Young men in the Dominican Republic strive to become great baseball players, in hopes of getting signed to the major leagues and escaping poverty. What we don’t hear about are the obstacles they are faced with, such as accusations of fraud.
“Ballplayer: Poletero” is a documentary that explores this untold story by giving two firsthand accounts from Juan Carlos Batista (16), and the country’s top prospect Miguel Angel Sanó (15).
Directors Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin and Jon Paley are huge fans of baseball, who noticed Latinos coming to the forefront of the sport–especially those from the Dominican Republic.
“[These] kids [began] playing street ball on a dusty Dominican street with balls made of socks and bats made of sticks,” Martin said. “You get no sense of the process that leads them to become these superstars.”
In 1962, the San Francisco Giants were the first U.S. team to have four Dominican players: Felipe Alou, Matty Alou, Many Mota and Juan Marichal. That team would make it all the way to the World Series, but ultimately lose in seven games to the Yankees.
After seeing this success, other teams began recruiting Dominican players–a trend that has only increased over the years–and now rosters are filled with big names like Vladimir Guerrero, David “Big Papi” Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez and Robinson Canó.
According to the film, 20 percent of MLB players are Dominican.
Eager to join the Major Leagues, many of the young men drop out of school, launching themselves into intense training, waiting for the International Major League signing day, which falls on July 2.
Batista left home when he was only 13 to train with the well-known trainer Astín Jacobo. The son of the MLB’s first scout in the Dominican Republic, Jacobo became a father figure to Batista.
The MLB has mandated that players be 16 years old to sign with a big league team. This causes some of the players to lie about their age and even their identity.
If their age is in doubt, players face investigation and a possible one-year suspension if found guilty of identity fraud. Sanó experienced this firsthand.
“The biggest surprise [while filming] was learning about the investigation process,” Martin said.
While Sanó was known as the country’s top prospect and had been expected to break all previous records for the largest signing bonus, his accreditation was disputed, which caused him to be devalued.
Sanó was originally expected to earn somewhere near $6 million when he went pro.
Rene Gayo, the director of Latin American scouting for the Pittsburg Pirates is seen in the film telling Sanó’s family that if he signed with the Pirates for a significantly smaller figure, the investigation would be over.
Sanó ended up signing with the Minnesota Twins for $3.15 million because they were the only other team that wanted him.
“I think the greatest aspiration is that we can get as many people [as possible] to see the film and raise public awareness,” Emmy-nominated producer Isaac Solotaroff said. “I think it will impact the way people watch and understand the game.”