Miracle milking bat boy's suspension

Offer to bring youth over from East Coast for promotion

By Mark Bickel
Fort Myers News Press

Got milk?

That would be the wrong question to ask the bat boy for the Florida Marlins baseball team.

The Fort Myers Miracle do have a question for him: Does he want to work for them?

The bat boy, who has not been identified, has been suspended for six games by the Marlins for taking on a dare Sunday by Los Angles Dodgers pitcher (and former Marlin) Brad Penny to drink a gallon of milk in under an hour without throwing up.

He failed the challenge and will have to sit on the sidelines for the Marlins' two home series next week.

The Miracle and general manager Steve Gliner stepped forward Thursday announcing they would like to employ the bat boy for Monday's home game at Hammond Stadium at the Lee County Sports Complex.

"We are ready to send a limo over there to Miami to pick him and his family up," Gliner said. "We want to make sure he doesn't lose his skills."

Gliner is scheduled to appear on the ESPN2 show "Cold Pizza" at 9 a.m. today to talk about the invitation.

"We would hope the Marlins would go easy on the kid," Gliner said. "It's all fun. That's the whole idea."

All kids 14 and under will receive a pint of milk upon entering the stadium Monday night.

"I think there is a good chance we will find him and he will come here on Monday," said Andrew Seymour, the assistant general manager for the Miracle.

The Miami Herald reported that Penny offered the bat boy $500 if he could meet the milk drinking challenge. The bat boy drank the milk and didn't throw up, but Penny said the bat boy didn't finish the gallon in the allotted time frame to win the dare.

"It's kind of ridiculous that you get a 10-game suspension for steroids and a six-game suspension for milk," Penny told the Herald.