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When 14-year-old Darin Miller Jr.'s father pulled an entry form off the Internet to be a celebrity batboy at a Chicago Cub's game, he never dreamed his name would be chosen. But it was selected, and Saturday Miller will be a celebrity batboy at Wrigley Field.
Miller will travel to Chicago Saturday, where he will be a star for a day and receive a hat, a jersey and a certificate. His name will be announced before the game and spelled out in lights on the scoreboard.
All this will be very exciting for the Warsaw little leaguer who catches for the Tigers, but possibly the most exciting part of the day will come when he serves as batboy during batting practice before the Cubs take the field against the Minnesota Twins.
Or maybe the excitement will come when Miller gets to meet Mark Grace, Sammy Sosa and all the other players after the batting practice. When he meets them he will be allowed to get autographs and pictures with the players.
"My friends think it's pretty cool," said Miller. "I get to hang around and talk to them (the players) and get autographs.
"My favorite player is Sammy Sosa. He's a great ballplayer, a good outfielder and a good batter."
Along with the hat, jersey and certificate, Miller also got four tickets to the game for his family.
"We aren't allowed to go on the field with him, but we got tickets to the game," said Darin Miller Sr. "I'm a little jealous of him."
Miller's father is not the only person who is feeling the green-eyed monster. His 10-year-old sister wishes her name was the one pulled.
"It's not fair," said Miller's 10-year-old sister, Jessica. "We sent my name in, too, but it didn't get picked."
"I think I am more excited than he is right now," said Miller, Sr. "When I found out, I started jumping up and down and called my wife right away. I've told everyone at work.
"I think he'll be more excited Saturday, even though he won't show it. This is a great opportunity for him."
Miller's sister hasn't given up on the chance to be a batgirl and meet the players herself.
"They choose one person's name for each game and next time I hope it's me," said Jessica.
