Day 6: Road to the Big Leagues (Rumbo a Las Grandes Ligas)

Dominican boys who love baseball are super cute. And there are lots of them. Outside of the US, the Dominican Republic has more players that make it to the major leagues than any other country. Did you know Sammy Sosa is Dominican? It's a little known fact, but it's true. This documentary takes a look at the training academies there that prepare kids for try-outs for minor league teams. Three boys are featured in the film: an adorable kid named Vladimir, who's probably 10 or 11, and whose cockiness is endearing because he has the most awesome smile in the world and he's not jerky at all, and at one point he proudly shows off the illustrations of Bible scenes that he has cut out of a book & taped up on his bedroom wall. There's a shepherd and some other day-in-the-life in Nazareth type scenes. He's got about a dozen siblings, each cuter than the last.

But this isn't a documentary about cute kids (yes, it is), it's about baseball. And to that end, it's interesting to see the strong community that's built up around the sport. The trainers are totally professional and seem to be in it for the love of the game. Professional ball players (major league players) come home in the off season and play baseball every day with the kids. And most of the boys are trying to make it to help support their families. Juan Cabrera's mom beams as she tells how her son paid off all her debts, and he's only 18. Earlier, he'd talked about how he was raised by a single mom who often didn't eat so that he & his brothers could. And then there's one mildly unsavory character who actually did make it to Boston to play in the minors, but got kicked out when it was discovered he'd given a fake birthdate. Oops.

This movie was a-ok, especially because I was in the mood for something positive. It wasn't overly moving or gripping by any means, but I liked it enough to put this movie in my queue, which tells the story of what happens when the boys actually make it to the States.

Rating: a-ok