By Andy Furman
NKyTribune staff writer
You heard that voice – you had to. Especially if you’ve ever attended a Florence Y’alls baseball game at Thomas More Stadium.
Her classic: “We want Beer.”
Laura Renke will shout that on specially designated innings when a Florence Y’alls pitcher strikes out an opposing hitter – and the crowd is treated to half-price beer. Oh, she’ll have her cow bell with her for additional effect.
“I don’t even like or drink beer,” Renke told the Northern Kentucky Tribune, after a Y’alls 6-5, 10-inning victory over the Evansville Otters on a Sunday afternoon.
Renke is the classic baseball fan – and more importantly, the model for a baseball Host Family.
She’s known as ‘Mom’ by the ballplayers. She calls herself the ‘Host Monster.’
The host family program has been a vital part of the team’s success both on and off the field – and, well Renke has helped that program grow to some 10-18 families this season. Having players become part of a local family helps these young men have a sense of normalcy and gives them a family atmosphere off the field. Many of the players become more than a guest; they become part of the family.
The Florence Y’alls were founded in 1994 and have been based in Florence since 2003.
That’s when Renke got hooked with the ballclub – and the ballplayers.
The team began life as the Erie (Pennsylvania) Sailors in 1994, a year after the Frontier League played its first season. They currently play in the West Division of the 18-team league.
“My best friend talked me into hosting,” she said. “I was a single parent of three young girls at the time — ages nine, six and four.”
One problem, the young Renke never told her dad of her hosting duties.
“My cell phone was just one number up from his,” she said. “The next morning, at 6:30 a.m., I saw my dad at the kitchen table. He asked me, ‘Who is Bobby Graves?””
Graves was a pitcher for the then Florence Freedom, and one of Renke’s first baseball ‘guests.’
“My dad got hooked,” she added. “He started going to games.”
As for Renke, she took a quick – and sudden — pause.
“I had to take a break. My oldest daughter (Leah) was suffering from Cystic Fibrosis. We moved to Georgia in 2006.”
Leah got really ill, according to mom, and middle daughter (Abby) needed a home base so she could attend Miami University – so Renke returned to Northern Kentucky in 2006.
“Cincinnati Children’s Hospital was big reason for our return,” she said “to help Leah.”
And moving back meant again hosting Florence baseball players.
“I have five now,” she said. “They go from, about 28 to 22. I’ve had as many as seven at one time this season.”
Oh, and there are some stiff House Rules per Renke:
• Each player gets their own house key
• If you make a mess – you clean it up
• I don’t care if you don’t come home at all – just tell me so I don’t worry, she says.
“If you get three strikes on any of these rules,” she says, “it’s like baseball. You’re out.”
She didn’t recall tossing anyone out during her tenure as House Mom.
During the Spring Training season, Renke says she cooks for them.
“I keep breakfast stuff for them as well,” she said.
And on Mondays – well – that’s the feast.
“It’s Monday night dinners, with my homemade ice cream. We’ll have as many as 10 players show then,” she said. This week’s menu – meatballs and spaghetti.
Now, what happens if one of these young studs meets up with a female, and well, wants to bring her home?
“If they bring their girlfriend home, I want prior notice,” Renke said. “And it must be a long-time girlfriend.”
Is it baseball or the boys that Renke is fond of?
“I always wanted boys,” she said. “God blessed me with three girls.”
Sadly, she has lost two — Leah passed from her complications with CF at the tender age of 26; young Katie passed at 24 when she was hit by a car riding a bicycle. Thirty-year-old Abby is happily married with a son.
“But really it was baseball that saved me,” Renke said. “When my teen passed, many of the baseball guys attended her funeral – they came from out-of-town.”
Baseball players have a shelf-life – they retire. What about Laura Renke?
“I’ll do this as long as they let me – and as long as I have a house. I get bored when the season ends,” she said.
During the season it’s around-the-clock work – and when the team is out-of-town – well, you can find Renke either in Evansville in Chicago when they play those neighboring clubs. “I’ll bake for the road trips,” she said.
Host families get season tickets. Laura Renke says she gets pride in ownership.
“We cry when they lose – and when a player we know gets cut.”