The Evansville Otters' 2014 season is just a few weeks away, and the team needs somewhere for players to stay during their pursuit of the Frontier League championship.

Year in and year out, our hometown baseball team is comprised of players from all areas of the country. Players willing to move hours away from home to pursue their dream of playing professional baseball. But providing lodging for all those players in local hotels or short-term apartments can be expensive for a small, independent league baseball organization, so the Otters turn to the generosity of local families to house players during the season.

As a host family, your responsibilities to the player and organization, according to the team's website, include the following:

  • Provide room and board for the player(s).
  • Be understanding of their schedule. (The Otters will play 96 games in 106 days; 48 of those games will take place in Evansville. The players will arrive in Evansville in early May, and the season will come to an end in mid-September.)
  • Encourage them to participate as members of their families.
  • Support the players in their drive to play major league baseball.

The players themselves also have responsibilities in return for the host family's generosity that include:

  • Adhere to the rules set forth by the Host Family
  • Participate as a member of the family, giving the respect/consideration he would give his own family.
  • Provide his own transportation to and from the ball park.
  • Wash/dry his own laundry.
  • Pay for his own long distance phone calls. (Most players have cell phones.)

For more information on becoming a host family, contact host family coordinator, Sally Gries at (812)-568-4782 or by email at hostfamilies@evansvilleotters.com.

Interested families, as well as players needing accommodations will be asked to complete a questionnaire before they are matched. This gives the team the ability to match a player with the appropriate family.

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