NY Times: That Batboy Job With the Yankees? It’s a Bronx School Perk

It used to be that most batboy aspirants or their parents knew somebody with an inside connection to the Yankees organization. Or they knew somebody who knew somebody. There was certainly no formal process for applying for a coveted Yankees batboy position.

But about seven years ago, things changed. Once the Yankees announced their new stadium plans in 2005, they began reaching out to the surrounding Bronx community to fill some of their batboy slots.

Two schools, in particular, emerged as pipelines for candidates: the Urban Assembly School and the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice, both in the Concourse Village area near the stadium.

Urban Assembly received its first call from the Yankees in 2006 requesting that the school provide several solid candidates for batboy openings, of which there are usually five positions: three batboys attend to the home team each season and two cater to the visiting side.

The school’s Yankees liaison, Sharon Aiuvalasit, who also teaches English, said the Yankees officials mentioned only a few requirements, specifically wanting good students who could catch, throw and manage the long hours without their schoolwork taking a hit. And since the Yankees often invite batboys back for a second year, any senior class candidates should be planning to attend college in New York City. ...

To earn their minimum-wage salary, he said, “Basically, it’s clean, clean and more cleaning.” The batboys arrive several hours before the game starts to set up the equipment in the dugouts. After batting practice, “they’re cleaning shoes,” he said. And once the game is over, “they’re cleaning shoes again.”