The Saint of Second Chances is the latest docufilm featuring the life of Mike Veeck, the son of Major League Baseball owner Bill Veeck, who did incredible things throughout his life and changed the game of baseball forever. With his unique and out-of-the-box ideas, sometimes the ideas were a massive success, or it led to his impending doom. Regardless, he changed the game forever and made history.
Jeff Malmberg and Morgan Neville are the directors of the film. Caitrin Rogers, Greg Silverman and Fran Zeuli serve as the executive producers. Garth Neustadter and Daniel Wohl give the music, and Adam Beckman, Antonio Cisneros and Graham Willoughby are credited as the cinematographers.
Instances From The Saint of Second Chances That Prove Mike Veeck Changed Baseball’s History
Disco Demolition Night
On July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, Mike decided to invite one of the most controversial artists at the time, Steve Dahl. The artist was an anti-disco campaigner with a huge following in the country. Unaware of the social consequences of the situation, Mike decided to hold an anti-disco-themed baseball match to draw in more audience. However, the crowd’s number kept on increasing, and they had to close down the gate. Moreover, they lost their cool at one point, and the field started to get filled with an unruly crowd, which disrupted the game. Ultimately, the anti-riot squad had to step in to stop the commotion.
The single night became one of the worst nights for the Veeck family. Although Bill took all the blame on himself, Mike had to face the consequences. He received no offers and was out of a job for a long time.
Signature Gag: A ball pig
Mike got another chance at life when he was offered the team St. Paul Saints. However, during that time, independent leagues were far from what it is now. Truly the bottom of the barrel, and no one knew about it, so Mike started to think of a gag that could gain more attention. Since St. Paul was known as “Pig’s eye”, hence, he thought of using pigs to deliver balls to the umpire. He started to train pigs and the gag quickly became an entertaining sight for the audience. Although it is a norm in the present times for animals to present balls on the field, it was done for the first time ever by Mike.
Ila Borders
Another shocking and unconventional thing Mike did was let a woman be part of his team. Borders’ skills were on par with the male players, however, she was not given a chance to play due to sheer misogyny. Following in his father’s footsteps, Mike decided to give her a chance of a lifetime. She is officially the first woman to make the roster of men’s baseball professional team. That one decision alone made significant changes to women in sports, and Mike was behind it.
Darryl Strawberry
Darryl, who is one of the prominent baseball players, once hit bottom due to addiction and other misdemeanours. His reputation went down the hill, and there was no other way to come back to normal life. However, Mike was approached to sign Darryl, but he refused at first because he wanted to keep his team clean from any controversies. But his wife convinced him to give Darryl a second chance, and that is how he ended up playing for the St. Paul Saints. Gradually, he started to get better at the game, and the New York Yankees signed him. If Mike had not given him a second chance, the world would be deprived of a player like Darryl.
Stevens
Stevens is a disabled man with no functioning legs, but his determination never faltered. He dreamed of becoming a professional athlete and was very stubborn about achieving it. However, the world never gave him a chance to prove himself until he met Mike. Stevens wrote to Mike relentlessly over the months when Mike finally decided to give him a chance. Stevens officially became part of the Saints and played on the field alongside everyone else. Looking back, Stevens thanks Mike for the opportunity to prove his worth.
The Saint of Second Chances is now streaming on Netflix. Did you watch the docufilm yet? Let us know in the comments below!
Also Read: The Saint of Second Chances Review: Mike Veeck’s Docufilm is a Swing and a Miss!