Improbable, Part I (2020)

Samurai Japan: The Story Behind the WBC Clean Sweep

Samurai Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic for the first time in 14 years, and went all the way to the final undefeated. In addition to the never-before-seen footage of the team, the film also includes interviews with Manager Hideki Kuriyama, players, coaches, and team staff. What is the truth behind the glory and the suffering of the people involved?

39 Seconds

The story of John Donaldson, a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues and "the greatest baseball player you've never heard of."

Almost Perfect: The 99th Pitch

On April 20, 1990, Seattle Mariners' starting pitcher, Brian Holman, faces off against the Oakland Athletics in an infamous performance that stands as one of the most rare events in Major League Baseball history.

The Motor City Slice

In this animated short, Tigers ace Jack Morris recalls the adventures of getting his team pizza after winning the 1984 World Series.

Truth Be Told: Rick Ankiel

"Truth Be Told: Rick Ankiel" gives insight into Ankiel's personal journey of redemption - overcoming a troubled youth, high expectations, and psychological struggles to achieve success on the field.

Seaver

A unique insight into Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver - a reclusive icon and his relationship with New York City.

Home Base: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Nestled between the Adirondacks and the Catskills in central New York State, the pastoral village of Cooperstown has a mighty mission: to preserve and protect the story of America’s Game at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Baseball has been America’s national pastime for nearly 150 years. Founded in 1939, today’s museum preserves history, honors excellence and connects generations through the story of baseball and America, featuring more than 35,000 artifacts, two million documents, 500,000 historic photographs, and 10,000 hours of original TV and radio recordings. The adjoining Hall of Fame contains the plaques of more than 275 of baseball’s immortals, including the first five men elected in 1936 – Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson.

Facing Nolan

In the world of Major League Baseball no one has created a mythology like Nolan Ryan. Told from the point of view of the hitters who faced him and the teammates who revered him, Facing Nolan is the definitive documentary of a Texas legend.

When New York Was One: The Yankees, the Mets & The 2000 Subway Series

A nostalgic look back on 2000 Subway Series through the lens of New York’s citizens – one year before the 9/11 tragedy – and highlights a community forever-changed in the 20 years since, all the way to its unique present-day climate.

No No: A Dockumentary

Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on LSD, then worked for decades counseling drug abusers. Dock's soulful style defined 1970s baseball as he kept hitters honest and embarrassed the establishment. An ensemble cast of teammates, friends, and family investigate his life on the field, in the media, and out of the spotlight.

Strangers on the Field

In April 2013, unfamiliar faces appear at the Jamsil Baseball Stadium during the opening matches between Doosan and SK. The nervous middle-aged men throwing and batting the first ball are, in fact, Korean-Japanese former team members that played on that same spot in the 1982 finals of the Bong-hwang-dae-ki games.

The Battered Bastards of Baseball

Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.

Stacked

The year was 1999, and a couple of schools four hours apart were embarking on a season-long journey to become the best high school baseball team in Michigan. The Sturgis Trojans and the Pinconning Spartans were schools that were built from the ground up by communities that were unapologetically determined to do one thing - WIN. Both schools were championship caliber baseball teams that didn't know a thing about each other when they took the field at Battle Creek's Bailey Park to face-off in the 1999 MHSAA state championship. Finally, 22 years later, we have uncovered fascinating details about both teams, their run to the state finals, and the emotional thoughts and feelings behind one of the most memorable final innings in MHSAA history.

Samurai Beyond Their Dreams: Becoming the Best in the World

In December 2021, Hideki Kuriyama began devoting his days to one singular goal: hoisting the championship trophy at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. How did he mold his players into one of the best and strongest Samurai Japan teams in history? A close-up documentary that looks back on Samurai Japan's path to becoming world champions, along with valuable behind-the-scenes footage captured by the team's dedicated crew.

4192: The Crowning of the Hit King

On the evening of September 11, 1985, before a sellout crowd at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Pete Rose stood on the edge of history. With one swing he would collect more hits than anyone in the history of the game he loved. 4192: The Crowning of the Hit King is a love letter to baseball that highlights the playing career of one of the game s most honored and controversial stars. It is a story that began in 1963 when Rose ran to first base on a walk. It spanned more than two decades and brought numerous individual awards as well as three World Series titles. But there is more to this story than just awards. It is about baseball and what drove this man to chase what many thought was an unbreakable record and become The Hit King.

Ball Four Turns 40

Jim Bouton's 1970 book "Ball Four" was groundbreaking, shocking, and controversial. It sold in the millions. 40 years later, Bouton and former teammates spin hilarious stories from behind baseball's cloistered clubhouses, giving a rare glimpse inside Major League baseball in the 1960s. The book's cultural impact is examined by filmmaker and former pro baseball player Ron Shelton ("Bull Durham"), author Jean Hastings Ardell, and David Kipen, former director of literature for the NEA.

1995 Atlanta Braves: The Official World Series Film

The 1995 World Series featured the two best teams in baseball. The Cleveland Indians won 100 games in a shortened season, and they made it to the World Series for the first time in 41 years. The Atlanta Braves had been here before, twice in the previous four years. With the best pitching staff in baseball, they were called the team of the '90's. Still they needed a World Series Title to claim that crown. This official documentary of the 1995 World Series includes all the dramatic moments of the six-game battle between the Indians and the Braves including: Eddie Murray's game-winning single at frenzied Jacobs Field. Orel Hershiser's gutsy performances against the incredible Greg Maddux. Dave Justice talking the talk...and then walking the walk. Tom Glavine, the series MVP, pitching one-hit baseball under phenomenal pressure.

Donnie Baseball

Documentary about legendary first baseman, of the New York Yankees, Don Mattingly.

Under The Grapefruit Tree: The CC Sabathia Story

In his own words, Sabathia narrates his story. As the highs and lows of his last season are chronicled, Sabathia looks back on his legacy as one of the game’s pre-eminent pitchers, as well as the profound challenges that shaped him, including his longtime battle with addiction that came to a head in 2015 while playing for the Yankees.

Gift of the Game

Acclaimed Florida novelist Randy Wayne White travels to Cuba with former pitchers Bill "Spaceman" Lee (Boston Red Sox) and Jon Warden (Detroit Tigers), and a band of baseball enthusiasts to find and revive the children's baseball league founded by American writer Ernest Hemingway in the days before Fidel Castro came to power.

The League

The triumphs and challenges of Negro League baseball in the early 20th century. Through rare footage and interviews with iconic players like Satchel Paige and Buck O'Neil, as well as Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, the film highlights the league's pivotal role in Black communities and the impact of integration.

The Saint of Second Chances

Mike Veeck, son of MLB franchise owner Bill Veeck, blows up his father's career. Exiled from the game he loves, the younger Veeck spends the next few decades clawing his way up from rock bottom, determined to redeem himself.

It Ain't Over

The life and times of Yankee Yogi Berra, whose unique personality and unforgettable Yogi-isms sometimes got in the way of his being recognized as one of baseball’s very greatest catchers.

Nos Amours: The Saga of the Expos of Montreal

The film explores key moments in the history of the Expos as well as the relentless efforts to bring major league baseball to Montreal. Continuation of the work released in 2003.

One Crazy Night in Baseball

Crazy sums up the final night of the baseball season, when the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals overcame improbably long odds and huge September deficits to waltz into the post-season as wild cards. As part of the Walk-Off Stories series, this film takes a deep look at September 28, 2011 – the dramatic final day of the 2011 Major League Baseball season with playoff berths on the line.

Improbably Gibson

An entertaining and fresh retrospective of Gibson's historic walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

Ted Williams

Born in 1918 in San Diego, Williams was a latchkey child from a broken home, raised by a mother more dedicated to the Salvation Army than to her two sons, and by a father who spent more time away from home than in it. Williams found salvation by doing the one thing he loved most: hitting baseballs. In his rookie season with the Red Sox, where he would spend his entire career as a player, Williams batted .327, socked 31 homers and led the league with 145 RBI. Over the next 21 years, despite losing five seasons of his prime to active service as a U.S. Marine Corps pilot, Williams hit 521 home runs, twice captured the Triple Crown, and became the oldest man ever to win a batting title. He finished his career with a .344 lifetime batting average, was the last man to hit over .400 in a full season, batting .406 in 1941, and was a first-ballot inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Little Big Men

In 1982, Cody Webster and a small group of friends from Kirkland, Washington, sat anxiously in a dugout waiting to take the field for the championship game of the Little League World Series. Their focus was just about what you’d expect from any 12-year-old: hit the ball, throw strikes, cross your fingers and then maybe – maybe – you’ll win. Adults in the stands and watching from home saw a much broader field of play. The memories of American hostages and a crippling oil crisis were still fresh; the economic malaise of the late 1970s still lingered; and the new President was recovering from an assassination attempt even while confronting new threats from the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, back on that tiny baseball field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, no American team had won a true international Little League World Series Championship in more than a decade. When the Kirkland players rushed from their dugout that day, they stepped onto a much bigger field than the one they saw.