The Batboy

Hank’s character and outlook change drastically throughout the novel, and his character performs a variety of roles. Initially, Hank is Brian’s idealized baseball hero, with Brian referring to Hank as his “personal all-time favorite player” (23). In the past, Hank won the MVP Award and was on his way to a Hall of Fame career, but he started getting into trouble. He got into fights and was suspended twice for steroid use. Although Hank remains Brian’s favorite player, his toxic behavior initially makes him an antagonist in the story, as his surly attitude consistently thwarts Brian’s attempts to connect. He is not so much a hero but a diminished star. When Brian asks him why he returned to baseball, Hank replies, “Because I had something to prove” (194). Hank wants to show people that he can still excel and reach 500 home runs without the use of steroids.

By transforming Hank from an MVP to a player on the verge of obsolescence, Lupica creates a redemption arc, and Hank ultimately proves his value in multiple ways. By reaching 500 home runs, Hank proves that he has the skill to compete in the Major Leagues even without performance-enhancing drugs. Similarly, as Hank forms a deep bond with Brian, he proves that he is more than an incorrigible misanthrope. When the story ends, Hank solidly assumes the role of Brian’s father figure and mentor, becoming a positive presence in Brian’s life.

Cole is primarily an absentee father who refuses to engage in his son’s life, even from a distance. The loss of Cole makes Brian long for a father figure, and at first, Brian tries to turn Cole into a satisfactory father figure by romanticizing the times when they watched the Tigers game together in section 135. However, when Cole returns from Japan for a brief visit, Brian must finally accept the harsh reality that Cole will never be the father he concocted in his imagination. Cole and Brian have much in common because baseball has an omnipresent influence in their lives, but even so, Cole cannot fully share his love for baseball with Brian. As Cole tells Brian in a note, “I’m sorry. I’m no good at being your father. I’m no good at anything besides baseball” (21). For Cole, baseball is separate from family, so he divorced Liz and left Brian, becoming a Minor League instructor for the Arizona Diamondbacks and then going on to work as a coach in Japan.

Cole’s life mirrors his Major League career, as he played for 10 teams throughout 14 seasons. In baseball, Cole was constantly moving, and in his own life, he fails to settle down with Liz and Brian. As the narrative states, Cole “loved the game too much, and when he tried to live a life without it, with Brian and his mom in the house in Bloomfield, he just couldn’t do it” (20). Thus, Cole and Hank are foils; just as Cole tries to accept family life but rejects it, Hank tries to reject Brian but eventually becomes a major part of his family.

Brian’s mother, Liz, is an esteemed news producer and is now Cole’s ex-wife. She often serves as a foil for Brian and Cole because she is not a baseball fan and has a skeptical attitude toward the sport, thinking of it as a “foreign language she’d had to learn in school and then never wanted to use again” (34). For most of the novel, Liz represents a check on The Omnipresent Influence of Baseball and holds a more objective and less emotional perspective on the game. While Hank’s and Brian’s moods change based on what happens on the baseball field, Liz is not vulnerable to the vicissitudes of baseball and remains relatively stable. Through her use of humor, Liz prevents baseball from negatively influencing her life. For example, when Brian tells her that Hank will be banned from baseball for life if he tests positive for steroids for a third time, Liz quips, ‘“That’s what I keep trying to be. Banned from baseball for life” (37).

However, Liz’s sarcasm belies the positive influence that baseball has on her life. Near the end of the story, she realizes the benefits of baseball and becomes an authentic baseball fan. This shift is apparent when she attends Hank’s 500th home-run game and Brian’s final Little League games. Baseball helps Liz bond with her son, and it also provides her with a possible romantic partner in Hank. Lupica does not indicate that Liz is ready for baseball to take over her life, but the ending suggests that she will allow the game to play a larger role in her world.

Willie is the shortstop for the Detroit Tigers and acts as a foil for the surly version of Hank. While Hank is initially unfriendly and grumpy, Willie is playful and warm enough to bond with Brian, and he even enlists the boy to bring him food from McDonald’s because he’s sick of the fruits and vegetables that the players are pressured to eat. Willie also tries to use his humor to inspire Hank to be friendlier. However, Lupica also uses Willie’s character to articulate deeper insights about the steroid era in baseball.