Ballplayer: Pelotero (2011)

Two top baseball prospects in the Dominican Republic face fierce competition and corruption as they chase their big league dreams.

Directors:

Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin

Stars:

Jean Carlos Batista, Miguel Angel Sano, John Leguizamo

Cast

Credited cast:
Jean Carlos Batista	...	Himself
John Leguizamo	...	Narrator (voice)
Miguel Angel Sano	...	Himself

Storyline

Two top baseball prospects in the Dominican Republic face fierce competition and corruption as they chase their big league dreams.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | dominican republic | baseball movie | baseball player | sports agent | 

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Taglines:

The Dominican Republic's Most Valuable Export

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Sport

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Dominican Republic

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

13 July 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ballplayer: Pelotero

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,628, 15 July 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$44,689, 9 September 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Makuhari Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Trevor Martin described Pelotero as a spiritual predecessor to Sugar (2008) as Pelotero is about how a player is recruited to Major League Baseball from the Dominican Republic and Sugar's plot relates to how a player adapts to Major League Baseball once he has arrived.

User Reviews

People as commodities

"They are the product to be sold", one of the coaches says during the documentary. I don't remember which coach said it about his player, from whom he planned to profit, but it was said nonetheless, and that basically sums up the tenor of this documentary.

There really are no heroes or villains in this, except perhaps the Orioles "talent scout" who appears to trigger an investigations into one player's age order to artificially lower the player's value and buffalo the player and his coach into signing on the cheap. It's all just shrugged off as if to say "that's baseball."

For the extreme pragmatist, baseball is entertainment and players and their amazing skills provide that entertainment. Players in this system are examined and graded like diamonds and little concern seems to be expended toward their lives beyond the commodity value they can bring to the entertainment business.

It's an extremely raw, open and telling dynamic that's on display in this documentary, and it's hard not to see your own work situations in light of what's displayed here.