比利·平克尼，24岁: A Game-Changing Legacy in Sports Communications

When the spotlight shined at Winter Commencement on 体育彩票外围平台州立 大学 graduates ready to use their degrees to knock their next moves out of the park, 比利·平克尼，24岁, a Sports Communications major, was already swinging for the fences. One of many accomplished Winter Commencement graduates, at 21, he’s already a published author of a book for young ball players with big dreams.

Pinckney – better known on social media as “Billy the Batboy” – has been featured in 《体育彩票正规app下载》 for his book 和 popular YouTube channel that features interviews 和 tips from the pros he has gotten to know, beginning as a batboy with the New Jersey Jackals, a minor league team that played for years in his hometown of Little Falls at Yogi Berra Stadium on Montclair’s campus before their move to Paterson in 2023.

在很多方面, Pinckney symbolizes the spirit of determination, resilience 和 success that defines Montclair graduates. The 大学 is a game-changer, graduating students at a higher rate than the national average 和 creating transformational opportunities that make a difference in the lives of others.

Pinckney used his access to players to compile lessons for young athletes within the pages of his book, Passion Prevails: Baseball’s Top Performers Advise Youth Players on Maximizing Their Experience.

“The goal was to help young players navigate their careers as they face adversity, how to deal with pressure, how to separate baseball 和 life, 和 really enjoy their playing career,平克尼说. “That was really the main thing to inspire these young players. I dealt with some pressure while playing when I was younger. A lot of parents out there put pressure on their kids. Luckily I didn’t have that but I did face pressure from some coaches that I had 和 realized the game wasn’t as fun as it used to be.”

扮成蝙蝠男孩比利, Pinckney has amassed more than 49,000名TikTok粉丝, 18,000 Instagram followers 和 nearly 5,000名YouTube粉丝. He has used these platforms 和 opportunities with professional baseball players 和 gained experience in the sports media world.

在11月, he traveled to Dubai to create content for an all-star showcase for Baseball United, the first professional baseball league in the Middle East 和 South Asia. During his 10 years with the Jackals, he moved from the dugout to the press box, conducted pregame reports, created content for the video board, promoted the Jackals through social media 和 assisted the manager in finding players. He received a championship ring for his contributions when the team won the league title in 2019.

He accomplished all this while also strategizing a college course load to graduate a semester early – aligning with baseball’s offseason – to be ready for his next chapter in baseball 和 any job offers ahead of spring training.

“I definitely made sacrifices, but when you know that something is going to benefit you later on in life, 和 you know it’s what you’re meant to do, it made my decisions easier 和 made the sacrifices easier to manage as well,平克尼说.

Classes in sports psychology with Exercise Science 和 Physical Education professors Rob Gilbert 和 John McCarthy encouraged Pinckney to curate his interviews into the book. “Billy is a self-starter,” Gilbert says. “I say that every once in a while I see a student, 我说, ‘哇, I wish I could buy stock in this person’s future,’ 和 Billy’s one of those students.”

“It’s a rewarding process, definitely an incredible process as well,平克尼说. “I went into this knowing that I have an opportunity to help inspire younger players 和 it was also an opportunity for me to learn a lot about how to improve myself. I really took this seriously 和 enjoyed every minute of it. 当然, it’s time-consuming 和 could be a tedious process when you’re trying to transcribe things 和 see what fits … but it was definitely rewarding.”

特约撰稿人报道 玛丽莲·乔伊斯·莱伦 和 马特奥Macolino, a Sports Communications major also graduating at Winter Commencement. Macolino originally reported on Pinckney for 的Montclarion. 照片 迈克•彼得斯.