The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)

The Battered Bastards of Baseball is one of baseball's last great, unheralded true stories. In 1973, Hollywood veteran Bing Russell (best known for playing Deputy Clem on "Bonanza") created... See full summary »

Directors:

Chapman Way, Maclain Way

Stars:

Todd Field, Kurt Russell, Rob Nelson

Cast

Credited cast:
Todd Field	...	Himself
Kurt Russell	...	Himself
Rob Nelson	...	Himself
Jim Swanson	...	Himself
Frank Peters	...	Himself
Robert Richardson	...	Himself
Carren Woods
Jon Yoshiwara
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Bouton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Johnny Carson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joe Garagiola	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joe Garza	...	Himself
Bing Russell	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

The Battered Bastards of Baseball is one of baseball's last great, unheralded true stories. In 1973, Hollywood veteran Bing Russell (best known for playing Deputy Clem on "Bonanza") created the only independent baseball team in America at the time, the legendary Portland Mavericks. Bing operated without a Major League affiliation while playing in a city that was considered a wasteland for professional baseball. Tryouts for the Mavericks, which were open to the public, were filled with hopefuls who arrived in droves from every state in America, many of whom had been rejected by organized baseball. Skeptics agreed it would never work. But Bing's Mavericks generated unprecedented success: they shattered attendance records, signed Kurt Russell - Bing's son - as a player and team Vice President, produced the most successful batboy in baseball (filmmaker Todd Field), re-launched the controversial career of Jim Bouton, hired the first female general manager in Baseball, and inspired one of ...

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Taglines:

The one team that had a pair

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Genres:

Documentary | Sport

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 July 2014 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Những Đứa Con Hoang Bị Vùi Dập Của Bóng Chày

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Swannie", the left-handed catcher for the Mavericks, claims he is the only left-handed catcher to sign a professional baseball contract. That is not true. There were 16 left-handed catchers in the history professional baseball. The last one was Dale Long, who played in the major leagues from 1951 to 1963. He was primarily a first baseman, but did serve as catcher in two games for the Chicago Cubs in the 1958 season.

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Quotes

Todd Field: Reggie lived at the Mallory Hotel, which is literally one block from Civic Stadium. And before every single game, a car came down the back ramp, and as that car came down the ramp to go underneath, our announcer would yell "Here comes Reggie!" And people went nuts. And people, rightly so, would ask Bing "Why the fuck do you get a car for Reggie? He lives a block away!" And he said, "Because Reggie needs that."

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Connections

Version of Battered Bastards of Baseball

User Reviews

Geeky Randy

Documentary about Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creating the only independent baseball team in America at the time, operating without a Major League affiliation. From public tryouts to the in-your-face attitude, the 1973–1977 Portland Mavericks are a thrill to watch. Featuring interviews with Kurt Russell, Todd Field, Frank "The Flake" Peters, Joe Garza, Jim Bouton and Joe Garagiola. What's even more exciting than hearing about these underdogs win is hearing about Bing Russell going face-to-face with the powerful establishment of Major League Baseball and basically telling them that the only rules he'll play by are the rules of baseball. Nowadays, however, it feels a bit ironic that a guy like Bing Russell, the man who did it all for the love of the game which included practically giving the middle finger to the bureaucracy of sporting establishments, would be a New York Yankees fan.

***½ (out of four)