Sitting in her customary spot, next to her husband, Jay, on the top bench of the bleachers behind home plate, Doris Clark is a sort of mother hen to the Sharks, the Vineyard’s new baseball team, who brought the Futures Collegiate Baseball League to the Island for the first season this summer. The season is now over, but while it lasted, she was there at pretty much every game, cheering the players on, calling to them by name.

“Way to go, Ronnie!” “Catch that, Boix!” and many, many more encouraging words could be heard springing from her lips at Sharks’ games.

Mother Shark she may be, but she couldn’t house them all, so Mrs. Clark coordinated the effort to place players with host families.

“Host families are really the backbone of the whole program, because if it weren’t for them we never could do this,” she said.

Mrs. Clark took to Twitter and Facebook to advertise the Sharks’ housing needs. Using her innate charm Mrs. Clark was able to convince 15 families to host at least one player. Many took in two players and one brave soul took in four. Not one to rest even for one minute, Mrs. Clark already is looking for host families for next season. It looks as if she’ll have a lot of repeats.

The process for becoming a host family is relatively simple. Prospective host families fill out CORI reports (simple background checks) and a questionnaire that helps match them with their player or players. The questionnaire covers all matter of things. One man, according to Mrs. Clark, requested a player from the Midwest. Seasonal residents with the baseball bug need not despair; Mrs. Clark is eager to spread the love.

The current host families who spoke to the Gazette all were thrilled with their houseguests, often calling them part of the family. Jessica Burnham and her daughter, Martha Scheffer, 19, host two players: Stephen Schoettmer and Jay Swinford.

They call the young men “perfect gentlemen” and note how respectful they are.

They do eat a lot of cereal, though, Ms. Scheffer laughs, noting Reese’s Puffs seem to be a favorite.

“We love them,” Ms. Burnham said of the ballplayers.

It didn’t take long for the boys to fit right in with the family dynamic, she said, adding that Mr. Schoettmer grilled for the family on occasion. Ms. Scheffer plays softball. Her mother notes that, as they’re a ballplaying family, hosting Mr. Schoettmer and Mr. Swinford seemed like fun.

Would they do it again? “Definitely,” Ms. Burnham said immediately.

The Sharks, all college baseball players, aren’t paid by the team and don’t pay rent to their host families. Each host family receives season passes to all home games and a one-time $600 stipend for each player hosted. Living situations differ in each home, but the players often share rooms. Sometimes they stay in rooms that would otherwise hold a family member.

Mike Cutrer, 16, gave up his bedroom so that Jeremy Matos and J.D. Dixon could stay with his family. Mr. Cutrer bunked in his sister’s room and his sisters shared another bedroom. For Mr. Cutrer, having these Sharks around has been like having older brothers. Mr. Cutrer’s commitment to the Sharks extends beyond the home, though. He also works on field maintenance, concessions and in the Kid Zone, an area near the third base line complete with bouncy castle and various activities to keep young children occupied through nine innings. Baseball is clearly a passion for Mr. Cutrer, who plays first base and pitches for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School baseball team, the Vineyarders.

Beth Tessmer had the distinction of hosting four Sharks. She had joked in the spring to Jerry Murphy, the Sharks’ general manager, that she would be a host mom. Mr. Murphy certainly took her up on it. Ms. Tessmer has four Sharks — Kyle Contino, Ronnie Rosario, Adam Cherry and Corey Laliberte — in addition to her 19-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter.

A major Red Sox fan, Ms. Tessmer’s love of baseball influenced her decision. “I feed them on my own,” she said, noting also that four college boys eat an astounding amount.

“They’re learning how to cook,” Ms. Tessmer chuckled.

She, like the other host families, said the boys had become a part of the family. “My daughter adores having them around. They’re all like big brothers to her,” she said. She has nicknames for many of the players and is impressed with how well the team members get along. Ms. Tessmer too says she would host players again next year, noting how much fun it’s been.

Lisa and Rob Young, who sat with Ms. Tessmer in lawn chairs beside the bullpen during a recent game against the Seacoast Mavericks, were also eager to share the positive experience they’ve had with their Shark, Michael Murphy, who, it should be noted for consistency, “eats well,” in Mrs. Young’s words.

The couple got involved with the Sharks when Mrs. Young’s 14-year-old daughter, who lives off-Island with her father, told them how much fun she and her father had hosting players from the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Mr. Murphy had a good sense of humor and, if they ever ribbed him, he could give it right back, Mrs. Young noted. The Youngs had no idea what to expect when they agreed to take Mr. Murphy in, but they treat him like one of the family now. They go out to dinner and movies together. Mr. Murphy often tells his hosts he’d like to come back to the Vineyard, and the Youngs tell him to come for the holidays.

The Youngs have taken full advantage of the season pass they received for hosting Mr. Murphy, saying they’d missed only two home games. Mr. Young is thrilled that baseball has come to the Island in summer. Mrs. Young, pointing to the crowd that did not fill the 600-seat bleachers, hopes only that more people come to games next year.