When Bourne’s Braden Holcomb (Vanderbilt) and Camden Kozeal (Arkansas) round the bases following a home run on the Cape, they have one thing on their mind: a tomahawk steak fresh off the grill at Heather and Chris Smith's household.

The Smith family, which has been hosting players for four years, has a tradition of treating their players to a tomahawk steak from Grey Gables Market for each home run they hit during the Cape Cod Baseball League season. The tradition stems from a close friend of the Smith family, who has since passed away and was once a host for Red Sox Hall of Famer Kevin Youkilis.

"He used to do a three-pound lobster," said Heather Smith. "Of course, he ended up doing a bunch of lobsters. But we wanted to continue the tradition under his name since he passed."

The honor quickly changed from serving lobster to tomahawk steaks during their first season of hosting players since many ball players might not have tried lobster before.

"The very first player we had was from Oklahoma, and he was not familiar with lobster," Smith said. "So, we decided to go for the next best thing. You've got to go big, so we went that route with tomahawk steaks."

The Smith family typically tells their players about the tradition the week they move to Cape Cod and settle in. But recently, the word has spread to Vanderbilt’s baseball team.

When Holcomb and Kozeal — who were teammates at Vanderbilt in 2024 — discovered they'd be living with the Smiths for the summer, they already knew about the family's tradition from college teammate Jonathan Vastine (Bourne' 23). Vastine stayed with the Smith family last summer, earning one tomahawk steak dinner but sharing a moment he had to tell his teammates.

Vastine immediately showed Holcomb and Kozeal the photo of himself with a fork, knife and a tomahawk steak at the Smiths' house. He shared the family's tradition about how they could earn a steak for themselves this summer playing in the Cape League.

"I always knew it was a thing [from Vastine's photos], but it's turned into a cool tradition," said Kozeal. “It's not something everyone does. I mean, those are $60 steaks every time they buy them. It's what makes the Cape the Cape — little things like that — just families opening their doors and being super nice to players."

The Smiths always try for a quick turnaround during each steak dinner, buying and grilling the steak the day after Holcomb or Kozeal hit a homer. However, an extra day may be necessary if the team has a camp or doubleheader to attend. Holcomb enjoys his steaks cooked medium with a little pink, but Kozeal likes his medium rare.

"When my husband [Chris] cooks it, it's cooked on the grill," Heather Smith said. "All we do basically is just season it with salt, let it come to room temperature and then put it on the grill and top it off with some butter."

The Smiths may have found the recipe for success, since Holcomb and Kozeal have combined for more than one-quarter of the Braves' home runs this season.

"Whenever I round second base, I can already taste it in my mouth," Kozeal said of his future steak dinner. "It's just a little extra motivator, you can say. It's just a cool thing that we do with the family."

This is not the Smiths’ first time rewarding their kids for hitting home runs. When their own kids, who are now in high school and college, used to hit home runs, they took them to Somerset Ice Cream.

Holcomb and Kozeal, who were freshman roommates while playing for the Commodores, have become competitors to see who can hit more home runs and earn more steaks. During the regular season, Holcomb hit three home runs for the Braves. Meanwhile, Kozeal has hit two out of the park.

The ballplayers have earned more steaks than the Smiths are used to. Before Holcomb and Kozeal, the family only had two home runs in three years.

"They always show me pictures of their past players with the steak and everything," said Holcomb. "It's just a cool little tradition they do and it's really awesome. So everytime we hit one, everybody's always talking about the steak for me and Cam."

The Smiths' tradition of celebrating home runs with tomahawk steaks not only highlights the relationships built between the players and their host families but is also one of many unique aspects of the Cape Cod summer experience.

For players like Holcomb and Kozeal, having this opportunity with the Smith family will be something they cherish for years to come.

"It's a really cool tradition," Holcomb said. "I'm blessed. They're an awesome host family and I can't wait to come back and live with them again next year."

(Photo by Danielle Stockwell)