"BATBOY," A Short Form Special Produced By Major League Baseball Productions, To Debut Monday, April 5 (7:00 P.M., ET/PT) On Disney XD

Kids and tweens get a rare look into "the big leagues" through the eyes of a Major League batboy, in "Batboy," a short-form reality special premiering on baseball's Opening Day, Monday, April 5 (7:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD, followed by multiple presentations throughout the week. It is produced by Major League Baseball Productions.

Coinciding with the start of baseball season, the special follows Daniel Chelgren, a teenage batboy with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and gives young viewers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be part of an MLB team, including shagging fly balls during batting practice, handling pre-game equipment prep and reviewing game strategy in the dugout with the professionals.

Surrounding the premiere of "Batboy," Disney XD will present an evening of sports-themed programming including the feature film "The Sandlot: Heading Home" (5:00 p.m., ET/PT), starring Luke Perry as a baseball superstar who travels back in time to save the team's beloved sandlot field, and a new episode of the comedy series "Zeke and Luther" (7:30-8:00 p.m., ET/PT), in which Luther promises Zeke that he will let Ozzie win a boxing match. Hutch Dano, Adam Hicks star; Nate Hartley guest stars.

Disney XD launched on television and online in February 2009 with a mix of live-action and animated programming for kids age 6-14, hyper-targeting boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports themes, adventure and humor. Its content, which includes animated and live-action series and movies as well as music, gaming, and sports-themes, is available on the linear channel, online, as well as on iTunes, Xbox 360, mobile phones, SVOD and more. Its mission is to help boys and girls feel empowered and confident in themselves.  

Disney XD quickly made its mark and, year to year, its ratings increased by 41% among Kids 6-14, by 59% among Tweens 9-14, by 33% among Boys 6-11 and by 62% among Boys 9-14 in Total Day measurements. On TV Disney XD now reaches over 76 million U.S. homes and hundreds of millions more through newly rebranded Disney XD channels in Europe, Latin America and Japan. Online, DisneyXD.com delivered nearly 2.3 million monthly unique users in January 2010, outpacing its previous high of 2.0 million in July 2009.