THEIR HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Typical young adult behavior frequently includes lost wallets, piles of dirty laundry and blowing up food in the microwave. It’s not so bad when it’s your own kids, but imagine offering to let West Michigan Whitecaps players do it in your own home - on an annual basis. That’s exactly what numerous families throughout the Grand Rapids area have done over the years as part of the Keep-A-Cap Program, which places players with host families, who submit an application to the team to generously house players. It’s similar to a foreign exchange student program, where the host families will provide living accommodations and occasionally transportation - during the baseball season for players who typically fall in the 18-24 age range and may not even be from the United States. Even though the youthful naiveté and innocence of the players can frequently shine through in comical ways, host families describe their experiences in glowing terms. After all, that’s how you end up dancing the two-step in the kitchen with Jordan John or getting tickets to the final game ever played at Tiger Stadium from Robert Fick. Here are the stories of three host families who have no plans to close their doors any time soon for Whitecaps players.
VICTOR AND DARLENE VARNAGATAS As the Whitecaps kick off their 25th season, Victor and Darlene Varnagatas will enjoy their own anniversary as the only remaining family to have hosted players every season. Both Victor and Darlene played baseball throughout their youth, and Victor coached their son while Darlene kept score. Eventually, when they heard about the minor league team coming to West Michigan they realized the lower level of their Rockford home would be perfect for players - although a simple typo in the application may have raised a few eyebrows in the organization.“I typed up a resume for the Whitecaps and put ‘lover’ level instead of ‘lower,’ ” Darlene said, laughing. “But we got approved and the rest is history.” Over the years, the Varnagatas family has hosted 43 players, starting in 1994 with Tim Kubinski and Scott Baldwin, who were both well over 6 feet tall and were going to have a tough time fitting in the new twin-size beds that had been purchased for them. “We didn’t know what they looked like or anything, but we saw them on TV during a game in South Bend and thought, ‘Oh no. … These guys are big,” Darlene said. “We only had a day or two to get that taken care of and get it all straightened out.” Past occupants also include Ben Grieve, Robert Fick, Brian Flynn, Brennan Boesch and Cam Gibson, whose love of animals put the family in a humorous position. The Vanagatas family had a golden retriever, but Darlene is allergic to cats. That didn’t stop Gibson from asking about the family’s pet policy when his girlfriend’s cat had kittens. “I’ve never had a cat in the house and I really shouldn’t, but I couldn’t say no right off the bat. Let me think about it,” she said. “That was on a Tuesday and Saturday morning he comes walking into the kitchen with this little ball of fur nestled up in his neck and chin.” The cat was named Lulu - after Ernie Harwell’s wife - and Darlene took medication so she could help out with their newest occupant. “I said to him, ‘You do realize you’re gone every other week?’ ” she said. “But Cameron knew he had me wrapped around his finger.” Pictured below: Brett Pirtle, Vic Varnagatas, Cam Gibson, Dar Varnagatas, and Will Maddox
SHARON HANER Sharon Haner can relate to the tight bond families create with players. Haner and her late husband, Jack, first started hosting Whitecaps players 21 years ago at their Grand Rapids home. Prior to their connection to the organization, the pair provided housing to players from the Grand Rapids Owls junior hockey team. When they started attending Whitecaps games, Jack casually wondered where the players lived. “You don’t really think about it, so I called the ballpark out of curiosity,” Sharon said. “It’s been wonderful. I love young kids.” Jack passed away in 2006, but Sharon said she has no plans to quit the program. She primarily hosts Hispanic and Latin American players, who devour the chocolate chip pancakes she regularly makes for breakfast. The language and cultural barrier hasn’t been an issue. “The first year I had them, I was kind of nervous. I speak no Spanish,” she said. “But they just show so much love that the mothering instinct just took over. “I’ve picked up a few words. But I’ve had some of the boys tell me they’re glad I don’t speak it. They like it because then they can talk about things and I don’t know what they’re talking about. They have some privacy.” Haner has hosted 23 players over the years, including Dixon Machado, Avisail Garcia, Hernan Perez, Eugenio Suarez and Joe Jimenez. During a recent trip to Miami, she was able to catch up with Machado, Garcia and Perez, who gave her and a friend a scare when he pretended his hand was broken from being slammed in a car door. Even with the occasional mischief, Haner said the players have always been respectful and a pleasure to have around. “I tell all my boys, ‘Once you leave you’ve got to keep me.’
Top: Sharon and Jack Haner with Josh Lee in 2005
I keep in touch with them all,” Haner said. “I am so proud of
Middle: Sharon with Eugenio Suarez
all these boys. I can sit and talk about these guys forever.”
Bottom: José Zambraño, Sharon Haner, Fernando Perez, Victor Padron
TIM AND JILL OSBECK Jill and Tim Osbeck weren’t even big baseball fans when they first contacted the Whitecaps eight seasons ago. They had a friend from their Bible group, who sang the praises of host families when their son was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, and when they became empty nesters in 2010 decided to give the program a shot.
Tim admitted he was initially hesitant, but
once he got over the uneasy feeling of having a stranger in his house all of his reservations were quickly pushed to the side. “What we found out is that all these guys are wonderful,” he said. “They’re all unique in their own way, but it’s like a rookie season of baseball. We learned a lot that rookie season and then we adjusted our style, expectations and approach.
“We didn’t understand what these guys went through that first season,
everything from homesickness to the drudgery. The fans see the fun part of the game, but what they don’t realize is they’ve been at the field since two o’clock, played a game, then they have to clean up and then they can go home.”
Top: Tim Osbeck, Montreal Robertson,
The Osbecks have already hosted 24 players, a list that includes Rob Brantly,
Lance Durham, Kyle Funkhouser and Derek Hill.
Lance Durham, Jason King, Jill Osbeck Bottom: Jill Osbeck, Drew Smith,
Tim Osbeck
And then there was Nicholas Castellanos, who needed permanent marker placed on the
washer and dryer so he’d know where to turn the dials, and Australian Warwick Saupold, who needed a little extra assistance the first time he drove in the U.S.
“He sat at a blinking red light for who knows how long until he finally called and said, ‘What do I
do here?’ ” Jill said, laughing. “ ‘I don’t know what to do!’ ”
Not bad for a couple who had to look up what a five-tool prospect meant.
“At the very first game I went to I had to ask which was the dugout and which was the bullpen,” Jill said with a chuckle. “No clue.”
A LASTING CONNECTION Perhaps the biggest benefit to the Keep-A-Cap Program is the long-term relationships that continue long after the players leave the West Michigan area. All three families described the joy they receive from the text messages, wedding invitations and Christmas cards that will often highlight the players’ own growing families. But even as the players grow up, it’s difficult for their host families to shake the memories of them as young men. Especially when they’re always asking for the WiFi password. “It’s interesting when you see them in their uniforms they look so grown up and so professional, but when they come home in their cutoffs and T-shirts, they say, ‘Gosh, you made cookies! This is so great!’ ” Jill Osbeck said. “They go back into being little boys again that need to be taken care of.” Said Haner: “When I go see them now, they have not grown up. They might be married and have families, but they still do that silly stuff.”