A Dream Come True

October 31, 2017

A Dream Come True

Sevag Aboyan

The Batboy

Mike Lupica

Have you ever had a dream job and be able to have the opportunity as a young kid to get that job? In this sports fiction book, The Batboy By Mike Lupica, the main protagonist Brian Dudley has the opportunity to have his dream job; becoming the batboy of this favorite team, the Detroit Tigers. When his father played in the pros his lifelong dream was either to be in the same shoes as his father or at least work in the pros. Brian has always loved baseball, “[He] felt as if baseball was close enough for him to reach out and touch (pg 1)”.  Dudley has always loved the Tigers ever since he was little, he watched every single game, and cheered for his favorite player Hank Bishop. When Brian 1st applied for the job of becoming a batboy he was rejected because he was to young, but he never gave up. 2 years later he reapplied for the job and this time he was successful he got the job.

After reading about 6 chapters, . Lupica writes in a way that he allows the reader to relate and think about themselves. On page 9 Lupica writes “ Now that he’d been doing this for a week, Brian realized he’d never really understood as a fan what the job meant (9)”. As a young kid myself at the age of 18 we as young adults never realize what we are up for until we experience it. Just like Brian he never really knew how the job would go until he experienced working after a week. If I were to recommend this book to anyone I would recommend it to either a baseball fan or a sports fan in general. It it a perfect book for a child from the ages 12-15, because Brian is about 10 years old and gets a job, but in today's world to get a job it is about 15 years old.  

From reading this book and now in chapter 6, Mike Lupica has a message to convey through the act of sports and baseball. He emphasizes the point of not to give up in something you love to do, and always do your best work at all times. Both those things Brian has done, he never gave up to get this job and once he did he has worked hard ever since. I was able to connect with the main character Brian in many ways, from the sports aspect to the working aspect. When I was younger I got my 1st job and though it was going to be easier than it really was. Also when I was little i always loved David Ortiz and always wanted to work at Fenway Park. Just like Brian, when i was younger I played little league baseball and always thought I was the best player. My parents would come and never wanted to sit through the whole thing. For them it was the same as Liz Dudley “ had no use for baseball”... “ baseball to his mom was like a foreign language (28)”  for my mother it was the same she understood nothing, but still cheered me in when I did good or bad.

Overall I would rate this book so far a 7 out of 10. Lupica does a very well job to sustain your attention and keep you wanting to read. He writes in such a way to keep suspense but keep it kid friendly.