USA / 2023 / 88 min / English / Documentary
The film documents up close the men and women searching for the ballplayers of tomorrow. It goes beyond the “Moneyball mindset” and features dozens of interviews with some of the scouting legends of the game, including five who helped build the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers.
Traveling from Michigan to Florida, Illinois to Texas, and Georgia to Puerto Rico, the filmmakers interviewed scouts over a four-year period against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. What follows is an intimate profile of a uniquely American profession – a profession now under threat from biometrics, analytics and the big business that rules the game.
Narrated by former MLB pitcher Jerry Blevins.
DIRECTOR: H. James Gilmore is a documentary filmmaker who focuses on history and culture, including: the transformation of suburban America (CHRONICLE OF AN AMERICAN SUBURB, 2002); the economic collapse of Detroit (MEN AT WORK: VOICES FROM DETROIT’S UNDERGROUND ECONOMY, 2012); and the amazing women who broke through the glass ceiling of professional poker (CRACKING ACES: A WOMAN’S PLACE AT THE TABLE, 2018).
Gilmore has worked for a number of broadcast organizations, including The Christian Science Monitor and New Hampshire Public Television. He holds a MA in Broadcasting and Film from the University of Iowa and a BA in Theater and Political Science from Kalamazoo College. Since 1995 he has been the executive producer of Acadia Pictures, an independent documentary production company based in southwest Michigan. A retired Clinical Professor of Journalism and Screen Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Gilmore is currently the Visiting Filmmaker of Cinematic Arts at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla.
DIRECTOR STATEMENT: My cousin Brian Williams is a scout for the Texas Rangers. During family gatherings he would regale us with amazing stories of his life in baseball, and he offered to introduce me to the world of scouting. And that’s how FIELDING DREAMS was born. Little did my producing partner Tracy Halcomb and I know that COVID would turn the world of baseball upside down, and our one-year project would expand to four.
From Michigan to Florida, Illinois to Texas, Georgia to Puerto Rico we started interviewing scouts and documenting their life stories. In the process we learned so much– and are proud to present a slice of this uniquely American profession.
Contact: hjames@acadiapictures.com
Special Guests: H. James Gilmore, Tracy Halcomb
Sponsored by:
