Tim Tebow's friend: Batboy Tommy Smith, 27-year-old with special needs, irreplaceable with NJ team

Daniel LoGiudice | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption VIDEO: Thunder Batboy Tommy Smith inspires fans and players Third year Thunder bat boy Tommy Smith, a team and fan favorite around ARM & HAMMER Park at work during a game against the Altoona Curve.

TRENTON - Tommy Smith is just one of the guys at the ballpark.

Whether he’s hanging in the clubhouse, shooting the breeze in the dugout or signing autographs along the foul lines of Arm & Hammer Park, Tommy is just like everybody else.

Tommy, a 27-year-old with special needs, is one of the bat boys for the Trenton Thunder, the double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. His tasks include retrieving bats from the playing field, picking up any equipment from players who make it on base and handing extra baseballs to the home plate umpire.

Playing an important role with the team, Tommy, as he races around the infield in his No. 48 Thunder jersey, has become an irreplaceable part of the Trenton Thunder community.

“The players, staff and everyone around the stadium have been really endearing to him and make him feel he’s part of them, which he is,” said Tom Smith, Tommy’s father. “They don’t really treat him special, and he doesn’t want to be treated special. He’s just one of the guys, and that’s the way they make him feel.”

Tommy joined the Thunder in 2016 when Tom and Trenton Thunder general manager Jeff Hurley, who both serve on the board of the Miracle League of Mercer County, an organization dedicated to allowing people with special needs to play baseball, decided it would be a good idea to have Tommy serve as bat boy for a few games.

A few games quickly turned into a full-time gig as Tommy now works every inning of every home game.

“It gives him a purpose, otherwise he’d be sitting around his room all day,” Tom said. “This makes him feel that he’s a part of the community. It gives him incentive to get up and get moving, and it gives him some self-esteem.”

And when Tommy works, he works hard. He never takes off a play with a lackadaisical effort. He always goes full speed.

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He takes his job very seriously. When his younger sister walked down to the dugout to take a few snapshots of him a couple years ago at a game, Tommy tersely asked a security guard to escort her back to her seat. When former Thunder player Mike Ford occupied Tommy’s spot by the dugout entrance to the field one game, Tommy tapped him on the shoulder and requested he move elsewhere.

“He’s been a great asset to this organization,” Hurley said. “He works his tail off. You see him when he’s running out there, he’s running hard. He’s a great employee for us. We love having him.”

Tommy says his favorite part of being the Thunder’s bat boy is hanging out with the guys. He’s sparked particularly strong relationships with former Thunder players Ford and Billy Fleming.

Despite how seriously Tommy takes his job, he also is quite the character. He’s a jokester, and his affable spirit is contagious amongst the players. His infectious personality keeps his relationships with players strong even as they leave Trenton.

Bobby Mitchell, manager of the Yankees Triple-A affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and Tommy’s old manager, promoted Tommy by inviting him to Pennsylvania for a reunion on Aug. 5. He ended up working the game and also reconnected with old friends like pitcher Justus Sheffield, who tweeted a photo of him and Tommy the next day.

The lil homie came and surprised everybody yesterday and was our bat boy! #TommyBoy @TrentonThunder @swbrailriders pic.twitter.com/YYcacp7dfl — Justus Sheffield (@Topsheff42) August 6, 2018

Wherever he goes in the Minor League Baseball community, Tommy always seems to have a friend.

“The affect that he has on our team has been truly amazing,” Hurley said. “When he walks through the clubhouse, everybody goes, ‘Hey Tommy!’ It’s contagious and it’s genuine how they act towards him. It’s hard to have a bad day when Tommy is around.”

Tommy has also forged a very strong bond with perhaps the most famous minor league baseball player in the country: Tim Tebow.

Tebow met Tommy earlier this summer when his team, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, visited Trenton for a three-game series. He asked Tommy if he would switch sides and be the bat boy for the Rumble Ponies one game. After some trepidation due to his loyalty to the Thunder, Tommy relented and donned a Rumble Pony jersey and served as bat boy alongside Tebow.

Tommy doesn’t hesitate when asked who his favorite baseball player is. It’s Tebow, and it’s an easy decision. Even though Tebow broke a bone in his hand and will be out for the season, and may decide to hang up the cleats, Tommy still loves him.

“Tommy is awesome, he’s so cool,” Tebow said at a press conference before the Eastern League All-Star Game last month. “Good thing today I didn’t have to talk him into being on our side. When we were on the away side, I had to talk him into being our bat boy.”

Tommy just wants to be a normal guy, and the Thunder has provided him with that opportunity.

He’s an integral part of the community. When he walks through the concourses of Arm & Hammer Park or by the front gates after the game, there will always be an endless line of people giving him high-fives or hugs.

“As a father with a child with special needs, you’re very concerned with how the community treats him, and it hasn’t always been smooth along the way,” Tom said. “Some people don’t understand special needs folks, so they tend to shy away, and some people will still be mean. Here, it’s never been an issue. Everyone, the fans, the players, the staff, they’ve all embraced him, and it gives me a sense of comfort.”

Daniel LoGiudice: @danny_logiudice; dlogiudice@gannettnj.com.