It takes a village: How the Florence Y’alls make it work on and off the field

PRESIDENT & CEO Lacy Starling

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Mark Collier

MANAGING EDITOR Meghan Goth

PRINT EDITOR Kaitlin Gebby

SPORTS EDITOR Evan Dennison

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BY EVAN DENNISON | LINK nky SPORTS EDITOR

Host families are the backbone of the Y'alls. Illustration by James Robertson | LINK nky contributor

For most high school sports teams, lower-level colleges and any amateur league out there, it really does take a community to make it work.

There are no gaudy TV deals, corporate sponsors or billionaire owners.

For the Florence Y’alls, a lot of the operation depends on host families – people who volunteer and offer up their homes to the players, trying to keep their expenses low because of how little pay they earn, which averages $1,200-$1,500 per month.

Many of the host families have been doing it for years, and while they don’t get much in return outside of free tickets and some of that sweet Y’alls merchandise, the joy of being able to welcome someone into the comfort of their home is enough.

“Most of them like to offer these guys a slice of their home. It’s such a grueling, long season, and with these guys staying in hotels and eating on the road, this helps them relax and be stress-free,” Y’alls host families coordinator Micha Wise said. “It’s not replacing their actual families, but they get close, and it’s like a mom bond with some of them.”

Wise and her husband, Scott, hosted players for two seasons. After the birth of their daughter, their open room was occupied by their newborn, and they were unable to host anymore. But they still wanted to be a part of the operation, so Micha Wise took on the coordinator role. The Wises have both been involved with the program for eight years now. While they hosted for just two years, they built lifelong relationships with the players, an experience they said is common.

“My daughter was recently a flower girl in one of the former player’s wedding,” Wise said. “The player we hosted our first year was close to us in age, so it turned out to be one of our best friends. We recently went out on vacation in Arizona and connected with them. … They feel like family now.”

Finding the right fit for a player and host family virtually comes down to a spreadsheet.

Wise and team manager Chad Rhoades share what each individual player’s interests are, his allergies, hobbies, whether he has a vehicle and what he likes to do in his downtime. From there, they try to find the best fit possible.

“Sometimes it’s just luck of the draw,” Wise said. “If we see a player went to a certain college and the family is from that area, then we try to make that work. If the player starts in spring training, we have more control of the situation, but as the season progresses it’s just a matter of availability and who has a place open.”

Dave and Marie Orewiler have been a host

Continues on page 4 family for 11 seasons. They’ve hosted players from all over – even Central America.

“Our favorite part about it is seeing them continue to do amazing things when they leave us,” Marie Orewiler said.

When they spoke to LINK, Marie and Dave were headed down to a wedding in Louisiana for one of the former players they hosted.

“We’re flattered to still be a part of their lives,” Marie Orewiler said.

When their children moved out to go off to college, they decided it was time to become a host family.

They currently host Mike Kickham, who pitched for the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox in the major leagues. Kickham is the first major leaguer they’ve hosted – it is rare to have someone of that ped- igree playing in the independent leagues. The Orewilers’ expectation about hosting a player who has reached the pinnacle of the sport was filled with some uncertainty.

“Speaking kind of tongue in cheek here, but we thought with a major leaguer coming in it may be a little different,” Dave Orewiler said. “But he’s been absolutely classy and marvelous. He’s blended in wonderfully with some of the players. One of the most classy and super guys to host.

“The big difference with Mike is that he’s traveled a lot, so he’s so interested in each region that he goes to. He doesn’t want to go to the bar with the players, he’d rather go to a museum or an attraction in the area.”

It’s quite a contrast from the other player they host, Cole Brennan, who had never experienced living with a host family before despite his travels during four years in the minor leagues. Brennan is the speedster on the team. The Orewilers were recently streaming the Y’alls game when the team was playing on the road, and Brennan stole home.

“It was like a blur sliding into home,” Marie Orewiler said.

During their initial phone call with Brennan, the couple decided to have a little fun. They told him their house was pretty full and asked if he would mind sleeping in the tent they put up for him outside. Brennan, happy for the opportunity, didn’t catch the joke at first, but near the end of the conversation he asked, ‘Will I really be sleeping outside?’ ”

It made for a good laugh. Brennan even said he was an avid camper and would have lived under those circumstances if needed.

The Orewilers have piqued their neighbors’ interest, too. Some have become host families themselves.

“They always know when it’s baseball season,” Marie Orewiler said. “It’s built a nice community friendship and is good for the players to have some teammates close by to hang out with. We’ve made some really good friends with other host families over the years.”

Grocery lists may be a bit longer for the couple of months that players are with the host families, but it doesn’t faze Cheri Murrer, who raised four boys of her own.

She got into the host family scene because she wanted her boys to see what it was like to be a professional athlete. One of her four sons, Sam, ended up playing football at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

“We figured it was a great experience for them to watch firsthand and watch someone who is actually trying and playing the sport they love,” Murrer said.

Murrer hosts one of the lone Kentuckians currently on the team: Ray Zuberer, who hails from Owensboro. Zuberer went to Owensboro Catholic High School before playing at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.

Murrer hosted for five years before taking a break as her sons were getting bigger and taking up more space in the house. She’s hosted Zuberer for two years, as the WKU product plays his second season with the Y’alls.

Oftentimes it feels to Murrer that she doesn’t even know Zuberer, or whoever she is hosting, even lives there.

“They honestly don’t have a lot of off days,” Murrer said. “Even when they come in for tryouts, they’re working out. There’s just not a lot of downtime. Last night, Ray got in at like 5 a.m. and needed to be at the field at 2 p.m. today.”

With four sons, Murrer is used to feeding a village. She said she still tries to cook like there’s four boys at home, even though there are three now: two of her sons and Zuberer. She’ll text Zuberer on her way to the store and see if he needs anything special. As with the pantry, the laundry room is at the players’ disposal. Murrer reminds them often that she wants them to feel like they’re at home.

“These kids work really hard, and in my mind, my job is to give them a comfortable and safe place to stay,” Murrer said. “I want to support them and make all the games when they’re home. We love baseball and want to see the organization be successful.”

As with all things, there is an unfortunate side to this business.

The players could receive a phone call tomorrow that they’ve been released and are no longer with the team. While the families are told not to get too attached, when the players start to feel like another member of their family, it’s hard not to.

“Worst part of it is when they leave or are released,” Marie Orewiler said. “But on the bright side, most of these guys are so well connected that they find a new job the next day. We’ve had several that were moving on and stay in the same league, and we see them again when they come to Florence. That’s the hardest part – at any time something could change. But at the end of the day they know it’s a business, sport and competition.”

Sean Hughes is a current Y’alls pitcher and made Florence his home in 2019. He works at Trader Joe’s in the offseason and enjoyed his time with host families so much he decided to offer up his apartment to players to stay with him during the season.

A different, former pitcher enjoyed his host