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When Portland, Oregon, lost its longtime minor-league affiliate, Bing Russell-who briefly played ball professionally before enjoying a successful Hollywood acting career-bought the territory and formed a single-A team to operate outside the confines of major-league baseball. When they took the field in 1973, the Mavericks-the only independent team in America-started with two strikes against them. What did Deputy Clem from Bonanza know about baseball? Or Portland, for that matter? The only thing uniting his players, recruited at open tryouts, was that no other team wanted them. Skeptics agreed that it could never work. But Bing understood a ballplayer’s dreams, and he understood an audience. His quirky, unkempt castoffs won games, and they won fans, shattering minor-league attendance records. Their spirit was contagious, and during their short reign, the Mavericks-a restaurant owner turned manager, left-handed catcher, and blackballed pitcher among them-brought independence back to baseball and embodied what it was all about: the love of the game. Co-directors Chapman and Maclain Way stop by for a lively conversation about their grandfather and his love for the misfits and dreamers.
“The Battered Bastards of Baseball is not just about baseball. It transcends the game and is a charming anti-establishment yarn that should delight audiences who don’t even know an r.b.i. from a balk.” – Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter
“So rife with underdog victors and hairpin twists of fortune that, if it weren’t all true, no one would believe it.” – Scott Foundas, Variety
“Vibrant, rebellious, and fun as all hell.” – Michael Nordine, Village Voice