10/18: Review - Bat Boy: My True Life Adventures Coming of Age with the New York Yankees
Posted by: YB Bloggers
Patrick: In this day of all access via the internet and TV, one place that the average fan remains without access to is the locker room. We get a brief glimpse into it through various journalists and on TV when your team wins something and they’re in there showering each other with champagne. It’s an area that not many, besides coaches, players, executives and owners, receive constant and daily access to. One group of people that does get that access is the clubhouse staff. This includes bat boys. Of us Yankee fans, who wouldn’t have wanted to be a Yankees bat boy in their youth (listen to me, I’m 20 years old for pete sake – I’m still young!)? I know I would have loved it. Matthew McGough got that opportunity. For two years – the 1992 and 1993 seasons) – as well as a brief return stint for the ’98 postseason. Bat Boy is a memoir of this time and the TV show Clubhouse was based on his book with McGough serving as a producer.
His time with the Yankees basically coincides with the time that I first started to get heavily into the Yankees. Matt Nokes, Pat Kelly (how many times did I watch him let a ball through his legs? And I didn’t even watch that much baseball), Andy Stankiewicz, Randy Velarde, Mike Gallego, Mike Stanley, a young Bernie, Spike Owen, Wade Boggs, Jim Leyritz, Gerald Williams, Melido Perez, Scott Kamieniecki, Bob Wickman, Steve Howe, Jimmy Key, Jim Abbott and Donnie, of course, as well as others. McGough’s favorite player was my favorite player – Mattingly. Of course, that’s not very unique for Yankees fans of his age group or mine.
His book is less of a day to day log and more of a journal – logging memorable instances and events that stood out to him. On a whim, he writes a letter asking to be considered for a bat boy position and he gets a response back from none other than Brian Cashman, who was then “Major League Administrative Assistant.” He talks about how the clubhouse worked under the rein of a foul mouthed, tough “love” leader. He plays with chewing tobacco, pyramid schemes and trades autographs and memorabilia (sometimes fake) for free CDs, nearly getting caught.
He talks of exchanges with both present day (at that time) players and old timers, confirming what we already thought we knew or guessed about many while other experiences may surprise. Even The Boss makes an appearance or two. It’s frequently funny and sometimes sad, but it’s nearly always engaging. If you’ve ever been curious as to the clubhouse life of the Yankees, you'll enjoy it.
Michael: Bat Boy was a breath of fresh air for me. Matthew McGough did a fantastic job describing life and sending me back in time to those years of Donnie Baseball, Matt Nokes and Jim Abbott. The way he described his life, a life that was truly blessed in that he was picked to be a bat boy for the New York Yankees, he described it in such a way that sent me there. It was but a small window of time for Matthew, but since he could only work as a batboy for a maximum of two years, he aged overnight from a raw rookie to a veteran.
It was an amusing read, and in some spots sad. You laugh out loud and groan at Matt’s adventures as a sometimes gullible (falling for the bat stretcher gag), but always willing (working late nights and overcoming bad grades because of his job) bat boy. The book is very much so an adventure book and will surely bring back memories for any long time Yankee fan.
I came away from reading the book wondering if my autographed Mattingly balls are authentic. I’ll never find out for fear that they might not be.
His time with the Yankees basically coincides with the time that I first started to get heavily into the Yankees. Matt Nokes, Pat Kelly (how many times did I watch him let a ball through his legs? And I didn’t even watch that much baseball), Andy Stankiewicz, Randy Velarde, Mike Gallego, Mike Stanley, a young Bernie, Spike Owen, Wade Boggs, Jim Leyritz, Gerald Williams, Melido Perez, Scott Kamieniecki, Bob Wickman, Steve Howe, Jimmy Key, Jim Abbott and Donnie, of course, as well as others. McGough’s favorite player was my favorite player – Mattingly. Of course, that’s not very unique for Yankees fans of his age group or mine.
His book is less of a day to day log and more of a journal – logging memorable instances and events that stood out to him. On a whim, he writes a letter asking to be considered for a bat boy position and he gets a response back from none other than Brian Cashman, who was then “Major League Administrative Assistant.” He talks about how the clubhouse worked under the rein of a foul mouthed, tough “love” leader. He plays with chewing tobacco, pyramid schemes and trades autographs and memorabilia (sometimes fake) for free CDs, nearly getting caught.
He talks of exchanges with both present day (at that time) players and old timers, confirming what we already thought we knew or guessed about many while other experiences may surprise. Even The Boss makes an appearance or two. It’s frequently funny and sometimes sad, but it’s nearly always engaging. If you’ve ever been curious as to the clubhouse life of the Yankees, you'll enjoy it.
Michael: Bat Boy was a breath of fresh air for me. Matthew McGough did a fantastic job describing life and sending me back in time to those years of Donnie Baseball, Matt Nokes and Jim Abbott. The way he described his life, a life that was truly blessed in that he was picked to be a bat boy for the New York Yankees, he described it in such a way that sent me there. It was but a small window of time for Matthew, but since he could only work as a batboy for a maximum of two years, he aged overnight from a raw rookie to a veteran.
It was an amusing read, and in some spots sad. You laugh out loud and groan at Matt’s adventures as a sometimes gullible (falling for the bat stretcher gag), but always willing (working late nights and overcoming bad grades because of his job) bat boy. The book is very much so an adventure book and will surely bring back memories for any long time Yankee fan.
I came away from reading the book wondering if my autographed Mattingly balls are authentic. I’ll never find out for fear that they might not be.
