Wareham Gatemen Looking for Batboys and Batgirls

If you have a child that loves baseball, the Wareham Gatemen have an opportunity for kids to hang out with some of Major League Baseball's future stars.

Andrea Blackwell runs the program for the Wareham Gatemen. She says that a good number of the team's batkids have aged out of their roles on the team, so the Gatemen are on the hunt for five to 10 interested kids. Cape League batkids are able to start at 10 years of age.

No special baseball skills are necessary for the batkids, but knowledge of the game and a love of baseball are extremely important. The kids need to be able to remain alert and aware of the game happening around them. If there is a foul ball, the batkid would run out to retrieve the ball and return back behind the safety screen.

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Blackwell said one of the big benefits of joining the Gatemen as a batkid is that the children get firsthand exposure to some pretty talented ball players, some of which have advanced to play in the big leagues. Pictured below are two batboys with one of the Seattle Mariners' top prospects, Austin Shenton.

Batkids should be available to attend roughly one to two games a week between June 10 and August 4. The schedule is pretty packed due to an abbreviated season. Many of the games are played every other day before the playoffs begin. Batkids would be expected to attend both home and away games, which can be as far away as Cotuit, Brewster, Hyannis, Bourne, etc. Parents are responsible for transporting their own children to the games this season.

Parents with interested children should send an email to gatemenbatkids@gmail.com.