Make yourself at home. That is what 210 12-year-old boys playing in Babe Ruth Baseball?s Cal Ripken World Series will hear from their host families when they come to Aberdeen next week.
Fifteen teams, including five international squads, will take part in the eight-day tournament at Ripken Baseball?s Aberdeen Complex starting Aug. 12.
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Ripken Baseball spokesperson Jay Moskowitz said there are 65 host families signed up, but they would like to have 80.
“The host family program is a staple of Babe Ruth Baseball, and it is something they like to do in all of their world series, in all the age groups across the nation,” Moskowitz said.
“It is really a good way to get the community involved to back the event that the town is hosting,” Moskowitz said, adding that the majority of the host families live in Aberdeen, Havre de Grace and Bel Air.
Eileen Campbell, 47, and her husband Dennis of Forest Hill are in their second year of hosting Team Australia players for the CRWS. They are among 35 families returning to the host family program this year.
“It is the responsibility of host families to take care of the boys when they walk off the field,” Eileen Campbell said.
The Campbells will add two 12-year-old Australians to a household that already boasts a 10-year-old and a 13-year-old son and Aberdeen IronBirds? catcher Matt Pulley.
“I came from a large family, and having a lot of people in my house is comfortable,” Campbell said.
Connie and George Martin, 56, of Aberdeen have hosted players from the Pacific Northwest every year the tournament has been in Aberdeen.
“This is our fourth year,” Connie Martin said. “Each year, it has been Hawaii, and this year we are not sure yet,” Martin said.
The final field for the tournament will be set early next week after the regional tournaments are finished.
“We take them to and from the games, to and from the practice,” Martin said. “They are like our kids. We feed them, we do their laundry, and the past couple years the kids have had homework because they started school already in Hawaii,” Martin said.
Pat Scott, 71, of Abingdon has hosted Ohio Valley Region players from Lexington, Ky., for four years.
“I hear from all of those families that have been here,” Scott said. “I get Christmas cards, birthdays, Mother?s Day, pictures of how they are developing into young men. It is really nice.”
DID YOU KNOW?
» The Hickory-Fountain Green Hornets will be the Harford County representative in the Cal Ripken World Series for the second year in a row.
» Oahu, Hawaii won the CRWS last year and was the first American team to win since the tournament began play in Aberdeen.
» The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship of the CRWS will air live on the Outdoor Life Network this year and again in 2007.
