Review of Ballplayer: Pelotero (2011) by Bryan T — 14 Jul 2012

Baseball is the best sport on earth. It's more than a sport actually. Appreciating America's pastime transcends traditional competitive sports. Baseball is culture and it's part of our foundation.

Pelotero showcases a slice of baseball that is not as pleasant or as folkloric as the game itself. It shines the light on the Dominican farm systems which has produced players for years, usually at very low cost and high reward to MLB.

This comes at a cost. MLB has become a beacon atop of the hill for many Dominican teens. They play baseball from a very young age dreaming on becoming the next big signing on July 2nd, while they are still 16. This can be a total life changer for most of them, since they are usually very poor and with few other prospects.

Pelotero describes in detail complex relationships between players, their coaches and their families. The frequent lies, fabrications and deception that come with it are all over the place. This is a meal ticket that none of these kids can forfeit. Changing a few dates or doing a few drugs is really worth the risk.

What's lacking in this documentary is depth. We learn about 2 kids and nothing else. There is also a lot of vilification of MLB that is probably partly true but also largely unexplained.

Good doc overall but lacking some depth that could have made it so much stronger.