The Batboy

The term “intoxication” typically refers to the effects of alcohol or other drugs. In The Batboy, intoxication signals The Omnipresent Influence of Baseball, as the sport consumes Brian. However, the presence of baseball in Brian’s life is positive rather than negative, and he gains a meaningful relationship with Hank and becomes closer to his mother. Baseball also gives him structure and motivation, and he excels in school due to his metaphorical intoxication. As Brian writes to Schenkel, “[E]very paper I wrote and every test I aced, I was working my way toward Comerica” (22). Lupica reconfigures the connotations of “intoxication” in a positive way; under the influence of baseball, Brian excels.

At the same time, the symbolism becomes literal and takes on a negative tone, especially when Lupica addresses the issues surrounding the steroid era. Arguably, the sport of baseball itself became intoxicated with the surfeit of home runs, which engaged fans and excited a higher degree of attention. Intoxicated by the excitement, the baseball authorities ignored the issue of steroids until the problem became urgent enough to warrant a Congressional investigation.