THE BATTERED BASTARDS OF BASEBALL
Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET
This new Netflix documentary – another move forward into HBO-type programming territory, with its first nonfiction effort – is a family affair all the way but a good one. The subject of The Battered Bastards of Baseball is a 1970s Class A baseball club called the Portland Mavericks – at the time they played, the only independent minor-league outfit not affiliated with a major league team. Instead of a farm team for the bigs, the Mavericks were an unruly bunch of mostly overage dreamers, castoffs and rebels (the movie’s title comes from a team description by its most famous player, former major league pitcher Jim Bouton, whose tell-all book Ball Four told enough to make the Mavericks the only team that would take him, at least for a while). The story of this team is worth telling because of how they played on the field, how competitors played against them, and what the team meant to the city, its players, and especially its owner, former actor Bing Russell. Bing’s much more famous Hollywood movie-star son, Kurt, is one of the people telling his dad’s story on camera – and the brothers telling the story behind the camera, as directors, are Maclain and Chapman Way, Bing Russell’s grandsons. Telling you why this documentary is so satisfying would ruin too many of the surprises – but do check out this very affectionate and entertaining tale of the best-named club in baseball – true Mavericks, who, according to one proud player, “led the league in stubble.” Available any time.