They
were like an adult version of the Bad News Bears. The Portland Mavericks were the
last independent team to compete in Major League Baseball’s minor league system.
Instead of simply developing prospects for big league affiliates, the Mavericks
played to win. They also did their best to put on a show for the fans. Nearly
thirty-seven years after their final game the Mavericks will entertain
audiences once again when Chapman & Maclain Way’s documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball screens
at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.
Bing
Russell was a working actor still probably best known as Deputy Clem on Bonanza, but baseball was his first
love. About the time the Cartwrights were finally canceled, Portland’s AAA farm
club left the city for Spokane. To the bemusement of just about everyone,
Russell decided to launch an independent Single-A club and announced open
tryouts to fill out his roster. The sports establishment laughed, but a whole
lot of people showed up. However, Russell was able to recruit one veteran minor
leaguer: his son Kurt Russell, a.k.a. Snake Plissken. Oddly enough, the
makeshift Mavericks starting winning—and drawing. Of course, that rather embarrassed
the baseball establishment.
Years
later, Russell still chuckles at his father’s showmanship. In fact, Battered is one of the rare
documentaries with no dirty family linen to air. Clearly, he thinks old man
Bing was a cool cat and has the rest of us convinced in about thirty seconds. Without
question, the senior Russell set the tone for the Mavericks, who consistently
lived up to their names.
Yes,
Battered is a sports doc, but it is
also a show biz story, a family history, and a great big slice of Americana. Of
special interest to cineastes, Oscar nominated director Todd Field also extensively
reminisces throughout the film about his experiences as the Mavericks’ batboy. It
is about rooting for the underdogs and defying the old boys’ network. Most
importantly, Battered is just more
fun than an Elvis bobble-head.
