Meet the family who's rooted in tradition after hosting Mariner’s players for 20 years.

Located less than three miles from Whitehouse Field lies a barn that has been housing Mariners for the past two decades.

Tom and Ashby Crafts' farm is home to four Harwich Mariners (Chet Lax LHP, Trey Williford LHP, Bryan Matuschat RHP, and Trent Grindlinger catcher), seven cows, one bull, three goats, three donkeys, one mini horse, eight roosters, roughly 60 chickens, and Benji (the family dog). Every summer, four lucky Mariners get the honor of staying in a house that has hosted countless MLB legends like Ian Happ, Jonathan India, Josh Donaldson, DJ LeMahieu, and many others.

"Mary Henderson's (president of the Harwich Mariners) son came over one day and we just struck up this incredible friendship. His mother had been doing the baseball for forever, and we got talking because we had this house with two huge bedrooms upstairs and a full basement. We thought, 'Why don't we try it?' We had three players the first year, and it was such a great experience that we just kept doing it because it was so great," Ashby recalled.

A Unique Tradition

Every year after the season, when the players have to go back home Tom and Ashby ask the boys to write a handwritten letter to the next set of boys to live at the barn. Currently they have a stack of hundreds of letters from past players. The letters are filled with tips and jokes that old players want to pass down to the future Mariners.

“It’s like a brotherhood,” said Ashby Craft.

This is not the last form of communication the Crafts will receive from these future MLB players as they will regularly keep in touch no matter how famous they get.

"We keep in touch with a lot of them. Sometimes we'll call them when we're opening letters from the previous year, or they'll call us. One year we called Ian (Happ) and he was in an elevator somewhere, but he stayed on the phone and answered questions from all the boys. It's a little family, really, an extended family that just keeps growing,” said Ashby.

In the kitchen, signatures of former players cover the wall, creating a timeline of former Mariners who used to call the farm home.

Farm Life

Most guys would be a little nervous finding out their host family lives on a farm, but not for current Harwich pitcher Chet Lax. Lax was a perfect match for the farm, being from Hendersonville, Tennessee, Lax actually grew up on a farm.

"Honestly, it was perfect. Obviously, I grew up around that a little bit, so when I found out I was going to be living on a farm, it was good to hear. I was going somewhere that I was familiar with, and that made the transition a lot easier."

The boys are always helping the Crafts maintain the farm in nice shape. Chores could consist of feeding the animals, collecting eggs from the chickens, and doing whatever job the Crafts are working on that day.

Bryan Matuschat, who returned to the farm this season, recalled a memorable morning last summer when a cow escaped the pasture around 7 a.m., forcing all of the players in the house to help guide it back to the barn.

The Crafts are very happy to be the host family of four great guys this year. Ashby respects how much they help out.

"It's really nice when they step up to the plate and help me when not asked."

The Crafts' farm can be hectic at times so Ashby takes it upon herself to make sure these Mariners are ready for anything.

"One time, a player had never seen a snapping turtle before. We picked it up and brought it upstairs for him to see, and all the guys just completely freaked out. Things like that are funny because a lot of these kids have never been around a farm before, so everything is new to them."

Ashby loves the boys and knows how crazy their lives are going to become, so to have a couple months at a place like the barn will give them stories they can tell their families for years to come. Ashby loves to see the boys living the simple life, just being kids playing baseball.

"One year, all the teams started showing up here for a Wiffle Ball tournament and we had no idea what was going on. We'd look outside and see more and more players arriving. The next morning they were all out there having the best time in the world. It wasn't about who scored or who won. It was like watching little league baseball again, just kids having fun playing the game," said Ashby. “It was a really cool camaraderie thing. Players from different teams were all out here playing Wiffle Ball together. The balls would end up in the cow pasture and everybody would stand there asking, 'Are you going in there?' Eventually one brave guy would go get it. They had an absolute blast."

Ashby sees these players like her own kids, despite some of them making millions of dollars in Major League Baseball she sees them as the 20-year-old-kid that was trying to figure out living on The Cape.

"DJ LeMahieu had this absolute junker of a car. It broke down all the time and my husband and I would have to go get him. We'd put the car on a trailer and haul it home. It's funny now because he's a multimillionaire, but back then he was just this down-to-earth kid trying to get around Cape Cod."

"Josh Donaldson was very focused on baseball. He'd come out here and jump rope twice a day. He was one of those guys who was completely locked in on what he wanted to accomplish. Everything revolved around baseball."

The Farm Family

No matter how long these boys stay at the Crafts' farm, Tom and Ashby will still care for them. Ashby is very laid back with what the boys can and cannot do but she does have one important rule.

“You don't mess with my animals!!!”

One year, some former players did not listen to Ashby's golden rule and paid the price.

"I woke up around two in the morning and looked out the window and saw people walking across the yard. The barn door was open and there were probably 15 or 20 people in there around the bull. I came flying down in my bathrobe thinking, 'What are you guys doing?' We laugh about it now, but animals aren't toys. You have to respect them."

Trey, Chet, Bryan, and Trent are now a part of a family that stretches back decades, full of stories that they can learn about some of their favorite MLB players they watched growing up.

"It's a little family, you know? An extended family over the years. We still talk to these guys, we still follow them, and it's fun to see where life takes them. Once they've stayed here, they're always kind of part of the family," Ashby recalled.

After the final out of Harwich’s season is recorded the current Mariners living in the barn will sit down at the Crafts' table and write a letter to the next set of lucky players who get to join a family. Maybe a couple years down the line Chet, Bryan, Trent, and Trey will be suiting up in the MLB and receive a call from the Crafts because a new member of the family wants to learn more about their time on the farm.