The Batboy by Mike Lupica

Mike Lupica is the author of the Batboy. He is a newspaper columnist for the New York Daily News. He has written Travel Team, Heat, and True Legend. He has had his own show on ESPN2. He currently lives in Connecticut with his wife and four children.

The Batboy is a book for teenagers. Brian Dudley lives in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan just outside of Detroit. He applies to be the batboy for the baseball team, the Detroit Tigers. His mom and dad are divorced, and his dad is living in Asia working as a pitching coach. Brian gets the job and is excited when his favorite player, Hank Bishop, joins the team.

After Brian gets the job, he gets to see Hank every time he is at the ballpark. However, Hank isn’t what he thought he was. In fact, he isn’t who anyone thought he was. After all, he got suspended for using illegal steroids. The only reason the Tigers picked him up was because they needed a big bat in their lineup. Brian goes on a series of times trying to get Hank to like him, but it just doesn’t go his way or does it?

The theme of the story is some things aren’t always as they seem. Hank was Brian’s all-time favorite player. However when Hank joined the team, he wasn’t who Brian thought he was. He wasn’t all nice and wanting to be Brian’s best friend. He was hostile and tried to get Brian not to like him and believe in him.

The Batboy is a great book for all ages. It tells how a boy tries to turn his idol back into a good person. The minor characters thrive in their role. They kind of complete the story. I would recommend this book to people into sports and people looking for a good story with a lot of heart.