I also worked at the minor league complex, too.

“The players are more relaxed during spring training, and it’s fun to see these guys go through from being minor leaguers to big league players.”

Chapman works for about six weeks while Bryce puts in about 31/2 months with the team.

“I also work in the clubhouse for the fantasy camps for two months,” said Bryce, who played basketball for Ron Geaghan at Bapst.

“We beat Bangor twice and went 18-3, but lost to Caribou in the tournament,” said Bryce, who also played baseball.

Chapman officiated high school games in Florida until knee replacement surgery knocked him out of action last year.

Do the two Pine Tree State native sons ever pine away for their home state?

“Any time I get homesick, I go to Germain Arena and watch an ice hockey game,” Chapman said with a big smile. “That’s close enough for me.”

Cashing in on patience

Kevin Cash never expected to be the most-sought-after interview subject at any time during training camp this year, let alone for two straight days.

But reporters were beating a path to the journeyman catcher’s locker all day Friday, one day after he’d been named Boston’s backup catcher.

Cash, who has played for three organizations in the last four years, is replacing Doug Mirabelli as knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher.

“It was exciting, but at the same time it was kind of an awkward day for everybody involved because of the respect factor Doug had and what he’d done for the organization,” said Cash. “Personally for me I could not be more excited. I’m ready to go. You don’t get too many opportunities in this game. This is my second one and I plan to go out and make the most of it.”

Cash, 30, was Toronto’s opening-day catcher in 2004, but missed 15 days with a rib cage injury and was supplanted by Gregg Zaun. In 2005, he started the season on the disabled list for Tampa Bay with right shoulder tendinitis.

Boston’s release of Mirabelli ends a seven-year run for him and Wakefield. That run was also interrupted two years ago when Mirabelli went to the San Diego Padres for a couple of months before the Sox reacquired him.

“He was very helpful to me, going over hitters, and I was able to use that with Wakefield. Plus he helped me relax,” Cash said. “I definitely understand why there are some people who are maybe a little disappointed to see him go.”

Cash has enjoyed a solid spring and has shown he can handle the knuckleball, catching Charlie Zink and John Barnes before being behind the plate for seven of Wakefield’s starts last year while replacing an injured Mirabelli.

“Last year, every game meant so much that Tim went out of his way to make it comfortable for me when Doug was hurt, and he’s been that way ever since,” Cash said. “Obviously, they’ve had issues with other guys trying to do it, but I think both of us are comfortable with each other.

“When he’s not on, maybe I can say something to help him get back on track. He still has to keep his mechanics intact even as a knuckleballer and I’m sure he’ll let me know if there’s anything I can do to make things better for him.”

Bangor’s Stephen King at game

Best-selling author and Bangor resident Stephen King was at the Red Sox-Orioles game Friday and spent time talking with Red Sox radio sportscaster Joe Castiglione.

King, a longtime and devout Red Sox fan, is also owner of Bangor radio station WZON (620 AM), which broadcasts Red Sox regular-season games.

aneff@bangordailynews.net

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CAREER STATS

Yr Team G AB H BA

’02 Toronto 7 14 2 .143

’03 Toronto 34 106 15 .142

’04 Toronto 60 181 35 .193

’05 Tampa Bay 13 31 5 .161

’07 Boston 12 27 3 .111

Totals 126 359 60 .167