Part One of Two, By Paul M. Banks
Given the well publicized and egregiously exorbitant salaries of many major league ballplayers today, the fact that most players within the major league farm system play for miniscule salaries is largely ignored. Within a team’s community, local host families play a crucial role in not just housing the player, but also helping him adjust to life in a strange new city. The families provide assistance and guidance to players who would otherwise be on their own. The process by which players and families pair up begins with a sort of “speed-dating†meet-and-greet event.
“All the players go around for three to five minutes with each family. They’ve already been given a sheet of paper with our basic information on it. And it goes from there,†said Pam Rasmussen, a player host since 1992.
People get involved in the host family program for numerous reasons and experiences vary greatly. Most Cougars, even the high draft picks with million dollar signing bonuses, find themselves living with host families. When the Cougars were affiliated with the Florida Marlins in the 1990s, some first round draft picks had two or three million dollar signing bonuses. Since the team became affiliated with the Oakland Athletics, an organization with a more frugal financial philosophy, the high draft picks coming to Kane County have bonuses topping out at one or one-point-five million.
“We were fortunate to have a first-rounder stay with us in the first ‘Moneyball’ class in 2002. John “J-Mac†McCurdy had a $1.4 million dollar signing bonus and he was a really nice guy and just very shy. There was no indication that he was a 21 year old millionaire except he wore a t-shirt everyday that had a “#1†on it. After five consecutive weeks of seeing him in that shirt, Jane told him if that isn’t in the laundry tomorrow, I’m going to take it off your back and put it in the wash myself,†McCurdy‘s former host dad Max Akerman laughingly told me.
I watched a game with Akerman and his wife in their seats adjacent to the team dugout. He told me another great story concerning former Florida Marlin and current Minnesota Twins backup catcher Mike Redmond. During his stay in Geneva, Redmond was told nearly everyday by scouts, coaches and even the director of player development that he would never ever make it past AA ball, and that he would be really lucky if he got significant playing time at AAA. The backup catcher has a .292 batting average during his ten year career, inspirationally proving his critics wrong.
For more on Kane County Cougars Baseball
https://www.kccougars.com/
To learn more about becoming a player host, contact Jeff Ney at (630) 232-8811
