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.