Wednesday, August 2, 1995 --The Michigan Daily-- '11'
Carrying the load
Batboys' long days are 'worth it'
By NIholas J. Cotsonika
Daily Sports Editor
ETROT- While their
friends are mowing lawns,
babysitting or flipping burgers
for money this summer, they're
rubbing elbows with star athletes ...
and getting paid for it. They're the
men behind the bengals. They're the
Detroit Tiger batboys.
However, the privilege of hanging out
with the likes of Cecil Fielder, Alan
Trammelland Travis Fryman on a daily
basis is a hard-earned one. In fact, the
term "bat-shoe shine-maid-food delivery-
mail-laundry-gofer-boy" would probably
best suit them. But "batboy"fits better on
the back of ajersey.
"It's a big misconception that the
batboy just picks up the bats," says
Tigerbatboy Troy Adams. "Hey, I'd
love it if I just had to go on the field
and grab bats. That'd be easy. We put
in long hours and do a lot of work
down here and people who haven't
done it don't realize that."
Long hours indeed. Take for
instance the average night game at
Tiger Stadium. The batboys arrive at
the park between 1-1:30 p.m. and stay
until about two hours after the game
is over. Night games usually start at
7:05 and run about three hours. That
would put the batboys' departure time
at 12:05. That's a 10 1/2-hour day,
barring extra innings.
These aren't lazy hours either,
says batboy Wayne Carlisle: "We
have a lot of responsibilities, like
cleaning and passing out uniforms,
stocking the cooler, vacuuming,
shining shoes, straightening the
clubhouse, sorting out fan mail and
other things that need to get done."
That's not all. Batboys typically
run errands for players, like getting a
burger from the local bar or other
special tasks.
Next to all that, the game itself is
almost a break. "We rotate who goes
on the field and picks up the bats,"
Carlisle says. "Most of the time we
just sit in the clubhouse and watch the
game." After the final out though, it's
back to work.
All this for $45 a game? "We
work hard," Adams says. "But it's
worth it."
For a baseball fan, "it's worth it"
is a huge understatement. Perks go
with every job, but few occupations
let you in on the world of pro sports.
"Just being around the players is
great. They're all great guys and treat
you really well," Adams says. "They .
give you tips for doing extra things
for them, and occasionally they really
go out of their way."
CD players, shoes and other items
are among the gifts batboys have
received from their millionaire
heroes. Batboys are also entitled to
free tickets and get to go on a road
trip every season.
It may sound like a great job for a
kid, but the batboys are not really
boys at all. All are in their late teens
or early 20s and in college. So how
does a college student get such a
summer job? "There really isn't any
one way to get to become a batboy,"
Carlisle says. "You have to have good
grades and be trustworthy. I just
wrote letters and kept being persistent
and I finally got the chance.
"Most of my friends are working
at McDonald's or something. At age
18, there's nothing I'd rather be
doing."
So next time Cecil Fielder hits a
home run, just remember who gave
him his bat ... and washed his
uniform, and shined his shoes, and...
)etroit Tiger Alan Trammell's Negro League replica uniform was cleaned and
ressed by the same guys who shine his shoes and get his bats.
1995 MichIgan women's soccer
1995 Michigan women's volleyball
pt. 2
pt. 4
Sept. 9
Sept. 10
Sept. 15
Sept. 17
Sept. 22
Sept. 24
Sept. 29
Oct. 4
Oct. 8
Oct. 10
ct. 13
Oct. 15
Oct. 18
Oct. 22
Oct. 24
Oct. 27
Oct. 29
at Wisconsin-Green Bay
at Northem Illinois
vs. Darmouth at Hartford
at Hartford
at Ohio State
BUFFALO (N.Y.)
TEXAS
at Minnesota
NORTHWESTERN
at Detroit
CREIGHTON
at Valparaiso.
WISCONSIN
PENN STATE
at Michigan State
BUTLER
EASTERN MICHIGAN
at Indiana
WRIGHT STATE
11 a.m.
12 noon
1 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
4 p.m.
12 p.m.
4 p.m.
12 noon
4 pm.
4 p.m.
2 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
4 p.m.
2 p.m.
4 p.m.
2 p.m.
4 p.m.
5 p.m.
12 noon
Sept. 1-2
Sept. 5
Sept. 8-9
Sept. 15-16
Sept. 19
Sept. 22
Sept. 23
Sept. 27
Sept. 29
Oct. 6
Oct. 7
Oct. 13
Oct. 14
Oct. 20
Oct. 21
Oct. 25
Oct. 28
(through October)
at Georgia Invitational 5 p.m.
TOLEDO 7 p.m.
'M' VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE TBA
Massachusetts Invitational TBA
at Eastern Michigan 7:30 p.m.
PURDUE 7 p.m.
NORTHWESTERN 7 p.m.
MICHIGAN STATE 7 p.m,
at owa 7 p.m.
at Indiana 7:30 p.m.
at Illinois 7:30 p.m.
MINNESOTA 7 p.m.
WISCONSIN 7 p.m.
at Penn State 7:30 p.m.
at Ohio State 7:30 p.m.
at Michigan State 7 p.m.
IOWA 7 p.m.
* Home games in ALLCAPS
F7I
IRK TOWN
GOLF CENTER
DRIVING RANGE
MINI GOLF
. MINUTES
..AT U.S 23
WILLIS RD.
429-3691
Calvin Klein
underwear
326 S. State at Nickels Arcade
(313) 665-7228
Mon.-Sat. 9-5:30, Sun.12-5
| 21 and over after 9m I