Every summer, college baseball players from different parts of the country make the trek to Cape Cod to play for the Falmouth Commodores. For these players, this is one chance to show off their skills in front of scouts with the hopes of one day getting drafted to the MLB.

During their time in Falmouth, Commodores players stay with host families. These families are volunteers and open their homes to these players, often forming lasting bonds with them that continue long past when summer ends.

Host families are an integral part of the experience that Commodores players have on the Cape.

The Morneau family - Kim, Geoff, and their son, Wes, have been hosting players since 2023. They have hosted six players since they started.

The Morneaus had been involved with the Commodores organization prior to starting hosting players. Wes Morneau has been involved with the Commodores for five seasons, starting out as a bat boy. He got to know all of the players and as his mom says “they were so nice to him.”

For Kim, what keeps her family taking players into their house each summer is the players that have stayed with them. “Players that have stayed with us are just genuinely good people, you can't help but want to help them succeed to meet their dreams.”

The Morneaus have made many trips to visit their former host sons. Their first ever host son, Luke Heyman, played college at the University of Florida. Currently, Heyman plays for the Greenville Drive. “We’ve gone to see them play at their colleges, and then we have seen Luke play in a minor league game too.”

Wes regularly keeps in contact with past players. For their family, that is one of the biggest things that they have gained from this experience. Wes has the hope of playing college baseball some day. Living with these players, he has an up and close view of the hard work, dedication, and choices they have to make to play at this level.

For these players, baseball takes up the majority of their year, and their summers when they come to play for the Cape League.

I was lucky enough to sit down and have a conversation with Ben Slanker. Slanker is staying with the Morneau family, and enjoys talking about baseball at home. “You know, baseball's been my whole life, so it's kind of the topic of the house. Wes plays baseball, too, so I talk baseball a lot with him. Geoff and Kim have been around the game a long time, so it's fun to talk to them, and their experiences, and how they go about stuff. Good conversations.”

I also got to speak to Kenyon Collins who likes both getting away from baseball talk at his host family's house and talking about it on occasion. “I don't always like to talk about baseball at times. Whenever somebody gets the game and understands it, it's nice to have. But also, get away from the game a little bit too.”

These players come to the Cape from all over the country, and are away from their families. The majority of host families attend home games, with some going to the away games across the Cape.

For Collins, having his host family at the home games means a lot. “It's nice to have them here just because my family's 13 hours away. They're coming up this coming weekend. I don't have family or friends here to always support, so it's nice to have somebody like that, you know, a friendly face in the stands.”

Slanker loves the support from the Morneaus. “It's awesome. I love the support. I know they're big fans coming here. I know Wes is around being an intern, too, so it's pretty cool to see them sitting in the stands, you know, just having that support, too.”

Most players come with little knowledge about the Cape and the towns they are living and playing in. Arriving to play for the Commodores is their first time being on the Cape.

Between workouts, practice, games, and traveling to and from games, these players have limited time to spend with their host families. Having the opportunity to be shown around Falmouth and try things that they might have never done before, or sit down and enjoy a home-cooked meal is a great experience for them.

For Slanker, this is his first time on the East Coast, having been from Ohio and playing in Louisville. “He had never seen the ocean before,” revealed Kim Morneau. “We are on a quest to introduce him to all the fresh seafood you can have on the East Coast. He loves it so far.”

Collins favorite meal that his host family has made for him is “Black bean enchiladas. It was really good.”

When asked for final words, both players sung their host families' praises. Collins' host family has been great. “I really appreciate them, and everything that they've done for Wilson, and I, and Dallas, also just having a comfortable home to stay in for the season.”

Slanker is “very appreciative of these families. You know, they don't have to do it. They want to do it. It is pretty cool to me that they're taking their time, their effort, their money to, you know, support me and make this the best experience possible.”

For the Morneau’s, having Ben as a host son has been great. “He’s been wonderful. He's not there that much, because he's working the clinic, and then he's at the field for 12 hours a day. So, we pretty much have just gotten to know him over dinner, and we're hoping when he has a couple of days off that we can go do some fun stuff.”

For players chasing their dreams, host families help them feel more at home instead of just a temporary place while they are away from home playing baseball.