I think the most telling statement in the 85-minute documentary came early on when a Milwaukee Brewers' executive noted that only six percent of all players playing minor league ball ever get a taste of Major League Baseball.
That sort of set the tone for the rest of the documentary, which focuses on the Indianapolis Indians, the AAA farm club of the Brewers. It follows the team during the 2001 season. Specifically, we follow a handful of players and see the struggles they and - in most cases - their wives go through.
As far as I know, most of the guys never made it. I know of Marco Scutaro who now plays with the Toronto Blue Jays. He's a second baseman/utility guy who hails from Venezuela. His wife is beautiful and both are well-spoken for two people raised in a different language than English. Actually, all the players profiled are well-spoken. One is a Stanford grad.
We also meet Micah Franklin, Kyle Peterson, Brad Tyler and other players. One of them, who I believe is playing in Seattle as of 2009, is Allen "Meat" Levrault, a big pitcher
Some of the stories are kind of sad, like Peterson, who has arm problems and didn't play after the season shown here on the documentary. Brad Tyler and his wife, I think, were the most impressive people. Peterson, Tyler, Franklin and others are about at the end of their dreams and it's a shame. You feel for the people in this film. Baseball is a "field of dreams," and for most, those dreams are never realized.
We also meet "Miss Jackie," the number one fan of the Indianapolis team for 40 years, a woman who bakes cookies for the all the players.
All in all, anyone who loves baseball should enjoy this film.
