Road Trip - FungoMan Ad Campaign Continues on MLB Network April 11, 2010
Holy Land Showtimes
* Sun, April 11 - 8:00 pm EST
* Mon, April 12 - 1:00 pm EST
* Sat, April 17 - 1:00 pm EST
When Boston bagel maker Larry Baras wanted to create a professional baseball league in Israel, his idea was met with incredulity, dismissal and even hostility. He attempted it anyway.
Among the ballplayers swept up in his unlikely quest: a 41-year-old father of three with a Peter Pan complex; a 27-year-old Brooklyn artist/d.j. still finding himself after the disappointment of not being drafted out of college; a 34-year-old father-to-be whose own father, now deceased, fought for Israel’s independence in 1948; and a 22-year-old African-American who was told by a preacher at a young age he would one day “play in front of God’s people.” Also along for the ride are former Jewish major leaguers Art Shamsky, Ken Holtzman, and Ron Blomberg – as team managers in the Israel Baseball League.
Holy Land Hardball is an engaging account of their dream to bring America’s pastime to the Middle East.
Cobb Field Showtimes
* Tue, April 20 - 2:00 pm EST
* Sat, April 24 - 1:00 pm EST
* Sat, May 22 - TBD
Winner of three Mid-America Emmy Awards, Cobb Field: A Day at the Ball Park examines twenty-four hours in the life of Cobb Field, home of Cincinnati Reds Rookie-league affiliate the Billings (Montana) Mustangs.
We see the preparation of the field by those who take pride in the appearance of the diamond, the front office staff who labor behind the scenes to make sure fans enjoy the night’s game, loyal fans who have occupied the same seats for years, players who dream of making the major leagues, and the coaches who want to to help those dreams come true.
We meet the umpires who want to move up through the baseball hierarchy, and the play-by-play announcer, following his own baseball dream. We see the game itself, played against the backdrop of the fans who claim this team as their own. After the game, we witness what occurs after the fans have gone home; those who prepare the park for the next day, and those who revel in the night’s success.
Cobb Field has been in use since 1948, and was replaced by a brand new ballpark after the 2007 season. It has been described as a place where baseball is still baseball, where the focus of the game is still the game itself. Through the gates of the park have passed generations of families who feel a strong bond with “their boys”- the players who hope to start their baseball legacy as a member of the Mustangs.
Spaceman Showtimes
* Mon, April 26 - 2:00 pm EST
* Sat, May 1 - 1:00 pm EST
* Sat, May 22 - TBD
Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey is a documentary about former Boston Red Sox great, Bill “The Spaceman” Lee. The ultimate gonzo player, Lee was a brilliant left handed pitcher who defied every manager or front office executive who tried to control him. The fans loved him, and so did sportswriters, who delighted in asking the usual baseball questions – only to get philosophical responses involving the relationship between existentialism and the curveball, or the effects of karma on a pitcher’s rotator cuff.
Exiled from professional baseball in 1983, Lee began to roam the world in search of opportunities to play the sport he loves. Harkening back to the days of barnstormers like Satchel Paige, Lee’s adventures have taken him across the United States, to China, Russia, South America, and every province in Canada. Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey follows Lee to Cuba, a bastion of amateur baseball and a place where the game is free of overpaid players, steroid scandals and outrageous ticket prices.
Approaching 60, Lee is still a fierce competitor on the field. He relishes the competition and the opportunity to play with people from a culture as in love with the purity of the game as he is. Along for the ride, Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey captures the essence of Lee’s vagabond lifestyle. During the journey, we see photos and footage from Lee’s eccentric past and hear from former teammates, family members, sportswriters, fans, and Lee himself about the long, strange trip that has spawned a legend.
