Play ball! I took an afternoon off last month, and spent the afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum watching the Oakland Athletics take on the Minnesota Twins.

The fun of going to the ballpark starts on the BART train, feeling a kinship with the other A’s fans on board. And, at the ballpark, there’s the ritual purchase of hotdogs, fries and soda. For this game, I indulged myself with pricey tickets; I got to sit three rows behind the visitors’ on-deck circle.

Being at the game is quite different that watching it on TV. The whole field was before me! I could watch each and every player—and the bat boys become much more noticeable.

The first one I noticed trotted out the lay the goods in the on-deck circle –  metal bars, weight donuts, sandpaper – so that each batter could warm up and prep his bat. And then, once the game started, I noticed them scampering everywhere. One hustled out to move each discarded bat from the base paths; one zipped down the first base line to retrieve each base runner’s shin guards or whatnot, another kept the home plate umpire supplied with fresh base balls.

As always, within the game, I found lessons for business.

Those few bat boys kept the game running smoothly. Sure, the A’s could have won without them. As easily? Maybe not. The bat boys were doing the small jobs, the behind-the-scenes jobs, the thankless but necessary jobs – which allowed the major leaguers to concentrate on their jobs.

As a business person – a soloprenuer – I have to be my own bat boy. I have to do the filing, order the office supplies, mail the mail and otherwise keep the office running smoothly. And I have to do that in addition to my job as CEO, CFO, and Head of Sales & Marketing. Which job is the most important? Well, all of them. Slacking off on any one task – even the “bat boy” small tasks – reduces the effectiveness of the whole of my business.

I enjoyed that game. Not only was it a treat to see the A’s romp over the Twins (16-1!), I left inspired by the hustle of those bat boys, whose smooth efficiency enhanced the flow of the game. I left committed to be a better bat boy here in the busy big leagues of business.