From the Times in 1989.
This topic (ballgirls) came up on twitter yesterday.
I actually have some stories to tell in this area…but those will be part of the ebook I am writing which has the working title “Send the Beer Guy.”
The Mets have had ball girls instead of ball boys since 1982. ”We thought it was a nice idea for the crowd,” said James Plummer, the director of promotion. The women work in pairs, rotating one home stand on, one off. There is no seniority in being a ball girl. Although Miss Rashbaum and Ms. Jackson were ball girls for both the 1988 and 1989 seasons, they had to try out both years for the job, which pays $27.50 a night, before taxes.
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As part of that family, the women are given Mets uniforms, which they are allowed to keep. (They supply their own mitts.) Their outfit consists of a batting helmet, player’s jersey, pants and a jacket with their first names and their number, 89, the current year, on the back. For the summer, they have a pair of shorts. The shorts were a source of dispute between management and the ball girls this year. The players did not have to wear tight-fitting shorts, why should the ball girls, Miss Rashbaum said. ”We didn’t want to wear the shorts,” she said. ”They’re real tight and high up. I’d rather sweat than wear those shorts. A lot of times I just said I forgot them.”
via ABOUT LONG ISLAND; The Girls of Summer – New York Times.
