The Campbell Reporter

Cover Story

Photograph by John Medina

AJ McDonald and her parents are a host family for San Jose Giant Paul Oseguera, who only earns $850 month in the minors.

Play Ball

Campbell family opens its home to San Jose Giants rookie pitcher

By Eli Segall

Every night around midnight, Paul Oseguera walks into the Campbell household of his host family, the McDonalds, completely spent. Tired from a full day of weight training and wind sprints, the San Jose Giants rookie pitcher opens the refrigerator, devours a meal fit for two and tiptoes to his room.

He flips on the light in a room decorated with three paintings made by a child that hang above an unmade bed with a sleeping bag for a blanket.

"The one with the brown puppy, I really like that one," says Oseguera, while sitting at the patio table in the McDonalds' backyard. "It reminds me of a children's book. Sometimes, if it's been a long day, that kind of relaxes me."

Last April, the Southern California native--who is a slim 6 feet tall with olive skin and a buzz cut--moved in with Rick and Julie McDonald and their two children as part of the Giants' host family. The program pairs every player on the team with a local family for the five-month season.

Oseguera doesn't pay rent or perform chores, nor does he have a car, but he tries hard not to impose.

"Paul has not asked for one single thing," says Julie, 45, who described Oseguera as shy, modest and selfless. "I have to bug him about letting me do his laundry."

Oseguera has scant resources; he gets one to two days off per month, and earns around $850 a month. It would be difficult for the former UCLA pitcher to live in high-priced Silicon Valley on his baseball salary alone, as it would for most, if not all, of his teammates, according to team officials.

However, by offering free room and board, the McDonalds help Oseguera pursue his dream of becoming a major league pitcher, as do the other host families, says Linda Pereira, the Giants' director of player relations.

"The host families provide such a comfort zone," says Pereira, whose team is a minor league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

After a half-year's residence, many players form lifelong bonds with their hosts, Pereira adds. "You really become a part of the family."

AJ McDonald, Julie and Rick's 11-year old daughter, is proof of that bond. She bakes cookies and makes guacamole for him and his team before road trips, and chats with Oseguera about baseball and bowling.

"AJ is very mature for her age," Oseguera says. "She's real witty."

AJ, who a few years ago made the art adorning Oseguera's wall, recently helped her parents organize a glowing tribute to the live-in athlete. On July 27, nearly 60 people--25 of whom wore custom-made shirts bearing Oseguera's name and jersey number 49--bundled into four rows at San Jose Municipal Stadium for a Giants home game. The group clapped and cheered loudly as Oseguera, the starting pitcher, led his team to a 4-2 victory over the Lake Elsinore Storm, a San Diego Padres affiliate.

"I think Paul liked it, that people would root for him so much and go through the trouble of doing this," said AJ during the game.

She winced on finishing her sentence; Oseguera, who throws left-handed, had just hurled a pitch at the batter's foot.

The McDonalds signed up as a host family last spring after years of reading announcements about the host program, Julie says.

A driving force behind the decision was to expose their 17-year-old son, Kyle, a recent Westmont High School graduate and varsity baseball player, to the daily grind of playing professional ball. Kyle plans to try out for the West Valley College baseball team next year.

However, given Oseguera's schedule, interaction between him and Kyle and the rest of the family can be scarce at times. Oseguera's busy schedule has made it tough to provide mentoring.

"We mostly have talks about what's in the refrigerator," Rick, 50, says.

Every day is the same for Oseguera, who was the 476th player taken in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He wakes up at 9 a.m., heads to the gym and, after eating a lunch prepared by Julie, arrives at the ballpark for conditioning and practice. Home games start at 7 p.m., and he returns between 11 p.m. and midnight. During away games, if the team doesn't sleep in the town where they play, Oseguera returns between 1 to 2 a.m.

The routine is so engrained that Oseguera often forgets what day or month it is.

"You're doing the same thing every day," Oseguera says. "You just get lost in it. A lot of guys are constantly asking what the date is."

Since moving in with the McDonalds, Oseguera, who will move out in mid-September when the season ends, has grown more comfortable around them, Julie says. Instead of the old conversations about baseball and house functions, he now talks about his childhood as the fourth of five children, and his girlfriend who lives in Concord. Oseguera has loosened up and lets his the host mom do his laundry from time to time.

As the season winds down, Oseguera says he will remain forever grateful to the McDonalds for providing him with the basics as he continues his quest to reach The Show.

"I've got great, healthy food, and a bed that's comfortable," Oseguera says. "It makes it so much easier."