Baseball fans around Europe are probably familiar to “The Emerald Diamond” a documentary from 2006 about Irish Baseball. The movie was written, directed and produced by John C. Fitzgerald. During the 2007 season he and his camera team followed the South Georgia Peanuts of the independent South Coast League to create another documentary. The result was a ten-episode TV series called “Playing for Peanuts”, which now is also available as DVD. Mister-Baseball.com is going to publish some of the clips in the next few days. But before, John C. Fitzgerald was so kind to talk to us about “Playing for Peanuts” and other projects from him.
Playing for Peanuts at Facebook
The Emerald Diamond at Facebook
Mister-Baseball: What can you tell us about your documentary “Playing for Peanuts”? For how long did you follow the South Georgia Peanuts?
John C. Fitzgerald: “Playing for Peanuts” is a 10-episode documentary about an independent minor league team – the South Georgia Peanuts. My camera crew followed the Peanuts for an entire season. It is sort of a “sequel” to my first film, “The Emerald Diamond” – which is a documentary about baseball in Ireland. For “Peanuts,” I wanted to document a pro baseball season in America and see if the same values could be found – hard work, love of the game, teamwork, etc. I found that and many other interesting things – some of the other stuff was great, some of it was very negative. So the project really went in a few directions, but the end result was very satisfying as far as baseball stories go.
MRBB: What were the main difficulties for filming the team during the ups and downs of a season? Was is it more easier to work with the players following wins?
JF: The main difficulty was the travel days. We filmed the team all day at the ballpark and then when the game ended, they would get on a bus and drive 8 hours to the next city. While they got to sleep on the bus, the camera crew would be driving the same route in a car. We were usually all awake to prevent us from getting lost. If we were lucky, we’d get a few hours of sleep before we had to be at the ballpark to film batting practice the next day.
As for the team, they were open and available regardless of wins and losses. I think alot of that had to do with their manager Wally Backman. Backman was used to talking to reporters after wins and losses like he did when he was in the Major Leagues. After a few weeks, the team was used to having cameras around all day and night so it wasn’t an issue at all.
MRBB: What are your reasons to publish additional scenes from the series on Facebook?
JF: Even though the TV series is 10 episodes, we filmed ALOT of extra footage. There is so much that never made it to the show – everything from instructional tips to manager visits to the mound. Since the players and coaches were wearing microphones during games, the extra scenes give a great look into what really goes on in the dugout and on the field in professional baseball. I hope this information is helpful to anyone interested in playing professional baseball. But be careful – lots of the language is NSFW (not safe for work)!
MRBB: Is the DVD available in Europe?
JF: Yes. The DVD is sold on Amazon.com and is available to anyone in Europe. I would suggest they visit the Facebook page first to see if they like the show – http://www.facebook.com/baseballvideos.
MRBB: You followed an independent league team. What are the differences to MLB affiliated leagues and teams? What is the secret for independent leagues to make money and would it be possible to transfer this concept to European Baseball?
JF: Independent teams don’t receive money to operate from Major League teams. That is the main difference. As far as talent, the Peanuts had many players who were former affiliated or Major League players. Several Peanuts were actually picked up by Major League affiliates during the season, which is a major part of the story of “Playing for Peanuts.”
To answer the second part of your question, I would love to see an independent league in Europe – and I think you have the makings of something very similar in Italy and the Netherlands. What I think is even more difficult – and long overdue – is for America to adopt elements of European football (soccer) in its amateur and minor league systems – promotion/relegation, fan ownership, teams tied to their local communities, etc. I think that system is fantastic, even if it does have some shortcomings. For more information, I would recommend the book “National Pastime” by Andrew Zimbalist and Stefan Szymanski.
MRBB: Wally Backman is going to manage the Double-A team of the Mets this year. What can you tell us about him, as German catcher Kai Gronauer might get a shot of playing for him?
JF: Backman is a great manager, according to anyone who has played for him. He is a very easy going person and he is relaxed with players and the media. However, he is very critical of umpires and he had several ejections and suspensions for arguing on behalf of his players. That is why his players like playing for him. I would be interested to hear Kai’s thoughts on playing for Backman if he ends up in AA.
MRBB: Would you consider following European Baseball for a documentary in a similar way?
JF: Not at this time, although the story of European baseball fascinates me. I’m a big fan of Mister Baseball and also of Josh Chetwynd’s work.
MRBB: After closing down Planet Hardball last summer, you are working on a new concept for a website. What can you already tell about?
JF: Planet Hardball was an attempt to cover baseball in Europe and America, sort of like a companion site to what you are doing with Mister Baseball. It was going to allow teams to upload their own blogs and photos. The new site is called Baseball United and it will have some similar features, but it will very different in some respects. The site is inspired by my previous documentaries and also my research into European football and social media theories. I’m hoping to have more information very soon as baseball season is fast approaching and I’m working very hard on getting Baseball United up and running!