Baseball's Finest Moments

THE GREATEST JOB IN THE WORLD! Baseball fan or not, this is one entertaining book about Jack Hayes, a 13-year old kid who knew absolutely no one even remotely connected with Major League Baseball. Yet, Jack turned his dream into an almost unbelievable reality when he trotted onto the field at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., on Opening Day, April 16, 1953 wearing the uniform of the World Champion New York Yankees.

From the very first chapter to the very end, this is an enjoyable chronicle of what went on in the clubhouse, dugout, and on the field during the early 1950s as seen through the eyes of the visiting team batboy whenever the Washington Senators played at Griffith Stadium. Back then, baseball was very different from what it is today. It was the profoundly American pastime. It was more exciting. Players were more fun and much more colorful, and most of these awesome people would give a fan a free autograph with a kindly smile.

You'll find out what it was like for a kid to rub elbows with Hall of Famers and other great stars, and to actually get onto the ball field, practicing with, and getting playing tips from, his heroes. (Imagine receiving batting lessons from Ted Williams or getting tips on pitching from Satchel Paige!) You'll read about stars like the young and somewhat shy Mickey Mantle, who hit that tape-measure home run out of Griffith Stadium on April 17, 1953; about Satchel Paige's pitching prowess and his on-and off-field antics; and get a first-hand look at the Ted Williams that few people got to see. And much more! Travel to Cooperstown with the author and his wife, Darlene, some three decades later in the former batboy's life, for a meeting with the National Baseball Hall of Fame's curator, and learn about that meeting's most surprising ending.

In this book you'll find scores of interesting stories about unforgettable moments in the game, and see what the batboy saw as he mingled with legendary players of the 1950s, a time that may well go down as the greatest in American baseball history!