Ballplayer: Pelotero
Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
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  1. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    Jul 12, 2012
    70
    Major League Baseball has passed new rules for the Dominican system, according to the film's closing credits, rules that will limit signing bonuses. Yet the harvest will continue, and it's not a pretty sight.
  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    Jul 13, 2012
    75
    As this eye-opening documentary shows, the suits who run MLB are the real bad guys here, treating the aspiring ballplayers as so much sausage.
  3. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    Jul 11, 2012
    80
    While "Ballplayer" is certainly unsettling, must-see viewing for baseball fans - a nonfiction follow-up to Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's outstanding 2009 feature "Sugar" - it's a vibrant tale, alive with color and texture, that's far more than a sports movie.
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    Jul 13, 2012
    80
    Although there are numerous interviews with various people both directly involved with or peripheral to the action, the most compelling figure on display is a particularly articulate coach who proves all too determined to have his protégé succeed. The fact that he works strictly on commission is certainly no small element of his zeal.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Hartlaub
    Jul 12, 2012
    75
    The filmmakers investigate, but can't answer every tough question. There are so many people who could be potentially taking advantage of these players, it's hard to sort out the wrongdoers.
  6. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Neil Genzlinger
    Jul 12, 2012
    90
    Commendably, the film, narrated by John Leguizamo, sugarcoats nothing, and the people involved - the players, their trainers, their parents, the scouts - are remarkably forthright.
  7. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Janice Page
    Jul 12, 2012
    88
    A well-crafted, bravely revealing little film that could be considered essential education for baseball fans. It's just a bonus that the documentary is so entertaining.
  8. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Eric Hynes
    Jul 11, 2012
    60
    Essential, if artless, baseball exposé.
  9. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Chuck Bowen
    Jul 11, 2012
    75
    The doc is a sly, interesting achievement: It opens as an entertaining sports story and closes as a metaphor for government corruption.
  10. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: David Malitz
    Jul 19, 2012
    75
    It's a story with serious human drama that will make you think a little differently the next time you watch your favorite team take the field.
  11. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Alison Willmore
    Jul 11, 2012
    67
    With its slim runtime, the film feels like it should have gone broader or closed in and been just a portrait of the talented, goofy Sano.
  12. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michael Leaverton
    Jul 11, 2012
    70
    An unexpectedly gripping portrait of how MLB's sausage gets made.

User Reviews

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User Score
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No user score yet- Awaiting 2 more ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. ibnarabi
    8
    A very well made documentary, baseball fans will find it fascinating. Poverty, dreams, corruption, bureaucrats, cash and baseball. I hope they make a sequel and follow Sano to the Show … Full Review »
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