Metacritic reviews

Behind the on-field shenanigans and eccentric personalities, there's a meatier story about the corporatization of sports and the disappearance of the barnstorming attitude Bing Russell took as a virtual religion.

It's full of laughs and, towards the end, I even got a bit choked up in places.

The Batterered Bastards of Baseball is an entertaining celebration of the independent spirit and the love of the game.

The joy on display here is contagious.

The Battered Bastards of Baseball is not just about baseball. It transcends the game and is a charming anti-establishment yarn.

The Battered Bastards of Baseball is an affectionate scrapbook of a documentary.

A fast-paced valentine to Russell and his quixotic vision so rife with underdog victors and hairpin twists of fortune that, if it weren’t all true, no one would believe it.

That Battered Bastards is practically a hagiography doesn't negate the fact that it has more anti-establishment joie de vivre in any given scene than most talking-head docs about previously unheralded mensches contain in their entire run times.