The next Giants' prospect could be staying in your guest room

Opening Day for the San Jose Giants is about one month away and already the team is trying to find housing for players.

The Giants have a unique “host family” program that matches players with local families who will take them into their homes for the season, which runs from April to September. San Jose’s Director of Player Personnel Linda Pereira says it’s an emotional investment for families to take a young player through their door and into their heart.

“We need families who want to be part of family at the ballpark and provide a place for the player to feel comfortable,” says Pereira. “It’s kind of a family affair that most ballclubs don’t experience because most don’t have host families.”

Former pitcher Garrett Broshuis, who spent parts of three seasons in San Jose, says host families are crucial to ballplayers on a budget in high-rent Silicon Valley. And he really did bond with the families he lived with.

“The Munoz family, my last in San Jose, trusted me with their dog,” recalls Broshuis. “Walking that giant furr-ball became part of my routine on days I was scheduled to pitch. It helped relax me and gave me a sense of being at home.”

Families can expect players to work long and odd hours and to be on the road at least eleven days a month. In return for hosting, they get family passes to all San Jose home games, free parking and invitations to several events during the season.

Some Giants prospects come from the Caribbean or Latin America and don’t speak English well. Pereira says bilingual families are extremely important. “One family had two young girls in bilingual school who spoke Spanish fluently. Their player spoke only English to the girls and they spoke only Spanish to him.”

San Jose has had a host family program since 1982 and Pereira is helping other San Francisco minor league teams to get similar programs running in their cities. If you are interested in being a host family or for more information, contact Linda Pereira at (408) 297-1435 ext. 19, or fill out a form online at www.sjgiants.com.