Clubhouse

CBS pulled the plug on Clubhouse way too early. A friend gave me the book that Clubhouse was based on. It's called "BAT BOY" by a guy named Matt McGough who was actually a bat boy for the Yankees. It just came out a few months ago, after the show got cancelled (kind of weird timing). As good as the show was, the book is even better.

A lot of the stories from Clubhouse seem like they came straight from the book -- the prank the players pulled on Pete his first day of work, and the potato cannon, and meeting girls at Yankee Stadium, and lots of other inside stories about the Yankees locker room and growing up in New York. Not much about his sister Betsy the JD, but that was actually my least favorite part of the show by far.

I even met Matt at a reading he did in New York last weekend. He didn't know if they're planning on releasing Clubhouse on DVD. But he did say that the book has a website, www.batboybook.com, and that he'd try to post any update.

From the beginning, I liked the show despite the flaws. I am not some teenage kid in love with Jeremy. I am a mid 30's man. The point being is that the show could have been written better but had some moral points that are identical to today. I read the post about drinking beer in a stadium. Come on! Kids at 16 years old are doing this. Is it right? NO. I like the show and wish that CBS would make more of an attempt in making it a success. This show and other shows like 7th Heaven and Everwood depict normal family life in their own unique way. I like watching shows like the CSI series or NYPD blue but I also like a break from immoral type lifestyles to more family and kid friendly shows. In the episode with the hazing and Jeremy kissing and drinking beer, a very fundamental and important lesson that all children should learn from is despite all of the hazing and being punched in the mouth, he did not resort to violence to get even. Placing the other guys necklace where he did may not have been right but not physical revenge was used. Maybe some other network will pick up this show and give it a chance that it deserves.

The young actor reminds me of actor Hayden Christensen, who plays Anakin Skywalker in the "Star Wars" films. Does anybody else see they resemble each other? I actually thought it was the same actor! This was a fine series. Some stories were corny but several were thought provoking. Two episodes come to mind. In one, Pete sees a player using drugs. He is seen and threatened by the player. Pete must decide whether to keep his mouth shut or tell. He decides to tell. He keeps his job and also wins the respect of the team. Another good episode was when Pete and his friend must undergo an initiation. Pete showed his integrity when his friend got hurt. This was a good series and like "American Dreams" on NBC, got canceled.

I really want to watch this show.. the only thing is.. it's 2020 and I can't find it ANYWHERE.. can someone help me??

This show has a few clichés and a few over the top, Dawson's Creek-like moments (a 16-year-old talking about way back when life made sense?), but overall it seems like a decent show. Most of the characters seem very real, and the story seemed to move along well in the pilot - ending with a good lesson in the end. I just hope every episode doesn't turn out to be life-altering like the first, that would just be too much drama for this vehicle. Jeremy Sumpter does an excellent job as a teenager with a passion for baseball, I believe a lot of us could relate to his awe and sometimes tunnel vision for the team that he always wanted to a part of.