Directed by: Chapman Way & Maclain Way.
Professional
sports are an interesting business. For millions of fans, watching them is
about the love of the game, but for the teams, leagues and many of the players,
it is about the money. There is a lot of money to be made, and someone is going
to make it. The Leagues operate with impunity – they can pretty much do
whatever the hell they want, and no one can do anything about. The documentary
The Battered Bastards of Baseball is about one of the last times in America
where someone was able to operate outside their jurisdiction, and make money
doing it. So, of course, sooner or later it all had to come to an end.
According to everyone involved though, it was a hell of a good time while it
lasted.
In
1973, Bing Russell (father of Kurt) had just ended a very long run as Deputy
Clem on Bonanza. He had been a working actor for years – doing any role in any
TV show or movie that was required of him. But he had been working for years,
and was bored. His first passion – before acting – was baseball. He had even
had a short career as a minor league player. When the Portland Beavers – a
Triple-A farm club decides to leave time, Russell sees an opportunity for
himself. He decides to start a Single-A team – called the Mavericks – and move
into Portland. Unlike every other team in minor league baseball, his team
wasn’t affiliated with a major league club. There used to be a lot of
Independent clubs, but the majors slowly put them out of business. Russell
wanted to bring it back. The first step was to get some players – so he holds
open tryouts. He assembles a real life, ragtag group so popular in movies, but
in real life. Surprisingly, they’re pretty damn good. Through five seasons, the
Mavericks plays some great baseball, come close to winning a pennant – but
never do – and will do pretty much anything to entertain the crowd – who show
up in droves. They have the highest attendance in the league by a mile. In
Portland, Russell was a hero. In traditional baseball circles, he was hated.
The
documentary is a lightweight, feel-good documentary that reminded me of
something you would see as part of something like ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. I
don’t that as an insult – that series has had some excellent documentaries in
it – but it explains why after its Sundance premiere, Netflix acquired the
documentary and have made it available to all of their subscribers as of last
week. It plays well on a TV screen.
The movie isn’t great, but it’s a lot of fun – which I think probably describes the team it documents, so it’s appropriate. Every year it seems we see any number of too good to be true sports stories – and here is another one. If you like these, than The Battered Bastards of Baseball will satisfy.
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