'Ballplayer: Pelotero' July 13, 2012

For 16-year-old Dominican baseball players, or Peloteros, the only real chance to escape crushing poverty comes every July 2, the day they become eligible to sign professional baseball contracts. 'Ballplayer: Pelotero' provides an intimate portrait of two prospects as they train during the run-up to the most important day of their lives and navigate the calculating, mercenary and often corrupt elements that surround Major League Baseball’s recruitment of the island’s top talent. Equal parts documentary narrative and investigation, the film is a fascinating study of the global sports industry and the curious case of how the Dominican Republic—the birthplaces of stars like the SF Giants’ Juan Marichal and Felipe Alou to recent superstars such as Vladimir Guerrero and David Ortiz—has become a special farm system for MLB.

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org/Exhibition/SF-Film-Society-Cinema/ballplayer-pelotero.aspx