The Battered Bastards of Baseball

2014

1h 13m

Documentary

List

100%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

95%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1973, baseball lover and actor Bing Russell, father of Kurt Russell, starts an independent, single-A team composed of players that no one else wanted.

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dave d

If you have every spent any time in baseball you'll love this movie and how accurate it is about the baseball establishment. It's a documentary on an independent baseball team who got to play against minor league teams for five seasons. It sounds made up, but it's not. Let the film wash over you and if you're under 50 you likely have no idea this ever happened. Final Score: 10/10 (It's my cup of tea)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Kevin F

Loved this movie. It is a story that I did not know off. If you love baseball and baseball history you will love this movie.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/25/21

Full Review

Audience Member

I think anyone who likes baseball will love this movie. It shows how some times baseball needs something like this team to change things, even though it may have taken a few years to see some of it. Sending it to my dad to watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

mike h

wow, this was an unexpected explosion of baseball lore. I am a fan and did not know this story. The American past time and dream in a nutshell. Awesome.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/21

Full Review

Audience Member

If you’re a baseball fan, this one’s a MUST. Bing Russell described the elusive sweet crack of the bat in the opening scene, and watching this movie felt like THAT. What a fantastic ode to a man, a team, a time, and those that play for the love game. Long live the Portland Mavericks.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/02/21

Full Review

Audience Member

Laughed and cried! Loved it!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

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Chapman Way

Director

Maclain Way

Director

Todd Field

Actor

Kurt Russell

Actor

Frank Peters

Actor

Chapman Way

Writer

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

[Its] reminiscences... resound with the hearty wonder of a modern-day folktale.

Apr 13, 2020

Full Review

Michael Sragow

Orange County Register

This film is a labor of love in which the sweat never shows.

Rated: A-

Jul 14, 2014

Full Review

Glenn Whipp

Los Angeles Times

The movie can be enjoyed by anyone, not just sports fans. Underdog stories simply don't get better than this.

Jul 10, 2014

Full Review

Brett Michael Dykes

Uproxx

The film charts the Maverick's origins, from underdogs to anti-establishment heroes.

Dec 29, 2021

Full Review

Graeme Tuckett

Stuff.co.nz

A genuine feel-good story and terrific way to spend an hour or so. If you're a sports movie fan at all, you'll love it.

Jun 7, 2021

Full Review

Loren King

Newport This Week (RI)

This gem of a film captures an era when independent baseball managed to crush the big money corporate system and in that moment, capture the purity of the game.

Apr 2, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1973, baseball lover and actor Bing Russell, father of Kurt Russell, starts an independent, single-A team composed of players that no one else wanted.

Director: Chapman Way, Maclain Way
Producer: Nancy Schafer, Lisa Nishimura
Screenwriter: Chapman Way, Maclain Way
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 5, 2016
Runtime: 1h 13m

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