Tucson Saguaros need host families this summer; here’s how you can help | Michael Lev

The semi-professional baseball club that plays at Kino Stadium needs a rally.

The young men who are still chasing their baseball dreams need a place to lay their heads at night.

Finding host families for the Saguaros is always a challenge. It’s been especially problematic this year.

Because of various circumstances, the Saguaros entered this season without enough hosts for their 25-plus-man roster. As of this past week, more than half the players were looking for a place to stay this summer.

“We are desperately looking for more host families,” said Stephanie Moore, who’s coordinating that effort for the Saguaros.

The home portion of the Saguaros’ season starts Wednesday night. There’s still time.

I know what you might be thinking: Why would I want to bring a stranger or strangers into my home?

I get it. Your apprehension is perfectly justified.

But every person I’ve ever talked to about hosting has described it as a rewarding experience. Most first-time hosts become longtime hosts.

“It can change one of these guys’ lives, having this opportunity,” said Erik Novak, president of the Saguaros’ booster club. “I’ve seen it happen. They know it, and they’re grateful.”

Simply put, the Tucson Saguaros cannot function without host families. Most players cannot afford to be here and play here without help.

They do not earn a salary from the Saguaros. If they’re lucky, they’ll get enough money for meals from the in-game 50/50 raffle.

The players carpool on road trips, which can take them as far Alpine, Texas, or Grand Junction, Colorado (home of — kid you not — the Razorback Suckers). They pay for their own gas, which, I don’t have to remind you, isn’t exactly cheap these days.

Hotel rooms on the road are paid for — but even then, it’s typically four guys to a room.

Only one player listed on the Saguaros roster is from Tucson: pitcher Jaymon Cervantes (Empire High School). That means everyone else needs a host.

The obligations pale compared to the relationships that can be built.

‘Summer of a lifetime’

The minimum requirements are a place to sleep — bed, futon, couch, air mattress — and access to a bathroom. Access to laundry facilities helps, too, as the players wash their own uniforms. Access to a kitchen is a bonus.

The season, which began May 27 in Alpine, runs roughly 2½ months with playoffs. The Saguaros’ regular-season schedule consists of 28 road games and 24 home games. So, should you decide to host a player, you’d only be on the hook for 30 days or so.

You just might wish it was longer.

“You will have the summer of a lifetime,” promised David Martin, who’s listed as the Saguaros’ general manager but is in reality their jack-of-all-trades.

In addition to serving as a host in the past — one year he and his now ex-wife got a pull trailer and hosted 11 players between the trailer and their house — Martin has sold tickets, gear and concessions. He has helped with the booster club. He has grilled burgers and hotdogs.

“Anything to help the team,” Martin said.

Martin gets paid $50 per game — most of which, he says, goes to the 50/50 raffle or to buy Powerades for the players. Novak doesn’t get paid to run the booster club. Nor does Moore to coordinate the host families.

A Tucson native, Moore currently lives in Philadelphia with her boyfriend, Sean McNeill, the former Saguaros manager. McNeill left the Saguaros earlier this year to become the pitching coach for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League.

Positive impact

The Martins first served as hosts in 2017. They started with one player. It quickly became two. They acquired a bunk bed.

I asked him what he’d say to someone who’s unsure about hosting.

“If they’re on the fence, try it,” Martin said. “Most people are really skeptical to open their house to a young man right out of college. I just tell them it’s worth it.”

Hosts get two free tickets to every home game. They also get the chance to impact someone’s life in a positive way.

One of the players Novak hosted, pitcher Duncan Snider, is getting married next month. He invited Novak to the wedding.

When Snider was with the Saguaros, Novak heard from other players that Snider had big-time potential. But he never had the proper training. Novak arranged for Snider to train at Driveline Baseball in Scottsdale.

Snider, who played college ball at Division II Upper Iowa, signed with the San Diego Padres organization and advanced as high as double-A.

Signing with a professional club is the goal for most players in the Pecos League. They’re all long shots, but it does happen. Other recent Saguaros who earned promotions include pitchers Justin Fuson, Jordan Goldmann and Jackson Miller.

Some players are simply in it for the love of the game.

“It’s enlightening and it’s inspiring,” Novak said. “Some just love baseball so much. They don’t have expectations of moving on. They want to bring that joy to other people. It warms my heart.”

Van plan

Gavy Perez-Torres, the Saguaros’ shortstop and McNeill’s successor as manager, has been playing baseball since he was 3 years old. He’s had those big-league dreams. He wouldn’t have been able to pursue them without his host, a woman named Lisa, who put Perez-Torres up the past three seasons.

“If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to go out and chase that dream of climbing to the next level,” Perez-Torres said. “At the end of the day, you’re not housing a random player. You’re housing a possible future baseball star.”

Despite mashing at the University of the Southwest in Hobbs, New Mexico, where he hit .420 in 2022, Perez-Torres had a backup plan. He became a teacher. He just finished his first year in charge of his own fourth-grade class at Military Heights Elementary School in Roswell, where he moved at age 11 from Puerto Rico.

Perez-Torres missed the first two games of this season because he still had classes to teach. He drove to Alpine on Thursday morning, started at shortstop that night and went 1 for 4 with a walk and a run scored in a 7-4 Saguaros victory.

The Saguaros go through Roswell before returning to Tucson for their home opener. Perez-Torres will drive from there to here in a 1995 Ford Econoline van that he converted into a camper. It features a full-size bed, a TV, a sink and a mini-fridge.

That’s where he’ll sleep during the season. Lisa, his former benefactor, moved to Phoenix.

The way Perez-Torres sees it, that’s one fewer person who needs a host.

If you’re interested in hosting Tucson Saguaros players this summer or in the future, contact Stephanie Moore at 267-844-1372 (srdmoore33@gmail.com) or Erik Novak at 520-954-1060 (saguarosbooster@gmail.com).