Wednesday, April 29, 2020
The Battered Bastards of Baseball
I really
like the word “zany”. Without any exceptions, anything that I
have encountered in my life, which could be described as zany, is
just fine. That applies to people as well. Zany people are hilarious,
without being completely unnerving. I hope you know and love some
zany people.
The
Battered Bastards of Baseball is
one of the zaniest documentaries I have ever watched. The majority of
the characters in the movie are slightly unbalanced. The entire story
is bizarre. The main characters are certainly out of the ordinary.
Bingo
Russell developed a love of baseball living under the shadow of
Yankee Stadium, a fairly large shadow, as he was born in Brattleboro,
Vermont. His father operated a float plane business in St.
Petersburg, Florida. That is where the New York Yankees have trained,
in the spring, for many years. Bingo hung around the training camp so
often that he was designated as their unofficial mascot.
He
was befriended by Joe Dimaggio, Lefty Gomez, and the other Bronx
Bombers. After Lou Gehrig hit his last home run, before retiring with
ALS disease, he gave Bingo his bat.
But
Bingo moved on from there, graduated in business from Dartmouth, and
headed for Hollywood. He never became a star, but was involved in
literally hundreds of movies and television shows. As an example, he
was Deputy Sherriff Clem Foster on the Bonanza set for 13
years.
He
maintained his interest in baseball, and decided to start up a team
in Portland, Oregon, called the Mavericks. It was an independent
team, playing in the Northwest League, at the “A” level. As an
independent organization, the Mavericks were free to run their
franchise as they saw fit, without interference from a Major League
franchise. All other teams in the United States at that time, at all
levels, were tied to a parent.
As
an aside, the same applies to hockey in North America. The Belleville
Senators are directly controlled by Ottawa. The parent club can move
players up or down as they see fit, sometimes making it difficult for
fans to bond with players. The Maverickes were encouraged to get
along with their fans, often sitting with them during the game!
The
documentary was made in 2014 by two of Bingo's grandsons. His son
Kurt, who played for the mavericks and also worked as vice-president,
is featured throughout the documentary. And yes, that is the same
Kurt Russell who has starred in several Hollywood movies, married to
Goldie Hawn. Their son, Wyatt, played goal at various levels,
including the Ontario Provincial Junior “A”.
Bingo
gathered about forty baseball misfits, molded them into a team, quite
a successful team, for five years. He was even chosen as the “Minor
League Manager of the Year” in 1974.
The
title of the documentary comes from Jim Bouton's irreverant book on
baseball, Ball Four. A quote from the book: “Us battered
bastards of baseball are the biggest customers of the U. S. Post
Office, forwarding address department.” Bouton played one season
for the team. You will also find Matt Patkin in the movie, generally
recognized as the greatest baseball comedian.
The
documentary is available from Netflix, a stock you should have
purchased before the coronavirus set in. Or maybe not. Who knows
where the stock market is going, nowadays?
The
entire documentary is almost incredible. But not quite. Zany will do.
Some bad language involved.
Stay
safe. Observe reasonable distances. At least two sticks.
James
Hurst
March
30, 2020
# posted by James Hurst @ 2:03 PM 
