Chance Dodgers Bat Boy On Field!
Dodgers Francisco Herrera
No, this isn’t the plotline for Rookie of the Year 2 (nor is there a Rookie of the Year 2 coming to theatres any time soon). But according to ESPN.com, Herrera received an invite to the Dodgers’ open tryout in Glendale, Ariz., which was held on Thursday.
“We've signed guys out of our tryout camp every year,” said Dodgers assistant general manager for player development De Jon Watson. "Last year we found a guy throwing 97 and it was like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to sign him’...So yeah, we’ll take a look at him. You never know. Guys change, they mature, they grow. You never know until you take a look at him.”
Herrera, a starting shortstop at Valley College, began working as the Dodgers’ bat boy as an 18-year-old. He said that last season he was playing catch with rehabbing Dodgers starter Jon Garland when Garland recommended he try out for the team.
"He was like, ‘Let me talk to De Jon [Watson] for you. I’ll get you the tryout, but if you make it, I get to represent you,’" Herrera said. “I thought he was kidding.”
According to the report, Garland passed the bat boy's name on to Watson, who then offered Herrera an official invite to the tryout.
“I don’t know much about this kid except that Jon Garland flagged me down in the clubhouse last year,” Watson said. "I’ve seen him down the foul lines, he makes some pretty good catches.”
Check out the video below to see one of Herrera’s snags, which he made during a Mets-Dodgers game in July 2010.