‘SAINT OF SECOND CHANCES’ IS AN UNEXPECTED DOCUMENTARY ON A FAMILY WHO CHANGED BASEBALL

Baseball has had two names over the years: America’s Pastime and The Gentleman’s Game. It was the most popular game for decades and it has no clock or limit on innings so theoretically a game could go on forever. One thing that has hurt baseball over the years has been it’s pacing. Home runs are great and throwing a no hitter is historic, but if the game is going slowly and not much else is happening it starts to get a little boring. This is nothing new even though it seems that way with recent “pitching clocks” added to speed things up a bit. Before millionaire owners took over every team there were still a few guys that owned teams without huge bank accounts. Bill Veek was one of the last of that breed. He last owned the Chicago White Sox and became a legend of an owner not just because of how he treated people but by what he brought to the game to liven it up. Almost every fun thing you see at a baseball game was invented by the guy. he passed that love of the game and fans down to his son Mike Veek who carried it on in ways you can’t imagine until now. Netflix grabbed ahold of this story and made a documentary full of destruction, joy, and heart.

Bill Veek (pronounced Veck) always had grand ideas of how baseball should be fun. Not just for the players but for the fans to have an experience that they would always remember. When you go to a game and the scoreboard “explodes” that is an idea that Bill came up with. It’s just the the tip of the iceberg when you dig deeper. Bill was one of the last of a dying breed of owners that they let you know about from the get go. His son Mike was right there with him learning about all the ways to make the gameday experience better and, at times wilder than you can imagine. Mike’s most famous moment in baseball is the infamous “Disco Sucks” night at Comiskey Park when his father owned the White Sox. They had a night celebrating disco, but they thought they should also have a night for those that didn’t like the musical genre. It tuned into one of the biggest disasters in promotion history. Mike had to scratch and claw his way out of the massive hole he dug with that moment in time. The documentary follows him and his family as they tell the story of their second chances and how they found ways to pay those back. It starts with Mike being able to take over the minor league St. Paul Saints and start a redemption tour of sorts in the Twin Cities.

‘Saint of Second Chances” mixes in real interviews with minor sketches of the moments they are discussing with Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) playing the role of Mike. These are useful and fun as it helps to keep the doc from getting dragged done. Charlie captures the essence of Veek pretty darn well at his highs and lows. Mike is a very boisterous but lovable character that you know if you randomly met him in a bar he would have you laughing in a few minutes. You don’t see the smile disappear from his face much for the duration. With every story you can’t believe how much wilder it can get until it does take another leap. They did a wonderful job letting you know how this all got pulled together and then lead up to Mike’s chance to basically pay karma back with one decision he almost didn’t make. Going back and forth from documentary interviews and the sketches really makes it a show that you can’t turn your eyes from. Like one of his crazy promotions it keeps the audience locked in waiting for the next surprise. For instance, imagine a baseball game being played where the gimmick is that no fans are allowed inside yet all the stadium workers keep doing their jobs. It also gives you a sense of hope that you too can build back from disaster if given just one more chance to do what you think is right. Lock this into your watch list and get the feeling in your soul once again that sports are games and are made to be fun experiences even when the game isn’t in action. The next time you see a crazy promotion or zany sideshow at a game you’ll know exactly where and who it came from. Along with that remember, all it took was a second chance.