Families host minor leaguers
SLIPPERYROCK — Adopt a ballplayer?
Not really, but the concept is the same.
When the Frontier League expansion Slippery Rock Sliders franchise was formed and the players reported for training camp May 9, they needed places to stay.
A rookie salary of $700 per month can't get much of an apartment, after all.
Frontier League franchises have a host family program coordinated by Leo Trich Jr., the league's director of development. Each team looks for local families to open their homes to one or two players, the lone requirement being a room for the athlete to sleep.
"A lot of minor leagues use programs like this,"Trich said. "At least a third of the Slider players have been through this before."
All 24 players on the Sliders' current roster were placed with host families, including 26-year-old catcher Travis Chapman.
"Believe me, we appreciate it," Chapman said. "All we do is try to be ourselves and respect the family's rules.
"For everyone to have a family that welcomes a stranger into their home. ... It shows how nice people can be around here."
Chapman was released by the Sliders on Tuesday. Independent league baseball teams release and sign players often during the season to remain as competitive as possible.
Participating families have had players stay with them since the May 9 reporting date. Trich said so far no one has regretted that decision.Some families have added a second player, in fact."We asked some to do that on a temporary basis while we continue to look for more host families,"Trich said. "What happens is some get so attached to the players that they hate to give them up."The McGarvey family of Butler hosts two players:Jason Von Behren and Jon Hickey."We've had exchange students stay with us before and we just married off two of our three daughters,"Joan McGarvey said. "We had a bit of an empty nest, so we decided to do this."The guys have been very friendly. Getting them to turn off the lights when they leave a room took a little while, but that's about it as far as any problems."One of the McGarvey's daughters, 23-year-old Megan, still lives at home and has no problem with the family's additions."She's a ballplayer herself, very sports-minded,"Mrs. McGarvey said. "She plays in two softball leagues."Mrs. McGarvey admitted to making chocolate chip cookies for the players to take to Washington for their regular season opener against the Wild Things last month."They're grown men. I try not to mother them, but I had to do that,"she said.Grace Bickert is a single woman living in Prospect. Her niece and nephew live with her on occasion and she said it was "a family decision" to allow a ballplayer into her home."We went to a meeting and talked to the coaches and general manager about it,"she said. "We became comfortable with the idea fairly quickly."These are young men trying to make it to the big leagues. They're not going to do anything to jeopardize that. They're adults, we're adults, so we took a chance."I have a 16-year-old nephew who lives and breathes sports, but never had the opportunity to play them himself. I thought this might be a great experience for him. It's been a great experience for all of us,"Bickert added.She said the two players staying with her — Zac Cline and Casey Bowling — blended into the family almost instantly.They play games with her family, answer questions and watch TV with them."Watching a major league game with these guys is fascinating,"she said. "They'll know this guy or that guy from being a teammate or opponent, from playing with them in college, etc."It's uplifting the way the players support each other and compliment each other's performance in practice. They're so humble."Bickert has already had two cookouts for her two players. OnMother's Day, Cline and Bowling presented her with a bouquet of roses."They said 'Happy Host Mother's Day' ... I almost cried,"she said.Mark and Barb Taylor of Slippery Rock play host to two players — catcher Bryan Vickers and infielder Kory Lonergan."We're both big fans of baseball and thought it would be fun,"Mr. Taylor said of hosting a player. "We had no reservations about it at all."Most of the time, pro athletes are a different breed. They're very disciplined people. They have to be to get as far as they have in their sport."The Taylors converted a playroom downstairs into a bedroom for their summer house guests.Their 14-year-old son, Luke, plays Pony League baseball and enjoys having a couple of minor league players around."The guys have had no problem sitting down and talking to him, to all of us. They're very personable young men,"Taylor said. "They quickly became semi-family members."We keep a neat house and the first night they were here, their room was pretty messy. We asked them to clean it up once, and they've kept it clean ever since."
Craig and Jan Lawson of Slippery Rock are the host family for Sliders relief pitcher Greg Lasinski.The Lawsons have a guest house above their garage and turned it over to Lasinski."It's an ideal situation. He can come and go as he pleases and he has his own private place,"Mrs. Lawson said."We heard the team was coming to town, but we didn't realize the players needed families. The space above our garage was sitting empty, so we decided to help out."The Lawsons were to host another player as well, but he did not make the final roster and was released by the team."That was hard,"Lawson said. "These players are so nice and you feel close to them right away. It was heartbreaking having one leave."With Greg, once he made the team, we started hanging out a lot more."Though they're only required to provide lodging, the Lawsons have had Lasinski over for meals and have taken him out to dinner."He's become part of our family,"Lawson said. "It's been an incredible experience meeting some of these young men. They have wonderful futures ahead of them."We're so lucky to have this. We're going to try to attend every game."Lawson said her husband took to the idea of hosting a player right away."He was a ballplayer when he was young and he has tremendous respect for what these guys are trying to do,"she said. "He dreamed about being a major league baseball player himself."Craig wants to help Greg live a dream. We've helped him with groceries. ... These players don't make much money. They play because they love the game and can't give it up. Craig identifies with that."Don and Sandra Loughry of Center Township had catcher John MacLeod, who was recently released by the team.Mrs. Loughry said MacLeod took part in family activities, watched TVwith them and joined the family for dinner."He pitched in around the house," she said. "He helped us with some landscaping, emptied the dishwasher. ... He was a joy."After he was here two nights, we gave him a key. We were hesitant to join the program at first, bringing someone we didn't know into our home, but I'm glad we did it."The Loughrys' grandson, 6-year-old Troy, was able to hang out with the team as well. He went to practice with MacLeod and the player autographed a baseball and his glove for the youngster."When we told Troy that John got cut from the team and had to leave, he cried,"Mrs. Loughry said. "It really hit him hard because he came to look up to John."Just a true gentleman,"she said of MacLeod. "My husband and I are older now (upper 50s) and it was nice having some young people around the house.""I enjoyed having a young man here to talk sports with late at night,"Don Loughry said. "He is from Detroit and if I had the (pro basketball)Pistons or (pro hockey)Red Wings playoff game on the TV when he got home, he'd sit right down and watch with me. I'm going to miss that."The Loughrys have told the Sliders they will host another player."I'm sure we'll get another one,"Mrs. Loughry said. "With John, we found a friend for a long time to come. We exchanged e-mails before he left and we'll travel to watch him play if he winds up with another team."Housing an aspiring professional baseball player has provided these families with an up-close look at what the athletes go through."Our guys would come home from practice during camp and were so whipped, they just wanted to sleep,"McGarvey said. "They were really wore out."The players bonded together quickly. They hang out together at the Texas Roadhouse when they're not on the field."And they've become more than just ballplayers being given free rent in the eyes of their hosts."To see young people be so passionate about something, to be paid next to nothing just for the chance to pursue it. ... I'm proud of them as if they were my own children,"Bickert said.
Remaining Slippery Rock Slider home games at Slippery Rock University's Critchfield Park:June 11: Chillicothe Paints, 7:05 p.m.June 12: Chillicothe Paints, 12:05 p.m.June 19: Evansville Otters, 7:05 p.m.June 20: Evansville Otters, 7:05 p.m.June 21: Evansville Otters, 7:05 p.m.July 1: Washington Wild Things, 6:05 p.m.July 2: Florence Freedom, 7:05 p.m.July 3: Florence Freedom, 7:05 p.m.July 16: Kalamazoo Kings, 7:05 p.m.July 17: Kalamazoo Kings, 7:05 p.m.July 18: Kalamazoo Kings, 7:05 p.m.July 21: Chillicothe Paints, 7:05 p.m.July 22: Chillicothe Paints, 6:05 p.m.July 30: Windy City Thunderbolts, 7:05 p.m.July 31: Windy City Thunderbolts, 7:05 p.m.Aug. 1: Windy City Thunderbolts, 12:05 p.m.Aug. 5: Washington Wild Things, 6:05 p.m.Aug. 6: Washington Wild Things, 7:05 p.m.Aug. 11: Chillicothe Paints, 7:05 p.m.Aug. 12: Chillicothe Paints, 6:05 p.m.Aug. 20: Gateway Grizzlies, 7:05 p.m.Aug. 21: Gateway Grizzlies, 7:05 p.m.Aug. 22: Gateway Grizzlies, 12:05 p.m.Aug. 28: Chillicothe Paints, 7:05 p.m.Aug. 29: Chillicothe Paints, 7:05 p.m.
