I think the movie 'Sugar' does a good job showing you how tough it is for a young kid to adjust to baseball and America the first time they are away from home!
I ranked that as my second-favorite movie of 2009 in the school newspaper.
2. Sugar
The most underappreciated movie of the year, Sugar begins as a baseball movie and ends up being something much more important. It tells the story of Miguel "Sugar" Santos, a Dominican baseball player who is drafted by a major league team and heads to the United States to prove his worth. Despite the appearance of several ballgames in the movie, Sugar is more about the immigrant experience, and ultimately about chasing the American dream. It's heartwarming and surprising, and it defies all the stereotypes of sports movies.
Strengths: Vivid, realistic, humorous and original, with great plot turns and a beautiful ending. Algenis Perez Soto, who is not an actor at all but a real Dominican baseball player, turns in a wonderful performance as Sugar Santos.
Weaknesses: For the DVD release, the creators censored the movie in an attempt to reduce the rating from R to PG-13. Why would anybody want to lower the rating on a DVD? At any rate, I want to see Sugar again but will wait until they sell the original release. In theaters, the movie was just about perfect.
LinkMaybe it's blasphemy, but that is probably my favorite baseball movie ever.
PS. There is a cameo by the film's "baseball consultant," Jose Rijo
