Fox has done some interesting documentaries and specials over the years, from “Being Mariano” through Jeff Gordon’s first Daytona win through World Cup documentaries, the Lorenzen Wright investigation with SI and the “89 Blocks” collaboration with LeBron James and SI.
Their latest is a look at the famed summer collegiate Cape Cod Baseball League, and it’s focused in on some notable names:
The special follows Griffin Conine (Duke), Tristan Pompey (Kentucky) and Chandler Day (Vanderbilt) who all played in the Cape Cod Baseball League last summer with varying degrees of success. Conine, the son of former big leaguer Jeff Conine, began forging his own baseball identity by winning MVP of the league. Pompey, after hitting two homeruns in his first game, struggled to regain the form that had scouts calling him a “bigger, faster, stronger” version of his brother, Major Leaguer Dalton Pompey. Day, a pitcher from Vanderbilt University, battled demons on the mound after the drowning of his best friend and teammate. But players’ unique paths are connected by a mutual relentless desire to make it.
Six years removed from the Cape Cod Baseball League is Jason Wheeler, who, while his wife (whom he met in the Cape) cheered him on in the stands, finally saw his determination made fruitful when he stepped on the mound for the Minnesota Twins in 2017. But like all professional athletes must learn, sports is a business. Within a week of making his MLB debut, Jason was traded twice, and landed back in the Minors. Now 27 years old, Wheeler and his wife have a decision to make…retire and finally start a family or try and keep the baseball dream alive for one more season.
Here’s a trailer for this:
This special will premiere on FS1 Tuesday, April 17, at 11 p.m. Eastern following a lead-in from Indians-Twins and MLB Whiparound. It’s also going to run on Fox Sports’ regional networks on Wednesday, April 18. (Might as well use those synergies before Disney’s planned purchase of the RSNs goes through.) And it certainly sounds like it could have some potential; those are well-known players, especially Griffin Conine, and they have some interesting stories.
It’s also notable to see a look at a part of the sports world that isn’t always covered all that intensely on a national level, and this sounds like it might be a neat look into the Cape Cod League. We’ll see how it turns out.
