My Bat Boy Days: Lessons I Learned from the Boys of Summer [Hardcover]

Steve Garvey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2008

On the evening of March 28, 1956, Steve Garvey's father, a Greyhound bus driver in the Tampa Bay area, asked his young son if he'd like to accompany him as he drove the Brooklyn Dodgers to a spring-training game with the New York Yankees. For Garvey, a baseball card collector and an aspiring Little Leaguer, the opportunity stretched beyond his wildest imagination and marked the beginning of a legendary career and life in baseball.

Garvey spent five years (1956-1961) as a bat boy, mostly for the Brooklyn Dodgers and briefly for the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers. The fact that he would go on to become a first baseman with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and one of the most successful players of his era, is like something out of a Hollywood script. My Bat Boy Days is his moving collection of indelible memories, fascinating profiles, and lessons learned -- about the game and about life -- from heroes such as Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, and Mickey Mantle.

My Bat Boy Days is for the generation of fans who remember the Boys of Summer and for the generation who grew up watching Steve Garvey play for the love of the game. Garvey's story is perfect for sharing with children and grandchildren who are just now getting to know and love the game.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steve Garvey is the reigning National League "Iron Man" with 1,207 consecutive games played. Garvey spent eight years as the cornerstone of the Los Angeles Dodgers "fabulous four" infield, leading the Dodgers to a World Series title in 1981. After signing with the San Diego Padres in 1983, Garvey led the team to the organization's first World Series in 1984. Garvey is a ten-time MLB All-Star and four-time Gold Glove Award winner. He holds the record for the highest career fielding percentage by a first baseman and was the first player in the history of baseball to field an errorless season at first base.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1 edition (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416548246
• ISBN-13: 978-1416548249
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,206,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Bat Boy Days, April 2, 2008

By 

David Berck "cruecut" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Bat Boy Days: Lessons I Learned from the Boys of Summer (Hardcover)

What a fun little book!

What we've got here is a short tale from Steve Garvey about how he worked as a bat boy for a few major league teams while he and his parents lived in Florida. His father drove a bus and was hired to drive around some big leaguers during spring training. The first team he ran into was the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Boys of Summer era of the team.

After this short tale of being asked to be the bat boy for a day, how much it meant to him as a boy, and how it has stuck with him ever since, Garvey speaks about a few individuals from the Boys of Summer teams as well as Mickey Mantle and Al Kaline. They are his heroes, pure and simple, and the story is presented in a pure in simple fashion.

Garvey chooses a certain superlative to describe each of the players he idolizes and talks about his experience with them that illustrate the descriptive word he's chosen. Also contained within the passages are biographical stats of the players which illustrate their statistical dominance as well as the more personal qualities that made them heroes to the Garv.

The prose is easy to read and relate to. For anyone that doesn't know the story of Roy Campanella or why Koufax had to retire at 31, these are also presented as part of the illustration of the virtues Garvey holds in such high esteem. It's a very short read but very much worth the time to take a peek into the idols of a man who was an idol for many youngsters once upon a time.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Appropriate for youths to read as well, February 11, 2010

By 

Scott Yanoff (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Bat Boy Days: Lessons I Learned from the Boys of Summer (Hardcover)

In itching for the baseball season to start, I picked up this quick read to learn a bit more about historical figures of the game. Garvey targets mostly (Brooklyn) Dodgers, a Yankee (Mickey Mantle), and a Tiger (Al Kaline). Each profile is short and is a positive look at one generation's baseball heroes. Having followed baseball for years and been disappointed by the Steroid Era generation in many ways, Garvey's rosy impression was good to read. Garvey still alludes to some of the personal problems of the stars in vague terms ("...while he had his share of problems with alcohol..."), I still found it a good read just to learn about these players' contributions on the field. Maybe it would have raised the production values of the book, but I would not have minded a photograph or two of Garvey from then as well as a photograph of each player at the start of their respective chapters.

Because of the innocent tone of the book, I'm surprised that it's not actually aimed at youths. My local libraries shelve this in the regular (i.e., "adults") sections, yet I could easily see this being something a late grade-schooler with an interest in baseball history would enjoy. I would also admit that I grew up watching Garvey but don't know that much about him. I do remember a few paternity suits and I see that Cindy Garvey's "The Secret Life of Cindy Garvey" is available and is now on my reading list. I raise this point because Steve Garvey's written a book about virtues he learned from each of his baseball idols, but it seems that fidelity was one that was overlooked. Nobody's perfect, though, and I was able to put this hypocrisy aside enough to enjoy the book, and if your young ones read this, it won't be obvious to them.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I grew up watching the Boys of Summer, March 29, 2009

By 

zebra! "basou" (anaheim) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Bat Boy Days: Lessons I Learned from the Boys of Summer (Hardcover)

Garvey et al will never replace William Faulkner, but to a man who grew up watching the players mentioned, the book warmed my heart. Additionally, the author shares some insider info that even I, a devoted fan, hadn't known.
An easy read that's worth the low, low Amazon price to recapture moments from one's youth.
Another hit for Popeye arms.