Batter up!

Mike Lupica is known for writing great baseball books for the middle school crowd, and The Batboy is another winner.  The son of an ex-major league player, Brian is 14 and he just landed his dream job: being a batboy for the Detroit Tigers. He's thrilled when he finds out that Hank Bishop, his all-time baseball hero, is coming to play for the Tigers, after being suspended for steroid use.  Brian doesn't have much of a relationship with his dad - his parents are divorced, his dad is coaching in Japan and never communicates - and he tries to reach out to Hank.  Even though Hank is downright rude, Brian keeps trying, and in the end, they find a way to help each other out.  A solid story with a lot of behind-the-scenes baseball details.