Yakima Valley Pippins Baseball Players Need Host Families
The Yakima Valley Pippins Baseball organization is still going full steam ahead and preparing for the upcoming, and truncated, 2020 West Coast League season despite the uncertainty and havoc being wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic.
Yesterday, in a press release, the club announced that they now actively pursuing the securing of host families for incoming players.
In the release, Pippins General Manager Jeff Garretson said, "We've had an excellent base group of families who welcome strangers into their homes at the start of each season, and by the end of the summer those strangers are extended family members for years to come".
Garretson made it clear that having enough beds for this year's squad is of their utmost concern as the Pippins are expecting an an unusually larger roster than seasons past. They are currently estimating the need for another 10-12 beds at this juncture.
To host a player(s), families are expected to provide free room and board and "a family environment to help players adjust to a new community away from their own families". Help with transportation to and from the ballpark may be necessary as well.
Kory Rosacrans, his wife Shauna and their son Kaden (pictured above) have been a host family to dozens of players from all of the country and the world for the last decade and a half and consider the ballplayers "their boys" and describe the time spent with all of them "the most rewarding experience in the world."
Host families are compensated with a season ticket for each member of their household, a full-season parking pass, 20 percent off team merchandise during the season, and some Pippins swag plus concession stand vouchers.
For more information about the program, email info@pippinsbaseball.com or call 509-575-4487.