FARMINGTON, N.M. — The Connie Mack World Series is a week away, meaning baseball teams from all over the U.S. are coming here to play ball very soon.

Communities in the Four Corners do their part when these players come to New Mexico. Families open up their homes to provide a place for them to eat, sleep and be throughout the tournament.

“These will be players that, when they leave their home, they will be in tears because they have gotten so close to them,” said Kacy Snyder, the head of foster families for the Connie Mack World Series.

Families learned Thursday night about the responsibilities, rules and expectations for hosting players.

“This is one of the biggest parts of the tournament is the foster families and, without them, it would not be as successful as it is,” Snyder said.

Back in the day, the tournament had just eight teams. Each roster had 18 players.

Now, there are 12 teams and they can come with a roster of up to 24 players.

“That is a lot of players, so our community really does step up,” Snyder said.

Some families are hosting for the first time:

• Richards family: “We’re a little nervous but they’re excited.”
• Smith family: “We’ve got some baseball enthusiasts here so we’re excited.”
• Segata family: “I have two boys so they’ll fit right in.”

The newbies are making sure everything is all ready for when it’s go time.

“We’re still working on it we’ve got to make some changes in the house and move some things around, but we’re almost there we’ll be ready in a week!” the Richards family said.

“Both the boys will give up their beds for the kids and then they’ll have other sleeping arrangements,” the Segata family said.

Even though it’s a whole new ball game for these folks, they’ll knock it out of the park.