Mustangs superfan shows why it’s more than a baseball team
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Kevin Little has been a St. Joseph Mustangs fan for 15 years and has been a host family for 10.
He was inspired to get involved as a host family by a former player and has not looked back.
"The players themselves are just such unique and genuine young men," Little said. "They're so kind, they give up themselves, they give their time and they just love playing here."
He said he has never had a bad experience as a host family and he enjoys being able to provide them with safety and protection, even outside of baseball season.
"One of the young men that stayed with us last year was on the road in this snowstorm, that 16-inch snowstorm this last winter, and he called and said, 'I can't make it home to Maryville, can I stay at your house?'" Little said. "It was so cool that he thought of us as a place of safety and refuge."
That player was Andrew Clark, a pitcher for three years on the Mustangs.
"It really helped my mom out because I could hear in her voice that she was super scared and worried about me," Clark said. "I was on the edge of my seat the whole drive. As soon as I could park my car in front of his house and walk inside, I was more than just happy to be there."
Clark is residing once again with Little for his final season playing for the Mustangs after graduating from Northwest Missouri State University.
He said Little is always the first person he sees on his way to the locker room each day and he always wishes him good luck.
"Not every community has a Kevin or some of the different people who come here," Mustangs owner Ky Turner said. "There's a lot of beautiful things about St. Joe, about this ballpark experience and people like Kevin are a big part of that."
Little said, not only do the Mustangs put out a good quality product playing baseball, but they also connect with the community and that creates a Mustangs family.
"It's something special to be said about, sitting down next to an unknown stranger and then before you know it you find something in common…Then you hang out after the season and then you're looking forward to the next season and then you kind of become a family," Turner said. "That's why I say, we have a baseball game, but a lot more happens than just baseball."
