By Jason KoeBler

Inside Sports

Making It Home

Before they get to the bigs, minor-league players live with local familiesand become one of the gang
Its a sunny day, perfect for baseball, in May 2008. Jordan Altdorfer stands in center field. He has never hit a curve ball, but he already has fans in high places. Two professional baseball players watch as he plays in one of his first T-ball games. Put your hat on, boylook like a ballplayer! yells Craig Stammen, a pitcher for the Potomac Nationals, one of the Washington Nationals minor-league teams. Jordan fields his first ball and throws it past the cutoff man as Stammen videotapes the five-year-old. After the game, Stammen and the Altdorfers pile into the family car and head to their home near Quantico. For the past two seasons, Jeff and Laurie Altdorfer have hosted minor-league players, providing a rent-free place to come home to after long bus rides, cheap hotels, and rough starts. Stammen is like a big brother to Jordan. Though he has gone on to become a promising starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals, he keeps in close touch with his former host family. From the moment I walked in the door, it was like I was family, says Stammen, who showed up at Jordans seventhbirthday party this summer. We talk all the time, and were constantly texting. Many minor-league players are far from

Photograph by Laurie Altdorfer

Editorial intern Jason Koebler (jasontpkoebler@ gmail.com) is a senior at the University of Maryland.

home and fresh out of high school or college. They earn as little as $1,200 a month, but even players who get big signing bonusessuch as 2007 first-round pick Ross Detwilerhave lived with host families. John Lannan, the Washington Nationals ace pitcher, spent part of the 2007

Craig Stammen, now one of the Nationals top young pitchers, became like a big brother to Jordan Altdorfer when he lived with the boys family near Quantico.

season living with Bill and Gail Annetti in Springfield while playing for Potomac. Lannan especially enjoyed cookouts after
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home games on Sundays and the fact that the family treated him like a regular guy. It felt like home, he says. Nearly every player on the Potomac team lives with a host family, and some hosts take in four players at a time. There are Ken and Karen Laverock, who specialize in hosting players who have a hard time finding homes. For the past ten years, the Laverocks have housed players who have wives, dogs, or both. Then theres Jill Berman, an emptynester who started hosting players when her sons went off to college. Jen Roy, a 28-year-old with a townhouse close to the Potomac Nationals stadium in Woodbridge, offers her two extra rooms to players who want something akin to a college experience. Its like having brothers, she says. Players attend family functions and eat dinner with their hosts when their schedules allow. Berman, who hosted Detwiler, bakes cookies for her players when they return from road trips. And one player became so addicted to Laurie Altdorfers chips and salsa that Jordan started calling him Mr. Chips.

Making It Home

tie Annetti or goofed around with the Annettis dog. She would always bark at me, Lannan says, but I think she liked me. A host familys life, like a ballplayers, can be unpredictable. Sometimes players will be with the team just a few weeks before theyre traded, released, or sent to another city. Bill Annetti says daughter Katie usually takes the news worse than the players do. Its like shes losing a big brother, he says. When theyre around, she has someone to look up to, someone to play video games with. When Lannan was promoted to the Harrisburg Senators, he joked with the Annettis about saving his room in case he got sent back to Potomac. Seeing their charges reach the majors is a big source of pride for host families. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Jeff Altdorfer was a baseball fan from the time he could walk. He stayed up all night playing Strat-O-Matic baseball with his brother, learning the lineups of teams from the early 1900s, especially those of his beloved Pittsburgh Pirates. Stammen moved in last season, his second stint with Potomac. He whined about being in the bullpen, says Laurie Altdorfer.

There are ground rules. I tell them, Dont bring any girls home that wouldnt be good for my daughter to see, says Bill Annetti. And dont come home drunk. Players arent immune from punishment. When Stammen ate the last of Jordan Altdorfers M&Ms, the five-year-old lectured him about taking other peoples food. Stammen bought him a new bag as a peace offering. House rules were never a problem for LannanBill Annetti says hes one of the most focused players his family has hosted. On days Lannan pitched, he was unreachable. I make two phone calls a day, one to my mom and one to my dad, Lannan says. Everyone else should know Im not answering. Lannan was up-front with the family about his game-day routine. He said when he first moved in, Im sorry if Im a bit weird when I pitch, but I dont answer my phone or talk to anyone after 2 pm , Bill Annetti says. This is his job, and he needs to do whatever he can to succeed. But days when Lannan wasnt pitching, he played Mario Kart with 13-year-old Ka-

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But soon he was dominating the league and moved back into the starting rotation. He then was promoted to AA Harrisburg and from there to AAA Columbus. On May 21, Stammen was called up to the Nationals to make his big-league debutagainst the Pirates. Jordan Altdorfer wore Stammens Potomac jersey to the game. It was the only time in my life Id ever rooted against the Pirates, says Jeff Altdorfer. Stammen pitched well enough to keep the team in the game through six innings, the Nationals went on to win the game, and hes been in the Nationals rotation ever since. Stammen recommends the Altdorfers home to players at minor-league spring training, and the family hopes to keep hosting players. Jordan loves having professional players in the house. And besides, Laurie says, its just not summer without W baseball.

Interested in Hosting a Minor-League Player?

Heres how to get information: Bowie Baysox (affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles). Contact assistant general manager Phil Wrye at 301805-6000. Delmarva Shorebirds (affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles). The host-family program is run through the Shorebirds fan club, which has an information table at every home game. Or you can call club president Gil Dunn at 410-749-2515. Frederick Keys (affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles). Call office manager Barb Freund at 301-662-0013 to fill out a basic questionnaire. Freund puts together information packets for the players, who contact families directly. Potomac Nationals (affiliated with the Washington Nationals). Information is available on the teams booster-club Web site, potomacnationalsboosterclub, or you can contact club president Lamar Boone at 540788-4329 or wlboone@crosslink.net.
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(not affiliated with a major-league team). The Blue Crabs, currently in their second season, especially need host families. Players are eligible to be signed by any major-league organization, so the team has a lot of turnover. Interested families should contact marketing manager Courtney Freeland at 301-374-1130 or cfreeland@somdbluecrabs.com.

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