2023 Year In Review — Win-win for players and Shelter Island host: Jeanne Woods has opened her home to two Bucks

This story appeared in July.

Baseball and Jeanne Woods go way back. Growing up, her mother “knew what the Brooklyn Dodgers had for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” she said, and her brother John was a good enough young player that he was scouted by the Yankees.

But that’s not the real reason Ms. Woods is hosting two Shelter Island Bucks players this summer at her South Ferry Hills home. “There was a need and I filled it,” she said, referring to the call that goes out every spring through June and July for Islanders to have players stay with them.

The Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League can’t provide housing for the players in teams across the North and South forks and the Island, and ask residents to provide sleeping accommodations for the college students, space in the refrigerator for them to store food, and the use of a washer and dryer for their clothes.

But Ms. Woods goes beyond that for Drew Haight, a pitcher from Massachusetts, and Cooper Donlin, an outfielder from Michigan. Sitting at the kitchen table one afternoon last week with Drew and Cooper, she rolled her eyes when asked about the space in her fridge for food. “I cook,” she said. The mother of three and grandmother of seven added, “I’m a caretaker. That’s what I do.”

Cooper doesn’t sleep at the house. He has a room with a bath in a garage but no cooking or laundry facilities. Bucks management asked Ms. Woods if he could be accommodated for meals and laundry. TLC is a bonus for the young player.

The players were asked if Ms. Woods is a good cook. “The best cook,” Drew said. And Cooper added with a smile, ”She’s like my grandmother.” The  young men noted that breakfast that day was eggs, sausages, bagels, orange juice and coffee.

Drew got in late the night before and found a note that fried chicken was in the refrigerator and he should microwave it, he said, with the satisfied look of a young man who realizes he’s got it made.

Jeanne’s husband of 58 years, Kenneth, passed away in February. They had hosted Bucks players since 2012. “So this isn’t my first rodeo,” Ms. Woods said.

She interviews all prospective players sent her way by Bucks management before giving the go-ahead. “And I have my own rules,” she said.

Asked to list her rules, she looked comically stern, but her voice was serious. “Number one: No wet towels on my wood floors. Number two: No female visitors. Number three: No alcohol. There’s an exception to the last rule for me.”

She comes by her open heartedness naturally. Ken and Jeanne were voted the Shelter Island Reporter’s People of the Year in 2015, for their extensive volunteer work on the Island, including delivering for Meals on Wheels, driving seniors to doctors’ appointments, opening their home to the Bucks and to kids with cancer who were too sick to fully participate in the Kids Need More Camp Adventure at Quinipet.

Cooper, from the Detroit area, works at the Pridwin and the Whale’s Tale. He’ll be going to Hawaii Pacific University in the fall to study business and communication. Drew is from Duxbury, Mass. on Cape Cod Bay, and isn’t working, but taking two courses this summer for his major in criminal justice from the University of Massachusetts.

“He’s very diligent,” Ms. Woods said proudly.

Both are enjoying life on the Island. Cooper likes the easy-going Island vibe, and Drew said he’s taken to heart the hospitality of Ms. Woods and the friendliness of Islanders in general. “People recognize us. I was in Maria’s Kitchen and didn’t have any baseball stuff on and this guy comes up and says, ‘You look like a baseball player.’ We started talking. I see him at games now and he works on the ferry so I see him to talk.”

Cooper said that he was in an Island restaurant and was introduced as a Bucks player. “Free food,” he said with a smile. “People have really treated us well.”

They’ve discovered Greenport. “It’s great,” Drew said, “You can walk on the ferry because it’s expensive to drive. And just walk off and you’re in Greenport.”

Ms. Woods had to give some advice, however, when 10 Bucks, Drew and Cooper included, were planning to take the ferry and catch a train to Citi Field in Queens for a Mets game. “I had to let them know that the ferries don’t run all night.”

“Never thought about that,” Cooper said.

Ms. Woods is quick to acknowledge the benefits she receives by hosting the young men. “There’s life in the house,” she said. “That’s always a plus. And having them here is a motivator. It energizes me to get up earlier, to get up and out. The boys are wonderful. I’d recommend it to anyone.”

There is still a need to find housing for players. If you have space and are willing to share it with a Buck, please contact a member of the management team and discuss the possibility.

Brian Cass is at 631-445-0084, or [email protected]. David Austin is at 415-613-1991, or email him at [email protected]. Frank Vecchio is at 516-317-8687, or [email protected].