The Alaska Baseball League season is about a month away and host homes are still needed for about half the players on the Peninsula Oilers. KDLL’s Jay Barrett spoke with Diana Tice, the executive assistant for the club about preparations for the upcoming season.
DTWe’re still looking for 12 to 13 beds. So about half the team is housed. But that's not unusual for this point in our season. Normally we are right up to a minute as those boys are getting off the plane. But some years it's a real scramble to try not to put them in a temporary situation. But we just bring them in knowing it's all going to work out. We carry a roster of 26. But some families are able to take more than one player. So I'm going to say we probably average maybe 15 families that are housing because you know, some house two or more. It sounds like such a huge commitment, but it's not. Our season is so short, and they spend nearly half of that on the road. So someone's not, you know, underfoot, you know, needing to be fed for the whole summer.
JBOh, sure. What are the dates, roughly?
DTThe team arrives June first. And our season goes through the 28th of July, but then we go into playoff and a championship. So I believe our last game would be August six. Okay.
JBAnd it is totally volunteer, right? Or is there a stipend?
DTIt's totally volunteer this year, we are unable to offer a stipend. We have in the past. But this is just a tough year for us. We just can't offer that. So we're hoping people can just step up. It involves feeding someone you know. So basically, you're adding a member of your family, at the dinner table. So that's really where the expense lies for the host family.
JBI've heard really good stories about interactions with the players, that it's just a great experience. And you know, getting to know these young folks from — they’re all almost all from outside, first time in Alaska, and that it’s just great being the host forum.
DTIt really is. That's actually how I got started with the Oilers, I hosted players for about 10 years.They really do start to become part of your family, keeping in touch with them over the years. It is exciting to show someone Alaska to somebody who's never seen a moose. I had a young man from California, Southern California who he couldn't understand how we didn't have fenced in yard. I live just outside Soldotna. There's no nothing that defines my yard from my neighbor's yard but a bunch of trees and brushes and that threw him you know. We have we have dirt roads. Some of these kids never see that. And actually some of them were like really excited for Blockbuster when we had it. They got a kick out of that, you know. Because we are such a small community you don't think about those things.
The Peninsula Oilers are conducting an online donation drive to help with team expenses. On the club’s website, they state it costs about $20,000 a year to feed the team while on the road, and that airfare is $35,000 per year. As a 501(c)3 non-profit, donations to the Oilers are tax-deductible. You can find out more at their club headquarters in Old Town, or online atOilers Baseball.