Mickey (2004) Baseball Movie by John Grisham

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there's something magical about the last

year of little league

by the age of 12 the good players know

the game they can throw

curve balls and hit home runs they still

listen to their fathers

most of the time and what every baseball

dad wants

is just one more season

it's a city championship their last game

together

father and son player and coach

the father calls the pitches the son

always delivers they've done this a

million times

[Applause]

[Music]

they're still the all-star team and

tournaments

and maybe a chance of making it all the

way to the little league world series

in williamsport pennsylvania but that's

a distant dream

this is their last game together

oh what the father would give for just

one more season

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[Applause]

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i know exactly how he feels

you struck out the 10. i thought it was

11.

10 is not enough you wait till next year

you'll be out on a big field that mile's

going to be 60 feet away just like the

pros

you think mama's watching

doesn't miss a game she's up there

looking down smiling

she's real proud i sure wish she was up

in the bleachers watching

i don't want to be 13 i want to stay 12.

play a little league throw no hitters

from 46 feet

no nothing lasts forever

may i help you yes i'm uh brian seeger

irs criminal investigations what can i

do for you

i'm looking for mr tripp spence

he's in court right now rich corbin

i would like to ask him some questions

he isn't in

look i think he's still here his car is

parked right out there

well maybe he has more than one car not

according to my records

when you expect him back late this

afternoon

i'll be back we're investigating his

bankruptcy and his tax return

did you hear everything yeah

all right get two get two

[Music]

mr spence can i talk to you for a minute

right in the middle of practice i'm uh

ryan seeger

irs criminal investigations so

i need a couple of minutes of your time

look i said i'm in the middle of

practice okay

okay i'll just uh stop by your apartment

in a couple hours

you got two minutes

i uh stopped by your office yesterday i

had a chat with peggy

left a card haven't heard from you been

busy

huh i've been busy too as a matter of

fact i got a pretty thick file on you

already and i'm just getting started

you're wasting your time well i work for

the government time is not important

you see so far i've found 80

000 bucks that for some reason did not

make an appearance on your tax returns

or

on your petition for bankruptcy and i

suspect there's more

you have no idea what you're talking

about good fine

maybe i just need to see your files and

that would clear things up fine look at

my files i have nothing to hide all

right

i'll be at your office at nine in the

morning

i can't do it at night i have a hearing

i have to be in court

look we're both busy so why don't we do

things this way

i'll be in your office at eight day

after tomorrow

if you're not there i'll get a search

warrant

the key is to find the names of dead

people of similar

age there's nothing in texas let's try

florida see through the net

i can browse the vital stats of every

state i look for common names nothing to

attract attention

now look at this six-year-old boy

michael jacob ryan

died in a boating accident in tampa bay

in july 95.

he's a you're younger yeah doesn't

matter

no no so

this boy probably wasn't alone

now you learn fast

right father glenn's simon ryan age 31

mother tracy wilson ryan age 32 and

sister emily chase ryan age

eight all drowned sailboat in a storm

so i'm glenn and your son

is michael michael

ryan is a perfect name

there must be at least a million of them

you live quietly

you keep your nose clean and you'll

never be found

what's next birth certificates social

security cards passports

driver's license of course which state

nevada excellent choice

how difficult is it to get a school

transcript

i can do anything

did he go around yes says mark wegner

the first base sometime

one-on-one on matt williams he'll be

followed in the unit

no

must be serious when your mother died i

owed a fortune in medical bills

i was forced to go bankrupt because i

couldn't pay the doctors you already

told me this

just listen

we lost everything that's why we're

living here

i like this apartment

i made some mistakes son i wasn't trying

to cheat i was just

trying to survive but i cut some corners

on my tax returns and

i didn't list all my assets when i filed

for bankruptcy

is that bad

we were broke mom was dying i spent more

time at the hospital than i did at the

office

the only reason i'm telling you this now

is because i've been caught by who the

bad guys

the irs can't you just pay them the

money

well it's not that easy plus i don't

have the money

they'll probably charge me with tax

fraud

they're going to want to put me in jail

jail

yeah but i'm not going to

i'm not gonna leave you son

hey

man you're gonna go away for a while

where let's call it a road trip

go to baltimore see the orioles play

then we'll head out west

when are we going to come back

maybe never

what about all stars if we go we gotta

leave tomorrow

tomorrow the bad guys are closing in

fast

your new name is gonna be michael ryan

but i figured we'll call you mickey

mickey ryan sounds like a baseball

player doesn't it

i guess yeah we'll get used to it i'm

gonna be glenn

our real names don't exist anymore

you run you won't be known as derek

spence anymore

you understand that right man i look

different

yeah that's the idea here

put those on i'm not gonna wear this

just put them on

you don't have a choice these are so

lame

greg maddox wears glasses go on

you can't do that mickey you can't

answer to derek okay

you have to repeat to yourself a million

times my name is mickey ryan okay

and you're going wait this isn't a game

all right all right

it's serious

how long do you think i'll be in the

minor league not below

three is about average do they ride

buses and double it

that's why they call it the bus league

buses are cool

what about triple a do the rap bus is

that yes

virtually all minor leaguers ride buses

i can't wait

believe those files belong to me now

here's a little reading for you

why don't you leave him alone his wife

died a year ago

just doing my job yeah but you seem to

enjoy it so much

why don't you go after big crooks

for crooks or crooks it's our job to

enforce the law

no your job is to harass the little guy

you're just a thug

a government goon and a cheap suit

when's the last time you were audited

i'm skipping the minor leagues dad

forget

the buses when are we gonna get there

open your eyes look out the window

tomorrow i look for work then we'll find

some place to throw

it won't be a little league diamond it's

going to be a big field i know

all right come on in

you look pretty small out there i feel

pretty small i feel like i'm pitching

from second base

you know on your new birth certificate

you're a year younger

mickey's a year younger than derek

so so next year i can still play little

league

yes you can if you wanted to

well wouldn't that be cheating yeah that

would be cheating

but you're mickey now so you're 12. so

you know

was it your idea to make me a year

younger no

just worked out like that it was the way

it happened

okay let's say that it plays a 12 year

old

i mean don't you think people would be a

little suspicious

what last season i threw four no hitters

no

i know kids that are like almost six

feet tall or throw as hard as you do

smush

check this out guys you can watch four

channels at once

this is the coolest tv in the world it's

definitely one of the biggest

and how arlington did in all-stars they

came in the third and state i checked on

the world

dang can't believe i missed all-stars

hey you got one more year bud

on july 13th you sold a 96 jeep cherokee

to a mr calvin

bean of gaithersburg maryland where did

you buy this car

well i bought it from a guy named uh

tripp spence he drove in we negotiated

and i gave him six thousand bucks cash

cash is still legal you know did you

have a boy with him

yeah they were packed and all ready to

go uh

obviously in a hurry mm-hmm did a boy

look like this

i'm not sure they looked a lot different

then could you describe them

if i have to would you well i don't have

to

i got them on video

what's your full name michael jacob ryan

but you can call me

dayton place of birth january 10th 1989

st sebastian's hospital tampa florida

mother's maiden name rose wall

where'd you live last year fort

lauderdale was my grandparents

sounds good to me let's go

it's brand new

i apologize for the weight oh no problem

you know

last year we had 900 students this year

it's over a thousand

can't build classrooms fast enough it's

a it's a popular town

indeed it is what brings you here a job

actually a job great fort lauderdale huh

yeah yes it's a long story

what grade sixth

six hi alicia

she's pretty place is like a shopping

mall

okay this is your classroom um

michael or mickey mickey mickey hi miss

jordan how are you

this is your new student mickey ryan

hello mickey

hi won't you come in please bye mickey

have fun i'll take care of him he'll be

okay

i noticed in the application that um

there wasn't a mother listed

oh yes she's deceased oh i'm sorry

spence failed to report 98 000

in income over a four-year period we

talked to 30 of his former clients

they would pay half their fee by jack

half by cash

typical lawyer scam he buried the money

in a corporate account

and failed to report it when he declared

bankruptcy

what happened to it go on

nice pictures we got lucky spence made a

stupid mistake and got himself

photographed

what next we're auditing secretary

there are 11 little leagues in the vegas

district

and it's seven out of the last 10 years

the district championships have been

worn by north vegas

that's a lot of teams yeah and for the

last five years in a row

the city championships have been won by

the moose

which are by far the most dominant team

in the area the moose

yeah the moose this place is

awesome look at the outfield breath

it's like a putting green

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really awesome you'll own it mickey

it'll be your field you'll be the man

so do you have much with all of your

parents some

so uh how's mickey doing oh

unbelievable and he is getting straight

a's

his teacher says he acts as though he's

seen the material before

he's pretty nice smart yeah he gets it

from his mother i think

so where are you working at the grand

casino it's temporary

um i thought you said you came here for

a job i did

uh i'm still looking though you know oh

yeah before i forget

we routinely check the transcripts of

new students

and uh i got to tell you that school in

fort lauderdale has not been

very cooperative yeah i'm i'm not

surprised

that's one of the reasons we left well

they said they had no michael jacob ryan

there last year

really yeah that's what they said yeah

i i you know if you if you went to that

school you'd be you'd be surprised that

they even had textbooks there

if that's the kind of place it is

nothing like this at all

darn i've got to go okay sorry

hey um next lunch is on me okay

really yeah dinner would probably be

better for me

well than dinner it is okay

see ya i i got your trick

[Applause]

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[Applause]

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you know you can make

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all right that's 50 come here

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all the way up to 66 gone by thursday

all right

notice i did not say friday thursday

okay peace

excuse me hey you tony bracey

who are you i'm glenn ryan i'm i'm i'm

new to the area

you coached the moose right coached the

news for 21 years what can i do for you

well if you got a minute i'd like to

talk a little baseball i'm not here pal

i'm a busy man

but i'll be at the moose lodge at five

o'clock on pecos

there i'll talk basically oh it's a

madhead whoa ho

ho ho i'll be there yeah all right hey

very impressive basically we built

ourselves a dynasty i simply reload

every year

how about all-stars what do you do in

district and state

nevada state champs 91 96 and last year

and we'll go back next year no one in

the district can touch us how about

regionals

third place these california teams they

are

unbelievable so tell me about your boy

how'd you know that once a week i got a

call from a guy like you a serious

baseball dad

looks me up and he wants his kid to be a

moose yeah well he's a great player

gee i never heard that before he's a

pitcher with serious heat oh they're all

pitchers

all with seriously how old is he 12

12. say if you have a coach before

yes then you've got to know you don't

drift 12 year olds 21 years i never

drifted a 12 year old

they're here one year then they're gone

look i get four draft picks a year

i can't waste no more he can throw 60.

my big guy can throw 62. i got an 11

year old throws 58

maybe 59. all right 65.

i'm sorry i can't draft a 12 year old it

screws everything up

you don't draft him somebody else will

what if he beat you for the city

championships

he threw four no hitters last year well

fort lauderdale

i might take a look at him you get the

first look

if you pass we go to the lions club when

can i see him you can see

him whenever you want you got a jugs gun

truck got a

glove ball mask everything you can keep

it quiet

sure i could have room right over here

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all right he's ready

crank it up

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oh

i never seen 70 in my life

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[Applause]

nicholas harvey age 10.

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mickey ryan h-12

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i think he has the flu he's gonna take

another one

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wants to be a moose

i don't know about the father

what do you think how do i look

come on it's a little date

dinner that's all

where are my keys don't tell me you're

afraid to stay by yourself you're 12

years old you know

i'm 13 and you know it well you should

feel even safer then

come on hey how about a smile huh

why you going i was missing claire again

she likes me

do you like her yeah she's a nice lady

come on i'm too young to give up on

women

what about mom last year

i knew your mother better than anybody i

knew her since the sixth grade okay

she loved life she loved people

i can tell you she would not want me to

grow old alone you have me

i know and one day very soon you're

going to be gone you're going to be away

at college you're going to be chasing

girls you're going to be playing

baseball

and you're certainly not going to be

thinking about your old man

lock the door and go to bed at 11 okay

all right it's time for the draft i

think you all know the rules

you know the procedures any questions

okay in the first round the uh first

pick goes to the giants

alan robbie marvin age ten

robbie marvin no surprise there

cougars kenny cantor h-10

elks else we'll take nate swanson

age 10.

lions we'll go with nicki newberry

age 10. condors

fraud glove age 11. need some pitching

huh

[Music]

warriors todd mcgarry age 10.

okay rebels

sandy tucker h10

that brings us to the mighty moose tony

[Music]

mickey ryan age 12 what

who did you pick

he was a sick kid with the glasses had

the flu

he wasn't wanting any cleats he couldn't

even run for god's sake he tripped and

fell

what's going on here tony yeah sounds

like another lay down to me hey hey hey

i didn't question your draft picks or

layoff

i like the kid he's new in town i talked

to his dad he's

just a nice kid oh is it that sweet

how would you have kids because they're

nice how are you buying it well i ain't

selling nothing

really you've never drafted a 12 year

old i've been beating you guys like a

drum for the last 20 years

i just wanted to give the league a

chance to get even that's all

okay okay relax mickey ron is now moose

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over here

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hey glenn why don't you meet my coaching

staff

it's my son pete you listen to me being

the major leagues right now

i'm the real brains behind this

operation how you doing heard a lot of

good things about your kid

thanks okay pete once you organize the

boys i want to talk to glenn alone a

little okay sure no problem

all right guys we have four new members

of the team this year blake and sean

stand up will you 10 years old they

played ball here in the minors last year

ollie it's a new kid from phoenix and

mickey ryan over here is 12 years old

played ball in florida last year now you

got to sit down and wait for coach okay

what's up i'm griff captain of the team

welcome to the moose

thanks i'm gonna have to start making

off a little slowly okay

uh the other managers they're furious

with me

how slow the first few games he won't

play much but i'll ease him in

give him a break you know it says last

year little league never sat on a

president's life

trust me okay he's gonna have a great

season but

you gotta understand local politics just

don't screw up his chances for the

all-stars okay

trust me

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wrong

[Applause]

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[Applause]

hit the gus

pinch hitting for the moose number 14

mickey

[Applause]

ryan

all right mick i'm gonna ride

[Applause]

buddy

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[Applause]

wow

[Applause]

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all right hector throw strikes throw

strikes hector nice and easy

pinch hit for cody

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

vegas

yeah ryan can share some prisons tryouts

yeah that's just good coaching that's

all

yeah more like a lay down tony i'm

surprised at you

relax jim we're gonna need him come all

start time

[Music]

look tony i've coached for many years

the worst part about coaching is dealing

with the parents i'm not gonna be a

problem

but we've played four games now mickey's

been on the plate four times he said

three home runs he's hit a double he

ain't even been at the moment i know i

know but

it ain't that easy i'm trying to tell

you these coaches are ready to kill me

if they're gonna ask them the president

come on every little league coach has

played the lay down game even these guys

they're just mad cause you got mickey

and they didn't

it's a done deal mickey's a moose let

him play we'll figure it out he'll

figure it out

[Applause]

[Music]

guys guys guys guys guys wake up don't

crowd them don't crowd them

he's done for the day mickey loosen up

[Applause]

okay i'm okay hey baloney kid we're

taking you to the hospital

[Applause]

[Music]

okay okay mick pudge bring it in a

second

[Music]

you huh you don't have to load these

guys down okay you want me to get them

out or not

yeah yeah sure just don't make it look

so easy

[Music]

[Applause]

okay

[Music]

[Applause]

settle down nick

target punch

[Music]

vicky

what exactly are you doing making it

look hard these guys can hit you know

they're undefeated

look just get them out okay

[Applause]

[Music]

boys

[Applause]

[Applause]

[Applause]

yes

[Applause]

once again

you guys have been chosen as all stars

to represent

north vegas being an all-star is a great

honor

it's a new season now you're a new team

with new uniforms

you're the best we have to offer and we

expect big things from you

last year north vegas won the state

quite frankly we are expected to win

again this year

but our bigger goal is to win regional

never beaten the team from california

but you know what

this year we got the pitching to do it

now we're gonna work hard we have a lot

of fun we're gonna play with pride

and sportsmanship and we are gonna

win

[Applause]

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[Applause]

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[Applause]

okay okay guys i've been here before

many times

i know you're nervous well so am i like

you've got to relax

you got to play the game you got to have

fun okay

all right come on let's go on the hop

guys come on

just just relax out there right next

relax

jimmy mancini jimmy is a 12 year old

shortstop

to enjoy skateboarding and video games

[Music]

[Applause]

um

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i think this game is just about over

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or is he's uh nearsighted

slightly nearside very slightly

[Music]

[Applause]

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find

[Applause]

did you block the dirty movies in the

room well no i thought you did

guys what are we watching

the guys little league team today easily

defeated the dominican republic by a

score of 16 to 2.

the real story took place off the field

little league president dr rupert sloan

said that his organization

intends to allow the cubans to play in

the little league world series that

brought a sharp review from anti-castro

members of congress

senator carlos martinez of florida vowed

to lead a vigorous effort to keep the

cuban team out of williamsport

i am once again calling on little league

officials in williamsport

to ban the cuban team this simply must

don't think about the cubans okay we're

a million miles from williamsport

right it's bedtime now

go to sleep i want you thinking about

reno central okay

sir

[Applause]

first batter for vino central eric

sanford

all right

[Music]

it's all over in reno north vegas has

won the state little league title by

crushing reno eight

afternoon mr prater i'm brian seger irs

criminal investigations i'm henry gilles

fbi

it's a real pleasure you reported 41 000

bucks in income last year

got a nice house you bought a couple of

years ago for 200 000.

three kids in private school i think we

need to see your books

call my cpa you drive a jaguar your wife

drives a bmw

so what your girlfriend drives to bmw

too except it's a lot nicer than your

wives

what do you want the goods on one of

your conversion projects

who when he wrote up that elevator his

name was tripp spence

when he came down he was somebody else

he had a kid with him it rings a bell

what's in it for me you gave us what we

want you right up the elevator alone

his name is glenn ryan kid's name is

michael jacob ryan or jacob michael ryan

i really don't remember i don't keep

records

where'd they go

west that's all i know

let him go

just curious how did you fight me

mr spencer's secretary she's been very

helpful

she's a delightful woman

that's 50.

that's enough there's something wrong

yes something's wrong

the way you're throwing right now i

don't think anybody can hit you not even

those kids from california

griff's pitching great i mean with a

little luck we might even end up in

williamsport

and you're scared we'll be discovered

yeah i'm scared we're gonna be

discovered

you well i think about it all the time

son

dad i don't want to run again i mean i

like it here i can't let the guys down

we're cheating okay

we knew what we were doing when the

season started can't stop now

i plan to cheat a little bit i did not

think it was going to end up like this

so what do we

i do know

there's gonna be a lot of pressing

eugene okay just keep the glasses on

low i know

take me

[Music]

i don't care you know i don't care

road

[Music]

listen up man no team from vegas has

ever won this regional

californians always win i say

you put a stop to it let's get a chair

and win this game

[Applause]

truck stop number three

[Applause]

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okay

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[Applause]

oh

[Applause]

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long beach crushed eugene oregon 14-2

but the big story was the no-hit game

thrown by north vegas pitcher mickey

ryan

[Music]

right-hander struck out 11 batters over

six innings and went three for three

driving in four of north vegas's eight

runs

just keep the glasses on the cap down

low

and don't talk to any reporters

[Applause]

there

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foreign

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and in local sports it's a big day today

in eugene oregon as north vegas goes

after its first ever regional title

their opponent long beach a league that

won back-to-back world series titles in

93 and 94. about to get to williamsport

long beach will have to somehow get by

pitching sensation

mickey ryan little league

vicki has given up just four hits in his

last four games and he's only allowed

five runs all year long and here's the

pitch

mr ryan exactly 11 pitches to retire

long beach in the bottom of the first

perfect situation here for north vegas

nobody out runners on

second and third and teddy mcgriff

coming to the plate

centerfielder theodore mcgriff

scoreless ball game ryan has yet to

allow a hit

and here's the pitch

it's a long fly ball

[Applause]

um

[Applause]

[Applause]

[Applause]

one more bro can you do it he won't even

see the ball

that's what i want to hear

[Music]

[Applause]

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ladies and gentlemen congratulations to

the team from north las

western united vegas and williamsport

pennsylvania

watching the little league world series

on the abc television network

the city of eugene wishing to thank all

the players coaches and fans

for making this year's such a success

what are the odds of being recognized i

don't do odds

i'm a blackjack dealer

about 50 50. the tournament gets a lot

of publicity

on the other hand the kids don't really

become stars you know hmm

but mickey's different well we've had so

many reporters calling the house we had

to take the phone off the hook

they'll chase us like crazy when we get

there this morning the newspaper said

that mickey was the most famous 12 year

old athlete

in the world he's not 12.

he's 13. and his name's not mickey

until last year he was derek and you

would be

i would be tripp tripp

tripp and derek

so why don't you tell me how tripp and

derek

became glenn and mickey

it's a long story i've been waiting a

long time

it wasn't planned it wasn't planned

well i mean we plan to escape here plan

to start a new life

i wanted to make you to have another

year of little league yeah we planned

all that

but i just didn't think it was gonna go

this far

you're scared aren't you

i'm terrified

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representing the west region the north

vegas italy

from north vegas nevada representing the

gulf states region

the baton rouge little league from baton

rouge louisiana

representing the caribbean the havana

little league

from havana cuba

[Music]

is cleo in williamsport yes he is i just

spoke to him

he saw the opening ceremonies yesterday

and he said the cuban team is huge

but i jack want the pleasure of

humiliating him

i want proof that he's cheating

those cubans are the biggest kids i've

ever seen

but i've been here for 18 years the

center fielder looks like anthony quinn

i bet half of them are shaving

maybe the latin americans can keep it

close

to latin america third basis

rodriguez

[Music]

strike one the worst quarter of all-time

little league world series history back

in 1992

29-0 of course there was no 10-run rule

back then

good thing we have the slaughter rule

now

strike three ball game over 12-0

these cubans ought to be playing

double-a ball

[Music]

[Music]

okay let's go

[Applause]

[Music]

so

[Music]

just a bunch of 12 year olds same as you

huh

they put on their pants the same way

they hit the ball they run the first

session

right welcome back let's go vegas

talk to each other help each other out

huh stay with each other

run the

[Applause]

[Music]

now you and i both know these guys are

scared to death okay i

need you to show them the way all right

buddy relax coach these guys won't touch

[Applause]

me

richard russo

[Music]

[Applause]

um

[Music]

[Applause]

my next

[Music]

oh

[Music]

[Applause]

[Applause]

[Applause]

senator martinez he's demanding the

removal of the cuban team

and he's threatening to review our

federal charter

we are locked up 0-0-3-3

john frates of baton rouge has allowed

just two hits

ryan so far has been perfect

[Applause]

hey coach yeah could i have some nice

for my hand

why what happened what do you mean

you try catching oh let me see it okay

don't touch it hold on really don't

touch it let me see it

i don't know you want to come at it

again

no just give me some ice you sure

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Applause]

through five the team from baton rouge

has sent 15

men to the plate mickey ryan has struck

out 11.

he has walked none no errors behind him

it is a perfect game so far for this 12

year old from north las vegas

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

and so vicki ryan is on the threshold of

history

there has only been one perfect game

ever thrown at the little league world

series

and ryan is one pitch away

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

that kid can beat the cubans

morning hey good morning have you seen

this

a star is born

not a bad looking kid

forget about the cubans it's all

everybody wants to talk about

guess what we don't beat these michigan

guys today

we don't get to play the humans

griff are you ready to pitch today

i'm good to go coach

we've already done the background check

in vegas

the ryan's landed there sometime in july

new names new papers

new life this is a 90

000 case i thought you guys said this

was urgent

well this could be a very delicate

situation

the cubans are in williamsport senator

martinez is upset

castro's running his mouth the president

wants to use this as an opportunity to

normalize relations there's a lot going

on

this is more than little league baseball

the cubans are probably using players

who are too old and the only kid who

might beat them is this ryan boy

and he's cheating yes he's 13.

but his fake birth certificate says he's

12.

are you sure this kid will play the

cubans oh yeah

the north vegas team beat rockport

michigan this afternoon

mickey ryan or derek spence hit the

game-winning home run

it's good yeah

coach who do you pitch against the

cubans

for the record mickey ryan hey coach

why won't he talk to the press because

he's smart

alberto paldez 5'5 130

second base bats left he's got a lot of

trouble with curve balls

great glove probably the weakest hitter

who starts

they don't have any weak hitters we'll

throw fastballs low and away for strikes

set him up for the breaking stuff

ricardo bolsa

six feet 165 the stud

balsa eats fast pose stays back from the

breaking stuff

he's very dangerous so how do we pitch

to him

if mickey's pitching close to 75 i don't

think any kid in the world can hit him

we'll just blow it by bulsa if it's

closer to 70 we just pick at the corners

and throw junk

and close our eyes and pray exactly

well gets a team from michigan mickey

ryan hit 76 in a few fastballs

has a 12 year old ever been clocked

higher not to my knowledge

when randy johnson throws a fastball 98

miles an hour from 60 feet

the batter has three tenths of a second

to respond

but with a fastball thrown 75 miles an

hour from only 46 feet

the batter has to respond even faster he

has two tenths of a day to turn the news

back on

if he wants to swing so this controversy

still rages at the little league world

series in williamsport a story in this

morning's new york times

claims at least half the members of the

cuban team are above the age of 12.

the story was written by a child sports

psychologist

he bases his allegations on

characteristics such as height

weight our phones are ringing off the

hook so

who's calling patriots are furious they

want the cubans to go home

people have been calling for tickets to

the game we don't sell tickets the

game's

free well then you call the governor and

tell him he can't get a ticket

i've got to tell you senator i couldn't

care less who wins baseball game played

by 12 year old boys or

30 they're old boys for that matter and

you came here to tell me that you hate

baseball

no i came here because i have

information that i think might be of

value to you

i'm listening i have proof that one of

the youngsters on the las vegas team

is playing with a fake birth certificate

he's not 12

he's 13. that information would be

useful

yes then maybe we could make a deal

what kind of deal your committee

has been hammering my agency for the

last six years we have a tough job made

even tougher by senators like you

bashing the internal revenue service

what's the deal

get off our backs give us proper

funding you cut my budget and then

expect us to raise more and more taxes

for you guys to spend

i'd like to propose the truth

okay you got a truce

i have your word on that you have my

word

now who's 13 years old

the records in lebanon have been knocked

away our people there simply been unable

to get any paperwork

so we have no proof that castro has sent

older boys no

but there is good news the first baseman

is a kid from the small town of

niketo not levana and this team is from

the havana district

so castro has put together a national

team exactly

the philippines tried doing this back in

1992

got caught and little league stripped

them of their title

little league does not fool around with

this kind of stuff if they get any proof

of cheating they are quick

and decisive hypothetical

if i gave little league the goods on

mickey ryan and on this cuban national

team

what would they do same they'd expel

both teams

take away their trophies

boys i think we'll just let them play

this game

and get the double satisfaction of

watching castro's boys get

beat then send home in disgrace

remember this is the last little league

game you'll ever play

so now you owe it to yourselves your

families your coaches and your friends

to play to the best of your abilities

pick your friends back in vegas tomorrow

the whole town will be watching you guys

on tv and they're going to be cheering

with every pitch

so we can't let them down if we let

these cubans scare

us we can't win

okay now i'm gonna work on four

basic things guys how's the team trip

[Music]

where'd you come from they're playing

hide and seek

this is a good trail though vegas is

perfect spot

although sooner or later everybody makes

a mistake

what was my mistake well let's put it

this way

if mickey were playing soccer this

summer we wouldn't

we have people watching so don't try

anything

i'm gonna sit with you during the game

when it's over

we'll make the arrest

[Music]

wait so mickey can play mickey has to

play

says who says washington

it's complicated just make sure he plays

the game

and a win would be very nice for the

good old usa

i need you to get here as soon as

possible i'm gonna be arrested after the

game tomorrow

arrested yeah i need you

and mickey okay

um okay i'll be there

can't we just run again no

it's too late for that but didn't this

guy say that i could play

yes but you're not playing

i think we need to come clean with

everybody

it's time to do the right thing no

it's too late for that

i'm playing

and i'm gonna win

[Music]

welcome to the field of every little

leaguer's dream

magic happens here every summer with 11

million watching at home and more than

30

000 in attendance teams in 105 countries

began their quest for the world crown in

early summer

and now we are finally down to these

championship two

good afternoon and welcome everybody i'm

brent mussberger and i'll be bringing

you this game along with my broadcasting

partner harold reynolds

what a contest we have today between

these two outstanding teams

havana cuba representing the caribbean

and north vegas nevada representing the

american west

controversy swirls like a tropical storm

around the team from cuba

a team that literally demolished every

opponent they faced with overwhelming

pitching and hitting

meanwhile the team from the u.s has

gotten here with some timely hitting

and pitching brilliance of a young man

named mickey ryan

but he and his team will have their

hands full today as they face

ricardo bulsa a pitcher who some experts

say

is even better than ryan bulsa is

hitting 5

17 in the series and has an era

of zero ryan is hitting just over 400

and has been so far anyway unhittable

and mr bulsa starts the game with a 65

mile an hour fastball the north vegas

hitter

hector ruiz appears to be about half the

size of that cuban pitcher is as hard as

mickey

that is blinding speed right there

the cuban coaches all say that bolsa's

fastball has tremendous movement

on one pitch the ball seems to rise then

on the next the ball acts more like a

slider and tails off

[Applause]

seven pitches for bulsa two outs the

next hitter is mickey ryan who not only

can throw the ball

but he's the best hitter on this las

vegas team

now batting for the usa west pitcher

number 14

mickey ryan

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

harold oh think that was definitely a

message pitch

welcome to williamsport mr ryan

[Applause]

that's well hit but not enough and the

west goes down in order

carol tell us a little more about ryan

numbers are ridiculous mickey ryan has

won 18 games this year while giving up

just four

runs has allowed only three hits in the

last five games

and on monday he threw the second

perfect game in the series

history

[Music]

first battle for the cubans juan varera

right-handed hitter

tough kid to strike out

[Music]

[Applause]

i'm calling the pitches

wow

[Music]

spike two also a fast ball this one at

73 miles an hour

mickey's wasted no time and heating up

here

and there's ryan's first find out he's

picking up right where he left off three

days ago

the next batter is ignacio valdez who

was hitting 3

48 in this series

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

hmm

so

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

that brings up the big man has ricardo

home runs already in this series

[Music]

hmm

[Music]

this is

oh what a sneaky curveball

[Music]

[Applause]

unbelievable that's the longest home run

i've seen here in

seven years he got all that 70 mile an

hour fast

and the way balsa is throwing a one-run

lead could certainly hold up

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

so

[Applause]

what a catch my center fielder teddy

mcgriff he definitely saved a run there

and possibly the game mickey ryan is

suddenly looking very

[Applause]

the hittable call would have been nice

[Applause]

so here's figueroa this kid is huge

folks

not fast 74 miles an hour

[Music]

senator martinez dr sloan

how do you do how nice to meet you

ground ball to second throw to first

and the cubans are done in the third two

more strikeouts for ryan

for a total of seven in only three

innings

oh do you okay i think it's broken well

did you tell coach

shh no you're not either

look at track a slower downside no way i

want faster there's that

usa usa chant but i'm going to tell you

i don't think ricardo bolso could care

less

i don't think anything bothers this guy

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

both teams are cheating dr sloan the

proof is there in your hands

when did you get this a few hours ago

here's the wind-up the pitch

strike three

only two more aims to play vegas has

six outs now to catch the cuban team and

so far they haven't touched bulsam

he's pitching a no-hitter and mickey

ryan is working on a one hitter

well there's bosses first mistake and

north vegas is team

first base home

and that brings up the feisty catcher

here's pudge kinnick

[Music]

contact

[Applause]

dude

come on

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

so mickey ryan and the north vegas

little league team

are only six outs away from winning the

world championship

mickey ryan has thrown 57 pitches

and he's given up only one hit and i

would imagine mr ryan will be reaching

back for a little bit extra

77 miles an hour unbelievable

[Music]

strike three and vegas doesn't touch

bulsa in the sixth

[Applause]

guys come around mick

you got everyone all right all right

guys this is it all right

three outs and it's us but i want you to

remember one thing

win or lose we do it with class i want

good sportsmanship regardless of what

happens

now i want you to go out there and kick

their butts all right come on let's go

come on

[Music]

it's a cliche i know but all the great

ones even the 12 year old great ones

thrive on pressure

they live for this kind of home vicky

ryan seems to be just that kind of

competitor

and i know somewhere out there in this

biggest crowd ever there is one

mighty proud father ryan's mother is

deceased

but i wouldn't be surprised if she too

is looking on proudly today

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

just two more mickey

[Applause]

80 miles an hour can you believe it

just three more strikes and this game is

over

and how appropriate is

[Applause]

[Applause]

[Applause]

harold i guess ryan was having trouble

with his glasses wonder what balsa

thinks of that

that was really strange

[Music]

okay mick

[Music]

[Applause]

one strike away from victory now

[Music]

strike three

[Music]

[Music]

me out to the ball

again take

me out with a crown

buy me some penis

and crack the jab

i don't care if i

ever get back

[Music]

[Music]

if they don't win

it's a shame

[Music]

[Music]

foreign

[Music]

ladies and gentlemen please hold your

questions we feel we'll answer them all

in our prepared statements

my name is glenn ryan and i'm mickey's

father

except my name isn't glenn ryan

and my son's name isn't mickey

um

my name is tripp spence and one year ago

i was indicted for tax evasion and

bankruptcy fraud

faced with the prospect of going to jail

and losing my son i made the bad

decision to flee

i have something that i have to tell you

guys

when i get finished you guys will

probably never want to talk to me again

i didn't intend for this to happen

it's all my fault i'm embarrassed i'm

i'm humiliated i can't tell you how bad

i feel

i'd like to apologize to dr sloan

and to the little league organization to

derek's coaches

all the wonderful kids on his team

to the north vegas little league

and most of all to um to derek

when the season started

i didn't think that we'd get this far

that my little league secret would get

out

my name's not mickey ryan i'm not 12

years old

i was 12 last year when i played lilly

near washington

now i'm 13.

i'm so sorry

[Music]

becky we wouldn't be here for one for

you

you brought us here

this organization has always tried hard

to protect its integrity we have caught

teams cheating before

and we have dealt with them severely we

will do the same today

the team from north vegas will forfeit

today's game

and the team from cuba will forfeit its

last win over the team from taiwan

ladies and gentlemen today is a dark day

for the little league

but tomorrow will be better tomorrow the

team from canada will play the team from

rockport michigan for the little league

world series championship

i invite you all to come see a great

game

great game huh you were hitting 80 in

the sixth

that's unbelievable

unbelievable

i want to be in jail for a while

how long i don't know

with a little luck might give me a light

sentence you know how light

year maybe less

what am i gonna do you're gonna go stay

with patty

miss sinclair for a while

but why are they gonna put you in jail

like some criminal i committed a crime

hey you know sometimes you tell a lie

and it starts off real little but then

it gets bigger and bigger and bigger

you know

that's what your daddy did i lied

and i cheated

and i taught you how to cheat

he didn't teach me how to cheat

you taught me how to be a ball player

i set a bad example

i'm not playing until you get out

you know

let's both take a year off

go back to vegas they love you in vegas

you know

put together another team

next time we'll do it right

you gotta go

all right

be strong okay

hey derek

you are unbelievable

i love you dad

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

so

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

you