Bat Boy, Matthew McGough
Bat Boy, Matthew McGough
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Bat Boy
My True Life Adventures Coming of Age with the New York Yankees

Author: Matthew McGough

Narrator: Jason Harris

Unabridged: 8 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/10/2005


Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Matthew McGough was a fairly typical teenager, obsessed with getting through high school, girls, and baseball, not necessarily in that order. His passion for the New York Yankees was absolute, complete with a poster of his hero, Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly, hanging on his bedroom wall. Despite having no connections whatsoever with the ballclub, Matt dreamed of sitting in the dugout with the fabled Bronx Bombers. So, in the Fall of 1991, he wrote a letter in his very best penmanship to the New York Yankees asking for a position as a bat boy.
 
Miraculously, he got the job, and on April 7, 1992, Matt walked into the madness of the Yankee clubhouse on Opening Day. And there was Don Mattingly, Donnie Baseball himself, asking him to run an errand, an errand which soon induced panic in the rookie bat boy. Thus began two years of adventures and misadventures—from the perils of chewing tobacco while playing catch with the centerfielder, to being set up on a date by the bullpen, to studying for a history exam at 3:00 a.m. at Yankee Stadium, to his own folly as Matt gradually forgets he’s not a baseball star, he’s a high school student.
 
BAT BOY captures the lure and beauty of the American pastime, but much more it is a tale of what happens to a young man when his fondest dream comes true. Matthew McGough wonderfully evokes that twilight time just before adulthood, ripe with possibility, foolishness, and hard-won knowledge.

About The Author

Matthew McGough is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York TimesThe Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe. After a two-year career as a Yankee bat boy, he graduated from Regis High School, Williams College (George Steinbrenner’s alma mater), and Fordham University School of Law. After law school, he clerked for a district court judge at the Federal Courthouse in Lower Manhattan. McGough lives in New York City.Jason Harris is a multitalented actor and voice-over artist. He's narrated numerous audiobooks, including Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine, Breaking Point by Alex Flinn, and Ghost of Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Suzanne on June 09, 2017

In 1991, 16 year old Matthew McGough took a long shot and wrote 15 letters to George Steinbrenner and other members of the New York Yankees management.  It paid off big when the following spring, he was sitting in the dugout at Yankee Stadium as it's newest batboy.  McGough's memoir is filled with a......more

Goodreads review by Terri on June 08, 2020

I learned about this book listening to The Moth Radio Hour where the author told the story of how he became a bat boy. It's a fun story. Baseball fans, especially Yankees fans, will enjoy McGough's tales of his two years living his dream working for the NY Yankees.......more

Goodreads review by 711sam on September 23, 2010

Batboy by Matthew McGough was a well written autobiography of Matt McGough who was a New York Yankees bat boy for the 19993 and 19994 seasons. Batboy tells about Matt's experiences as a Yankee bat boy in detail. It also talks about Matt's experiences after being a bat boy too. I found Batboy very int......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on April 08, 2012

This is my dream job. To sit in the dugout alongside the greatest players in the world. To warm up the right fielder before every inning. To catch fly balls in the outfield before every game. To stay in Yankee stadium all night!! This is the life of the New York Yankee's bat boy. Matthew McGough was......more

Goodreads review by Max on March 23, 2012

This is a very good book and i enjoyed it very much! Matt put in a lot of hard work to be the bat boy of the New York Yankees. He had to sleep at the stadium sometimes and would have to go to school from Yankee stadium. In his 2 years as Yankee bat boy he had a lot of fun and was fortunate enough to......more


Quotes

“Wonderful. . . . It should eventually find its way to that very short shelf of enduring sports nonfiction, perhaps somewhere between Ball Four and Friday Night Lights.” —Leigh Montville, author of Ted Williams and The Big Bam“A terrific memoir, combining an endearing coming-of-age story with a unique window on the inner world of baseball. It is warm, witty, shrewd, and entertaining from start to finish.” —Doris Kearns Goodwin“[McGough] writes fondly and opens a window that baseball fans rarely see.”—The Tampa Tribune“McGough provides humorous, often poignant, observations about Bronx Bombers legends.” —USA Today


Awards

  • School Library Journal Adult Books for Young Adults