The Baseball Rookie – A New Batboy To The Rescue

Thursday night, the neighborhood dog friends – Rookie, Nora, Dozier, and Scout – were back at the ballpark. Nora, after visiting her nurse friend from Dogwood General Hospital where she is a support dog, came walking down the stairs and barked “hey, can one of you shove over so I can see the game? I want to see Arnie in action.” Arnie being Dozier’s family’s youngest son, who was the Dogwood Dodgers batboy for Thursday’s game.

“There he goes,” barked an excited Dozier. “Great get, young man,” yelped Rookie. “Way to go kid,” barked Scout. “Nice pickup,” yelped Nora, as the four neighborhood dog friends cheered Arnie rushing out from the dugout to home plate to retrieve a batter’s bat. Arnie was actually a really good youth baseball player himself. And read about a book on famous batboys who later played professional baseball. So, he volunteered all summer with the Dodgers to get one step closer to his dream of being a professional player himself.

Unbeknownst to Arnie, a stray baseball had landed near home plate as he was retrieving the bat at home plate. As Arnie stood up to return to the Dodger dugout, his ankle stepped on the baseball and it rolled in a very uncomfortable manner. Dozier looked on with worry and called out to his buddy, “You okay, Arnie?” Just then, the entire front row section of the stands and the two dugouts, plus the runner at first caught sight of Arnie down on the ground holding his ankle. Things did not look good for the young batboy.

A coach from each team came out to help Arnie to his feet. The neighborhood dog friends looked on as Arnie stood up, then with a big smile waved to the crowd that he was okay. However, despite outward appearances, Arnie’s ankle was definitely not alright to continue his batboy duties. “Hey guys, thanks for the support. My ankle is really sore. Can one of you take my place for tonight? I think I need the trainer’s help here.” Rookie, the fetching king of Dogwood, proudly raised his paw and said, “I’ll do it, I’ll be your replacement, Arnie.” Arnie waved his approval and the neighborhood dog friends cheered Rookie on as he sprinted down the Dodgers dugout.

Rookie got down to home plate and greeted the two coaches and Arnie. “Now, here’s what you do, Rookie…” and Arnie laid out the batboy responsibilities. Rookie, a very good listener, stood at full attention and listened and panted and nodded, “aye aye, Arnie, I’ll do my best. Now, you go have a seat and have Doc take a look at that ankle. Nora, Dozier, Scout and I want to see you Sunday when you take on Sherwood.” Arnie nodded and the coaches helped Arnie over to the dugout to see Doc Patricia about his sore ankle.

Rookie found a spot in the dugout where he could see the entire field. He watched as the pitcher threw the ball to home plate and the batter was ready to swing. Arnie told him never to interfere with the game, just wait until it is your time to go out on the field. The umpire will likely call timeout if a batter reaches base, so keep one eye on the play on the field and the other on the umpire. Rookie couldn’t believe he was on a big league field, right there in the Dodgers home dugout. What a thrill and what an honor to help out his buddy, Arnie.

Because Rookie was paying good attention to the game, he saw that the batter at the plate lost his grip on the bat. The bat went flying in the air towards the Dodger dugout, hurling towards the already injured Arnie. Rookie leapt into action and charged up the steps and snagged the bat in mid air before anyone got hurt. Realizing this was a special moment in Dodger history, the batter and catcher and umpire all pointed to Rookie and the crowd went wild. Rookie, not sure what to do with the bat, sat there motionless with the bat in his mouth and soaked in the huge applause.

Then did a victory lap around the field for good measure, really enjoying the attention and cheers. Nora, Dozier, and Scout yelled from the stands, “Rookie, get back over here and give that man his baseball bat!” Arnie, limping up to the field, raised his fist in the air and screamed, “best bat boy night, ever. Nice catch, Rookie, you really saved me from another injury.” Rookie ran all the way out to the left field foul pole before spinning around to run all the way to home plate to give the batter his bat back. Then, he and Arnie returned to the Dodger dugout. Arnie brought Rookie a bowl of water and Rookie finished it in seconds flat. What a night to be at the ballpark with Rookie, Nora, Dozier, Scout, and Arnie – neighborhood baseball friends for life!