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      Pelotero

      Released Jul 13, 2012 1 hr. 17 min. Documentary List
      86% 28 Reviews Tomatometer 88% 250+ Ratings Audience Score Two Dominican baseball players face challenges as they try to make it to the Major Leagues. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Nov 01 Buy Now

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      Critics Consensus

      Gripping and surprisingly nuanced, Ballplayer: Pelotero is a frank exploration of the nature of corruption in baseball recruitment.

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      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Nice peek into culture of Dominican Republic & MLB and how the two interact. And a peek into the youth and the stress they feel trying to make the family money. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting documentary about 2 Dominican teenagers trying to get signed by a major league baseball team. Current Twin Miguel Sano is one of the 2 players. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting and insightful documentary. A must for any baseball fan Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member If all this is as it seems, and it probably is, Major League Baseball is kind of just another one of those massive, disgusting, exploitative organizations. The documentary follows two "16" year old baseball players as they move through camps in the Dominican Republic...a hot-spot for major league talent. When it comes time to sign these kids - at the ripe old age of 16 - it seems the league does all it can to keep the respectable bonuses from reaching the talent. I'm sure lying about age is a problem, but it seems like a ridiculous problem to begin with. In the US, kids can sign out of high school, around the age of 18. I would venture to say they have to be 18. And they can get millions. Starling got like seven million right out of high school. But rules are different outside of the borders where the ideal draft age is 16. How dare an 18 year old claim to be 16. MLB is losing two goddamn years on that exploitation! So MLB puts the kids through various tests to determine how old they really are. On the one kid, there is no real evidence that he is not 16. But his bonus falls from several million to less than half a mil. Furthermore, one agent begins to tell his family that only Pittsburgh is willing to sign him so he better take that lowball offer. Then an MLB investigator confirms that he should sign with the Pirates, as if that's what investigators do...tell kids where to sign. All of this is down to drive down signing bonuses. Admittedly, it's ridiculous to pay a 16 or 18-year-old kid that much to play ball when he's never even faced a collegiate pitcher. But that's the sport. Money will be made on these guys when they are older. So why are Americans worth so much more than the Dominicans? Just another case of exploiting the poor. Go pick up the poor talent and make up reasons why it's all a gamble and his bonus should be lower. Kind of a joke. I wish I didn't like baseball as much and I would take a few seasons off. Wait...this is all sports. Colleges make millions on the sweat of kids, etc etc. Oh well. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member Pelotero es interesante. Me gusta Miguel Angel porque es muy pero muy bueno. No me gusta Jean Carlos proque es antipatico. La pelicula es fenomenal. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Pelotero es sobre el beisbol en la RD. Pelotero es intersante y buena. La pelicula me da igual. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (28) Critics Reviews
      Tambay Obenson indieWire While riveting to watch... it's actually quite sad and even enraging to watch what plays out like a form of modern day slavery. May 30, 2018 Full Review Ben Sachs Chicago Reader [The] Directors...try to soften...ugly truths with sentimental stories of teenagers getting signed and pulling their families out of poverty, but the portrait of widespread exploitation overwhelms the intended effect...[ END HERE ]of these subplots Aug 9, 2012 Full Review Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times It's an eye-opening look at a flawed, potentially exploitative system and how it is being gamed from all sides of the table -- the story of the collision of youthful dreams and a cutthroat adult cartel. Jul 16, 2012 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Ballplayer: Pelotero is neither surprising, intriguing, nor enthralling. Jul 25, 2019 Full Review Kelly Jane Torrance Washington Examiner Ballplayer doesn't just showcase the unlikely dreams of two Dominican game players. It shows how entire families -- across the small, poor country -- have bet their happiness on how well their children swing a piece of wood or throw a ball. Rated: 3/4 Dec 29, 2018 Full Review Sarah Block TV Guide [Ballplayer: Pelotero shows] the contrast between the pure joy of baseball and the hardcore, and often problematic, business that it has become in the Dominican Republic. Rated: 3.5/4 May 12, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Two Dominican baseball players face challenges as they try to make it to the Major Leagues.
      Director
      Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin, Jonathan Paley
      Executive Producer
      Andrew J. Muscato, Bobby Valentine, Robert Castrignano, Douglas Lorentz, Robert Musumeci
      Distributor
      Strand Releasing
      Production Co
      Makuhari Media
      Genre
      Documentary
      Original Language
      Spanish
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jul 13, 2012, Limited
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Sep 5, 2013
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $44.7K
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