Baseball is a huge business like other huge businesses. Most teams have to win to put fans in the seats making the owners and the entire apparatus flush with money. Bill Veeck felt like the game should be fun regardless of pennants, etc. Taking ownership of the Chicago White Sox he believed he could add that fun He was on to something and the fans responded. Of course he would want his son to be a part of it. Mike Veeck became head of promotions and together he, and Bill, were building a solid following that was not wholly dependent of wins vs. Loses. An unfortunate promotion well known to history went wrong and the Veecks were, more or less, cancelled before it became a movement. Bill, having already achieved legendary status in his profession was gracious in bowing out. Mike, however, was young and had much to do in spite of the major blow they both lived through. This is a story that deserves to be told. High profile people just don't get second chances in a world so quick to blame. Even though Mike lived through several years of bone-crushing lows, often supplemented by his own behavior, A second chance comes from an unexpected place with a bottom rung potential. For a guy like Mike this was his second chance that he wasn't about to mess up. That, along with meeting his soul mate, elevated Mike to once more be able to do what he was made for. But, that would in itself only make half of this story.
This story is how Mike learned to give other marginalized people, players, fans, and the game of baseball a new platform for redemption. Oh, and, importantly, joy. Life interlaces joy with sorrow, Mike and family would face their own duality of it. How this plays out makes this documentary/film rise up. The filmmaker has used the device of old films, current interviews, and recreated sequences quite effectively to respectfully take us on the journey. In the end making a film that is emotionally rich and positive. There's a message in here that we can all benefit from. Oh, don't forget to have fun along the way.
