Bat Boy: An Inside Look at Spring Training [Hardcover]

Joan Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1996 | Age Level: 9 and up

Examining the important role of batboys in major league baseball, a day in the life of the San Francisco Giant's batboy follows his duties of unwrapping gum sticks, cleaning dozens of shoes, and bonding with famous players.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Middle-graders who are more apt to gravitate toward playing fields than libraries are the prime audience for this well-pitched photo-essay. Crisp, conversational text and energetic photos follow 13-year-old Kenny Garibaldi through a grueling yet gratifying 14-hour day as batboy for the San Francisco Giants' spring training in Arizona. Kenny performs such less-than-glamorous tasks as cleaning the mud from players' shoes, carrying their dirty uniforms to the laundry room and stocking the lockers. But a batboy's lot is not all drudgery: Kenny shares a slice of pizza with the visiting Willie Mays, lines up next to the Giants as the national anthem plays and rushes on-field to retrieve thrown bats and helmets. Besides describing Kenny's enticing job, Anderson (Cowboys) briskly portrays the rigors of spring training and takes a quick detour through the farm teams. The selection of pictures by newspaper photographer Cavanaugh strikes a pleasing balance of behind-the-scenes and on-field shots, alternating also between portraits of Kenny and larger views of the ballpark milieu. Sure to hit home with its audience. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-Although there are several books on the subject available, this one focuses on an actual team (the San Francisco Giants) during spring training. Each aspect of batboy Kenny Garibaldi's day is depicted in the crisply written text and colorful, clear photographs. Anderson captures the atmosphere in the clubhouse and conveys the hard work that goes into being a professional baseball player; and, more importantly, the long hours and drudgery involved in being an effective batboy. The only glamour associated with Kenny's job comes from the proximity to the players (most of whom ignore him). The text and pictures mesh wonderfully, making this an enjoyable book for any young baseball fan.?Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525675116
• ISBN-13: 978-0525675112
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,559,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Anderson is a journalist and the bestselling author of A Year by the
Sea, An Unfinished Marriage, A Walk on the Beach, and A Weekend to Change
Your Life. She lives with her husband on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and
conducts weekend workshops for women around the country.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A look at the hard job of being a major league team's batboy, July 13, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Bat Boy: An Inside Look at Spring Training (Hardcover)

When you are a kid and it dawns on you that you are not old enough to play for your favorite baseball team one of the next best dreams you can have is that you are the batboy. "Batboy: An Inside Look at Spring Training" shows exactly how much hard work is involved in that particular dream. Writer Joan Anderson and photographer Matthew Cavanaugh follow young Kenny Garibaldi through a 14-hour-day as the batboy for the San Francisco Giants during spring training in 1994. On the one hand Kenny is shown sitting next to Hall of Famer Willie Mays in the Giants' locker room in Scottsdale, Arizona, but on the other there are more color photographs of his doing his job.

Actually, that would be jobs, because this book is as much as inside look at the hard work of being a batboy as it is about providing a glimpse at what spring training is like. We learn that Kenny has to sort uniforms, answer the phone, deliver fan mail to lockers, unwrap gum, take out the garbage, make endless trips to the laundry, brush dirt off of shoes, put clean towels and batting helmets in place before the game, carry balls and other supplies to the visitor's dugout, and put the rosin bag, pine tar, and towels needed by each batter for warm-upon at the on-deck circle. All of this is before the game even starts, at which time he gets to really be a batboy, and for all of his effort the 13-year-old Kenny receives the sum of $25 a day.

The book also looks at what happens during Spring Training, but it really is not as interesting as learning about Kenny's job. He never talks to the players unless they speak to him and he cannot ask for autographs. But he does drive to work with catcher Kirt Manwaring, a neighbor, and one of the rookie pitchers, Fred Costello, is a former batboy with the Giants, who is willing to play cards with Kenny. Still, young readers will be struck by the need for Kenny to be hard working without being noticed by the players who are working at their jobs. But the kid must be pretty good at it because at the end of the book we learn that he has been hired to be the batboy for the Phoenix Firebirds, the Giants AAA farm team, for the summer.