Aurora resident Paul VanVorce and his wife saw an ad in the newspaper last year seeking for host families for the Auburn Doubleday players. The couple had plenty of space in their new house, so they decided to give it try.

It must have gone well. This year, VanVorce is hosting three players on the local minor league baseball team. "Last year was our first year, and we loved it," he said. "Our children are gone, and it's nice to offer a safe environment to the players where their parents can stay, too."

Host families, the people who give the Doubleday players a place to call home away from their real homes, are an integral part of the baseball team's operation. Several host families have been taking in players year after year.

The players moved into VanVorce's last week, just in time to get settled in for their season opener Friday in Ohio. VanVorce, who hadn't attended Doubledays games until he became an active host, now watches the team play at Falcon Park quite often. "I absolutely love baseball and I fell in love with the games," he said.

Roy and Liz VanWyckhouse of Auburn have been hosting players in their home for more than 10 years. "For us it's a very positive experience," said Roy VanWyckhouse. "We take them in and they become a member of the family."

VanWyckhouse said they originally got into hosting to provide a home-like environment for the players. "Some of the players had never been away from home, and any player that wanted be in a home environment, we were geared for it," he said.

At the end of last season, due to lack of housing for the players, VanWyckhouse ended up with about four or five players staying at his house. This year, the family has decided to take in one player.

"We've been very fortunate with the kids we've always had," he said.

"We still carry on relationships with past players," he said "We were surrogate mom and pop to some of these guys for a few months, and we still get calls around the holidays, especially Christmas time."

VanWyckhouse who holds season box seat tickets, enjoys the Doubledays games and tries to get to as many as possible.

"This is what we do, it's our summer activity," he said.

Tom Gray and family of Auburn made a spur of the moment decision this past Thursday, when they decided to offer a room for the first time.

Tom's son, Jeffrey, a bat boy for the team for the past three years, is looking forward to another year with the team and hopefully a live-in player.

"My wife and I are both teachers, we have a big house, and we enjoy having people around the house," said Tom Gray. "We're always at the park, and my son Jeffrey really wants it."

Diane McNabb of Auburn hosted Doubledays players for about eight to 10 years, rooming at least 12 players throughout the span.

"We got quite active with the booster club, and we had four bedrooms, and used two for ball players," said McNabb.

McNabb, who hasn't hosted a ball player in a few years, still remembers the days like they were yesterday.

"I absolutely loved it," she said. "It makes the games so much better.

"It's like going and watching your own child, you really get close enough to them where you think they're your own kids."