Documentry Review: The Battered Bastards of Baseball

It's impossible not to love this quirky story about an actor who starts an independent baseball team in a city abandoned by Major League baseball.

The documentary follows Bing Russel, a baseball player turned actor turned baseball team owner, who starts an independent baseball team in Portland, Oregon. The team is scrappy, but it has charm and charisma, and over the years as it grows the Major Leagues become jealous, and that's where it really gets interesting.

It's a really touching film, using mostly old footage of games and interviews to tell it's story. The editing and graphics are very well done. It has cool imagery and animation which it uses for transitions and as a way of giving information. The editing does a good job of working with limits of the footage, and avoids jump cuts quite cleverly by switching from wide angles to close ups.

It's funny in parts, sad in some parts, and inspiring in others. It's a really positive movie overall, I left it feeling good. It's great for a little pick-me-up, it's like Rocky in that it leaves you feeling good and like you can do anything. It talks about the American dream and what it means to fulfill it, and it puts a smile on your face. It's also comical at times, especially when they talk about the antics of the players.

With a movie like this, you can often times find it repetitive, but The Battered Bastards of Baseball doesn't do that. It keeps giving you new things to think about, sometimes moving so quick that you've barely finished processing what they were just talking about.

Overall: 3.5 out of 4 stars. It's fun, enjoyable and inspiring. If you have Netflix, you can stream it.

Reference scale:
The Sandlot < The Battered Bastards of Baseball < The Rookie

What's your favorite baseball movie? Let me know in the comments!