The Batboy

Mike Lupica's "The Batboy" tells the story of fourteen-year-old Brian, who secures the coveted summer job as batboy for his hometown Major League team, the Detroit Tigers. For Brian, this isn't just a dream come true; it's a desperate attempt to reconnect with his father, who left the family due to his overwhelming love for baseball. However, Brian soon finds an unexpected mentor and father figure in Hank Bishop, a once-popular player attempting a comeback after being banned for steroid use. The book explores themes of family, forgiveness, redemption, and finding belonging in unexpected places. It's a poignant and uplifting read for middle-grade children, particularly those interested in sports, and offers a gentle way to discuss complex topics like parental absence and second chances.

It is every baseball kid's dream summer job: batboy for your hometown Major League team. Yet for fourteen year-old Brian, the job means more than just the chance to hang around his idols. Baseball was the job his father loved so much, in the end he couldn't leave it. Yet he could leave his family. Now Brian sees the job as the way to win back his father.There is no winning back some people, though. Just ask Hank Bishop-once the most popular player in baseball before he was banned for using steroids. Now he is making his comeback. And an unlikely friendship slowly develops between this man in need of a family and this boy in need of a father.Mike Lupica, king of the sports novel, delivers his most powerful and kid-friendly to date.