Bottom of the 9th (2019) Movie Script
1
Yo, Stano. These guys
don't mess around, papi chulo.
Unless you got protection,
you'll be they blow-up doll.
You still need somebody?
Come on, baby! Come on.
Come on, Stano!
Aw, man!
Yo! Come on, man.
You kidding me?
- Yo, what's that?
- That's not right, man.
That ain't right.
Come on. Get up.
- Come on. Get up, Sonny.
- Good eye, Sonny.
Big swing. Big swing, Sonny.
Take it on, Sonny.
Let's go. Big swing.
Come on, Sonny.
Nobody makes me
their fucking bitch!
Stano!
Sonny?
- Hi, Eugene.
- My God.
It is so good to see you.
I couldn't tell by your letter
whether it was this week or
next week you were coming home.
Today. I got out today.
How are you? You all right?
Yeah. Yeah, I'm good.
Thanks.
- You?
- Good.
You, um...
- Do you have the keys?
- Of course.
Here you go.
Thanks.
You know, your mother wanted so
much to stay alive for this day.
It's such a shame
she didn't make it.
Well, if you need anything,
just knock.
Thanks.
Hi, Mrs. Murphy?
It's me, Sonny Stano.
Now, I hope it's okay
that I'm here.
For the past 17 years...
I just wanted to tell you how much
that I wish that night never happened.
I wrote you all these letters,
and they were all returned...
How dare you
show your face here.
No, Mrs. Murphy, please.
I just got out.
And all I wanted to do was come here
and tell you how sorry I am for every...
Any injuries
prior to your release?
- No.
- Okay.
Any, uh, use of drugs or
alcohol in the last 72 hours?
No.
Uh, any contact with an officer
of the law since your release?
- Um... No.
- Good.
Okay, so here are the rules.
You break one, you go back in.
No staying out past 10:00.
No leaving the state. No drugs.
You pee in a cup for me every time you
come and see me as a friendly offering.
You pray like hell
it comes back clean.
Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh...
Oh. Major league contract
and you blew it, huh?
Asshole.
Oh. Tomorrow you start work
at the fish store.
Yeah, about that.
I, uh...
I was hoping maybe
I could have a little time
- to find something better.
- Better?
No. The parole deal is for the fish store.
What are you talking about?
I just thought
that maybe I...
I could find something
in management.
Really? Management?
What are you gonna manage?
A hotel?
A car dealership?
Or maybe a three-star restaurant?
You couldn't manage a bodega.
You barely have
a high school diploma.
You have absolutely
no skills to offer
into a workforce
that's already overcrowded.
Be glad your friend with the fish
store stuck his neck out for you.
Second chances
are hard to come by.
You know the kid
whose life you took?
He sure as hell isn't
getting one.
Be grateful you are.
Now go pee in the cup.
I'm looking
for Joey Costenza.
- The boss?
- Yeah.
- His office is right there.
- Thanks.
Oh.
There he is.
Man, look at you.
You look great,
you son of a bitch.
Hey, you don't look
so bad yourself.
Thanks. I mean, ain't got nothing on you.
Never did, right?
Man. It's good...
It's good to see you.
Good to see you out, Sonny.
I mean,
out here and... free.
Thanks for writing the letter
to the parole board.
No, I'm, I'm not kidding, man.
It meant everything.
If it wasn't for that,
I don't think I'd be out right now.
Don't worry about it.
We'll help you get on your feet.
You have to start
from the bottom,
but the guys on the dock
will show you the ropes.
You got any of that, uh,
signing bonus money left? No?
Nah, it all went to the kid's
family, to the lawyer.
Yeah, right. Right.
Oh. Check this out.
Paid 1,500
for this Rod Carew bat.
Go ahead. Give it a swing.
- Nah...
- Go ahead. I don't give a shit.
Nah, it's okay.
No?
All right.
Hey. I'm gonna sponsor
a summer league.
You wanna play?
- I don't know.
- The Surf Club paid COD, Joey.
- Half check, half cash.
- All right. That's good.
Very good. You stop by my place,
take the trash out of the garage?
- Yeah, it's all done. All done.
- All right. Good.
Hey, this is Sonny. Good friend of mine.
Just got outta jail.
Oh. Congratulations.
We grew up together. Used to play ball
together. Little league, high school.
This guy's got ice in his veins
when he's up at bat.
Yeah.
You were king once.
Remember, Sonny?
Yeah.
What do you want? You're hanging around.
I see the face.
Look, I know I said
that I can work on Sunday.
But I forgot, Joey, that it's
my daughter's birthday,
and it's... they said
it's gonna rain on Saturday.
- So I just wanted...
- Wait, wait, wait.
I gotta clear out my attic.
I just got the dumpster delivered.
I understand.
It's just this one time, Joey.
No. I'm gonna give you
more days.
Wanna know why?
He's gonna be my new swing guy.
- Give him the keys.
- Wait, you're firing me?
Yeah, I'm firing you.
Give him the keys, Bobby.
Know what, Joey?
Why don't you go fuck yourself.
- Whoa.
- Nice. Very nice.
- That's why you're fired.
- Yeah.
- It's not 'cause of me, is it?
- Don't worry about him.
Here, Sonny. You're my new swing guy.
All right?
So you do half days
loading the dock,
half days, you know,
do some personal stuff for me.
This'll be good, man.
It'll be like old times. Me and you.
Get to hang out.
Good to see you.
- All right.
- Yeah.
Thanks, man.
Shit.
I'm sorry.
That's $26.40.
- How much you said it was?
- $26.40.
- Can I put some of it back?
- What do you wanna put back?
I don't know,
like six dollars' worth.
How much is the coffee?
Uh, um... $5.65.
- How about the lettuce?
- Two dollars.
What about the tomatoes?
Rosita, it's okay.
Put it with my stuff.
Hi, Sonny.
Hi.
No. No, no, no. No, no.
I'll put it back.
- No, no. It's okay. It's okay.
- No, I...
Thanks for
bailing me out back there.
- I'll pay you back.
- No, it's fine.
- Will you let me carry your bag?
- My God. It's okay.
It's good to see you.
It's good to see you too.
How long
since you've been back home?
Just a couple weeks.
Still trying to get my bearings.
You'll get it.
You just need time, I guess.
You look great.
How you been?
I've been great.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Sorry about the smell.
I'm working for Joey Fish now.
Just temporary till
I can line something else up.
- You work around here?
- Yeah.
I teach Spanish at Columbus.
Wow.
You mean, you're, like, Seora Ramirez now?
I mean, to the kids?
If they know what is good for them.
I'm that way.
Good luck, Sonny.
Angela.
I just want you to know
how sorry I am.
About everything.
About hurting you.
You gotta understand. It wasn't that
I didn't want to see you anymore.
I just wanted you to move on.
I did.
Hello? Um... No, no, no, baby.
I didn't forget.
Okay. Yeah. Pick the movie.
Yeah. Be there soon. No.
No, not that one, please!
Okay.
All she wants to do is
watch High School Musical.
How old is she?
She's ten.
You got any more?
No, just one. The best one.
Bye, Sonny.
Good luck with everything.
Hey, kid.
What? I gained that much weight?
You don't know
who the hell I am?
What do you want?
I heard you was home.
I wanted to come by
and say hello.
Ah, heard about your mom.
I'm sorry.
Still coaching?
Yep. Thirty years in the minors.
At least it's with the Yankees.
If you're gonna get stuck on the farm,
they're the ones to get stuck with.
I've been waiting
a long time for this.
I have some things
I wanted to say.
Why didn't you
just say 'em then?
Ossining's five stops
up the Metro-North.
Look. I'm here now, aren't I?
I mean, that's saying something.
You wanna go for a walk?
Come on. Let's take a walk.
I must have written
like ten letters.
But everything I wrote
just sounded wrong.
So I would just...
I wanted to feel sorry for you.
Man, I don't want you
to feel sorry for me.
I never wanted anybody
to feel sorry for me.
If that's what this is about,
I don't need your pity, man.
I just thought maybe it
all happened for a reason.
It didn't happen for a reason.
It didn't happen for any reason other than I
made the biggest mistake of my life that night.
You know, there's no path.
I'm sick of this.
There's only screwups and then
consequences afterwards.
All right. So be it.
Anyways, you working?
You got something going on?
Yeah, my buddy hooked me up
with a job at his fish business.
He's got a big warehouse.
Training me...
- What?
- Fish?
What the hell do you know
about fish?
What do you mean? It's a job.
It's a steady job.
All right, all right.
What happens if I had a job for you?
- Doing what?
- In baseball.
I'll get you on salary
as one of my assistants.
Come on, man. Nah.
I'm not interested.
You're not interested
in baseball?
You used to eat,
sleep and drink it.
Look, I know what you're doing.
Okay? And I appreciate it. I do.
But me and baseball...
we're done.
I gotta grow up.
I appreciate you coming
out to see me.
I do.
We're good.
Nobody grows up in baseball!
Hey! Sonny Stan.
The home run man.
- How's things working out?
- Good.
Good. You know what?
I never got your cell phone number.
Oh, yeah. Well, uh...
I don't really have one.
That's right.
You don't got a cell phone.
- Well, we gotta get you one.
- How come?
Because everyone has one, and what
if I gotta get ahold of you, Sonny?
Hey, Flocko, do me a favor. Keep your
shit clean. We got inspections tomorrow.
You can use this one. I mean, the screen
is cracked, but I'm sure it still works.
You know, I don't even know where
to begin with one of these things.
- Just go find a tutorial online.
- Right. Okay.
I need you to do a few things
for me right now.
- Yeah, sure.
- All right, good.
Run to my car.
There's dirty gym clothes in the back.
I can't take 'em home 'cause my
wife, she just breaks my balls.
There's a laundromat around the corner.
You drop it off.
There's a hot Puerto Rican girl.
She's gonna take care of you.
- Okay.
- Oh, and then stop by my house.
You know our damn landscapers never showed up
knowing that I got people coming tomorrow?
What a bunch of shit. So I need you
to go there and mow the lawn for me.
Sonny.
You're okay with that, right?
Yeah, sure. 'Course.
By the way, your, uh, your parole
officer called me this morning.
You know, asked
how you're doing on the job.
I told him
you were banging it up.
- Thanks, Joey.
- Yeah.
Answer me this though.
How come nobody looks at each
other when they talk anymore?
It's that freakin' Facebook,
Insta-sham, Twitter bullshit.
It's ridiculous. You know,
people even pick up chicks on that thing.
It's putting me out of business.
Hey, hon. What'll you have?
I'll have a beer, please.
Thanks.
- A beer, right?
- Yeah.
'Scuse me, but are you a thief?
'Cause you must have stolen the stars from
the sky and put 'em right in your eyes.
Seriously?
Is that your A game?
That line used to work.
A long time ago.
So, you from the neighborhood?
Yeah. I, uh, I went
to Columbus and everything.
Me too.
When'd you graduate?
Probably before you were born.
I was born in '94.
I'm a little older than you think.
I think I'm a little bit older
than you think.
So what do you do?
I'm in food.
Food, uh, management.
Like restaurants?
Like behind the scenes.
So how does that work?
Well, uh...
I mainly work
in retail products.
Uh, high quality, uh... seafood.
That's cool, I guess.
You know, me and my friend,
we wanna open a restaurant.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah. It's called Picnic.
Hey, Sonny.
Tommy.
Heard you went by to my mother's
the other day.
I gotta say,
it takes some balls.
Yeah, I just stopped by
to tell her that...
that I wish
that that night never happened.
Oh, well, it did.
And you're still here,
and my brother's in the ground.
Hey, maybe you guys should
take this reunion outside.
There ain't gonna be
no trouble from me.
After 17 years in the joint,
where you gonna go?
What could you possibly do,
you piece of shit loser?
Sonny, you know, maybe it's gonna take a
while for people to get used to you back.
You know, maybe you should, like, lay low for
a while, you know? You know what I mean?
You ready for this, fish man?
Whoo! Yeah!
Wow.
Mr. Monte!
You weren't kidding when you said
you upped your golf game, huh?
You're falling behind,
little Joey.
Make this one pretty.
Yeah. You know I will.
Hey, Sonny, give me a six iron.
Ah, this is a par three,
big guy.
Nope. Nope.
Not that one either.
We call that the wedge.
Where'd you find this gorilla?
We were short on caddies.
Sonny works for me.
Golf is not his thing, so...
Uh, yeah, no shit, Sherlock.
You know what is his game?
Baseball.
Yeah.
This guy was major stuff.
- Signed to the Yanks.
- Really?
- Yeah. Yeah.
- No shit?
- Hey, man, you were a Yankee?
- Almost.
So, what the hell happened?
Killed a guy.
He's a pisser!
You know, Sonny,
you're a pisser.
Did I ever tell you
what a real pisser you are?
He didn't really kill a guy,
right?
No, he's full of shit.
Right there, that's it!
Yeah, that's nice, right there!
Not a single miss,
boys!
Looking good, looking good!
Hey,
put your helmet on, all right?
Check him out, man.
Oh, yeah! That's what
I'm talking about! Right there!
All right, you're up.
Come on.
Keep your eye on the ball.
Just like
we went over yesterday.
Oh, yeah!
Little hustle!
A little hustle out there!
Keep moving, keep moving!
Everything's cool with your PO?
- Yeah, yeah. Of course.
- All right, good.
You go see Pete
and he'll dress you.
- Pete's still here?
- Everyone's still here.
Hey.
That's Hirohito Nakahara.
Himself.
He's rehabbin' his knee.
Upstairs is trying to squeeze
another season out of him.
But I'm afraid he might be done.
That guy's a legend.
What's he, like,
48 hits away from 3,000?
I thought you were all done
with baseball.
I was in prison,
not on a different planet.
Yeah. Come on,
let's go see the yard.
This Scaleri?
Jesus, that guy was old
when I was here.
Yeah. Well,
where else is he gonna go?
Hey, Buzzy!
Come here.
Stano, yeah.
- You remember me?
- Of course I do.
How are you, buddy?
Good. How you doing?
Stano, I got a story
no one ever heard before, kid.
This was 1974.
Uh, we were doing terrible
as a team.
We'd lost 14 in a row.
Lenny was on third base.
Tied two-two, the game was tied.
I got up.
I hit a great fly ball.
- Great fly ball.
- Right? A great fly ball.
He tagged up, he scores.
It was the shot heard
round... the corner.
You get it?
You're looking good.
Thanks.
You're looking good too.
- Oh, good.
- Yeah.
You don't look so good.
Hey, listen.
Stano's gonna help us
with that Manny kid.
Thank you.
What Manny kid?
That kid
right out there,
with the stuff crawling
off his head.
Manny! Manny!
Talented kid. They sunk a ton of money
into him. But he acts like an asshole.
Had to bail him out of a bar fight
the other night. He's killing me.
Que lo que, Coach?
Manny, I want you to meet
Sonny Stano.
He played right here in our beautiful
little park a little while back.
- One of the best we ever had.
- Que pas? You get hurt?
Doesn't matter what happened.
You can learn a lot from Sonny.
I want you two
to get to know each other.
- Why?
- Because I said so!
Do you need a goddamn
explanation for everything I say?
Chill, chill, chill.
You know Manny.
Manny's up for anything.
Manny's all about commitment.
All about better.
Manny's up for anything that
takes him to the next level.
And besides, there's
a lot to learn from old guys.
I'm in, man. See you.
Hey, Manny.
Listen, man, uh... I'm not trying
to push my life on you, you know?
They called me in.
So maybe you learn something from me.
Maybe I learn something
from you. Cool?
Good talk.
Hey.
Sonny, what are you doing here?
I brought you your money.
- For what?
- For the other day at the market.
No, it's completely unnecessary.
It's completely necessary
for me.
And I also wanted to ask
your advice.
- Advice?
- Yeah, I'm, uh...
I'm thinking of taking
some business classes.
You know,
so I can get a good job
till I open my own business
one day.
What kind of business?
I'm thinking wholesale.
Don't you do wholesale
at the fish market?
I don't really work there
anymore.
I got this, like, consultant job
with a minor league ball club.
I think it's great. Baseball.
It's like, it's who you are.
It's who you always were.
Yeah, I don't know.
The pay's not very good.
Which is why I need
to start taking these classes.
Seeing that you're a teacher,
I figured
maybe you can give me
some pointers.
Well, yeah, go inside.
They have some student forms.
They're pretty self-explanatory.
Ask for Miss Lupe. She'll help...
I'm gonna be
straight with you.
I'm feelin' really lost.
When I was inside, I'd...
I'd see all these guys leave,
and they'd come right back in.
And I never understood why
until now.
I could just...
just use some help.
Sonny, I would really like
to help you,
but, you know, my schedule's
just super tight right now.
Between my job and...
Hola, Mami!
Hi, Mom.
How was school?
Good.
Do you have homework?
- Did it in class.
- You better have finished it all
because I'm gonna check it
later.
Melissa,
this is my friend, Sonny.
- Hi.
- Sonny, this is Melissa.
And you remember Billy, right?
Oh, man,
that's your cousin.
He became a cop?
Billy.
You remember Sonny Stano.
I do. Yeah.
How you doin', Billy?
Can we go home now?
She's really tired today.
Why don't you take her home. Hmm?
I'll catch up with you guys later.
Yeah. Don't forget to go back
there and get your forms.
Thanks.
So.
You're back, huh?
Yeah.
How much time you end up doin'
for killing that kid?
Nine.
Another nine for staying alive.
What're you doin' here?
I just asked Angela for some
help with this idea that I have.
Listen, um, don't try
any bullshit while you're here.
- Okay?
- No, man.
I ran into your cousin
at the market the other day.
I will not see her get hurt again.
Do you understand me?
No, I think you got me wrong.
I'm not trying to pull anything.
I don't give a shit.
Just stay away from her.
Angela made her mistakes.
You were the first.
I won't allow another one.
Just believe me, I'm really not
trying to hurt anybody ever again.
Backing him back up to first...
And here's the wind
and the pitch...
Oh! Martinez connects!
It's looking good,
it's going high, a monster shot!
Back, back, back!
And it is gone!
Out of the park!
Wow! This youngster
really jumped right in.
Your drug test comin' back
negative, that's good.
Any contact
with an officer of the law?
No.
Yeah.
When?
Couple days ago.
Under what circumstances?
He's the cousin of this girl
that I used to go out with.
- Yeah? So what happened?
- Told me to stay away from her.
Pay stub?
Um...
"Staten Island Empires."
What is this?
- It's a baseball team.
- No, no, no.
No, what happened
to the fish market?
I quit.
No. Without telling me?
No. That is not how this works.
Fine, then write me up
for a violation.
- All right.
- But I'm not going back there
another day
to pretend like I belong.
You said it yourself.
I'm not qualified to do anything
but be a ballplayer.
And here, somebody offers me
a job on a team.
This is all up to you.
All right, all right.
Just give me the pay stub.
Give it to me.
Don't you even think of leaving
the state without my prior consent.
I want two weeks' written notice or I'll have
your ass back on a bus so fast to Sing Sing.
You understand me?
And when the season is over,
I want you getting
a regular gig.
Now, you may think
I'm going easy on you.
But I'm giving you just
enough rope to hang yourself.
Stano.
- Got it?
- Thank you.
Do your thing.
Whoo!
Can do this all day, people!
Certainly doesn't lack
confidence.
Yeah. Don't be fooled.
He's 40% confidence
and 60% scared shitless.
- Hoo!
- Of what?
Let's do it!
Uno mas, Coach!
He's one of the best
utility guys I've seen in years.
- He's got the stuff.
- Up the middle!
Any club in the bigs
would want him.
But if he doesn't start out
strong, he gets freaked out.
The pitchers see it, then they
start working him into the ground.
It's 'cause they're reading him.
Whoo!
Ain't no substitute
for youth, baby!
The past, finito!
The future, bang, right here!
Right here! Oh, man.
Hey, show some respect.
Thought you said you had something
to learn from the older guys.
Excuse me?
Does "excuse me" mean
you didn't hear what I said?
Or does it mean you're gonna start
some trouble if I don't back off?
It means mind your business,
and do whatever it is you're
supposed to be doing around here.
Which nobody even knows
what that is.
Ya entiendo.
Yeah. That's right.
All right. We're gonna do a sim game.
Mitchell, get on the mound.
Manny, get back up at the plate.
Let's go! Sim game!
Nakahara, go easy on your knee.
Hit this, golden boy.
You better not be putting shit
on that ball, Mitchell!
Hey! I find out
you usin' Vaseline,
I'm gonna use it
to shove this bat up your ass!
Oops. Super-Crip strikes out.
Try shoving a bat
up your own ass.
Might clear the booze
outta your head.
There you go
with that shit, man.
Whoa, whoa!
Hey, hey, hey!
Hey, get your fucking hands
off me, con!
That's right, I looked you up!
You think you bad 'cause you was in jail?
I bring some of my boys down,
we do a number on your ass!
Hey, man, I'm here to work.
Just like you're supposed to be.
I don't have to listen
to no sorry-ass never-was, okay?
You got nothin' to teach me,
so step off!
- Pick up the bat.
- Fuck you!
Tell me what you're lookin' at
when you're standing here.
- The ball?
- No. Why you looking at that?
I'm not sure if you're aware, but that's
what the fuck you're supposed to hit.
Yes, you look at the ball,
but he hasn't thrown it yet.
So, what are we supposed
to look at then? His ass?
Yes. You look at his ass.
His body, his eyes, everything!
Get on the mound.
Get on the mound!
You give him a signal.
Anything you want.
You throw him
whatever he signals you.
Sinker.
Do it again. Again!
Curve.
One more.
- Fastball.
- How'd you know that?
'Cause he's giving it away
and he doesn't even know it.
You read them.
You don't let them read you.
Let's go. You're up.
Let's go, Mitchell,
come on, baby!
Hey. What are you doing
out here?
Waiting for my Lyft.
Your Lyft?
My ride is gonna be here
in one minute.
What do you mean?
How can you tell?
Look at this.
The little car going there.
For real?
Technology.
Any luck with the classes?
They made me take
this stupid aptitude test.
You didn't even hand it in?
I don't know, I guess I,
like, wasn't ready for it.
Let me see.
You know what?
Maybe I do need to help you.
Come tomorrow to my office.
You know,
test taking is like an art.
Maybe I can give you,
like, a couple of tips.
I work during the day.
How about we do dinner?
It'd be on me.
No, no. You don't have
to buy me any dinner.
I know I don't need to buy you dinner.
I want to.
Come on, it'd make me feel like
more of a man, paying you back.
For helping you with a test?
Well, yeah.
Come on.
Okay. Friday.
7:00?
These mashed potatoes
aren't half bad. You want a bite?
I have bad news, Sonny.
What?
You would have passed this.
- Really?
- Yeah.
But you didn't trust yourself.
And the secret to test taking
is listening
to your first instinct
because that's usually
the right answer.
I guess
I just don't trust myself yet.
You'll get there.
Remember comin' here
after bein' out all night?
Two, three in the morning?
How could I forget?
We had the same routine
every Saturday.
A couple of months ago
for Melissa's birthday,
I took her and her friends
to play mini golf
at Turtle Cove.
You remember?
That was our first date.
City Island.
Fourteen. Jesus.
Remember how big a deal it was for me
to take you out of the neighborhood?
Yeah. It was like
going to another world for us.
We had to get on the bus.
You told me that
it was because of the mini golf,
but then when we passed
the batting cages...
Come on.
I had to show off to you.
Yeah. You did.
Well, it worked, so...
It did.
Can I ask...
where's Melissa's father?
I lost him.
How long ago did he pass away?
Mm-mm.
I lost him.
Like in, I got rid of him.
Oh.
Well, congrats, I guess.
Everything turned out fine.
I have a great daughter,
great job.
I got my teacher's license.
Maybe, hopefully soon,
I'm gonna be promoted to
guidance counselor at the school.
All I want is
a stable life for Melissa.
Hustle up!
Is that Roger Peterson?
What, he's down here
rehabbin' too?
Yep that's the Assassin.
Lost all control of the ball
and himself.
So I guess we got
two legends then, huh?
One's a mute,
the other's a prick.
You next, superstar?
Hey, don't blink.
You might miss my swing.
Gotta watch his two!
Watch his two!
Come on!
Let's see what you got!
Don't be afraid, Manny! He's tryin' to get in
your head 'cause he doesn't have anything.
Hey!
Don't tell me what to do, okay?
I'm not scared of nobody!
Vamos!
Just relax. All he's got left is a
little heat. That's why he's down here.
Hey, shit lips!
Pipe the fuck down!
No one's here to see you!
Someone might get hurt.
Not before I send you back to
marry you cousin, fucking redneck!
Put it out there!
Yo! What, are you crazy?
You okay?
Get him up. Come on! Get him up!
Five-million-dollar deal!
Get in there! Get inside!
He ain't worth it!
The fuck was that,
ass clown?
Talking to me?
I'm not worth shit?
What about you?
You're a fucking nobody.
I got seven years in the show.
What'd you get,
20 years upstate?
Fucking convict!
Sonny!
Let's see what you got, hotshot.
Need some WD-40 with that swing?
Let's go. Give me the heat!
That's all you got anyway.
Let's go, win this, baby!
Come on now!
Whoa! Nice, Stano!
Hey, guys, Cashman's here.
And Bernie.
Let's go, Peterson!
Come on, baby, let's go!
Let's go, baby!
Win this battle. Come on now!
Nice, Sonny!
Crushing it, Stano!
Shallow right.
Nobody's throwing 95 in prison.
That's for sure.
Third base line.
Who would have thought they ever
would have torn down the old stadium?
I hear the new one
over there is amazing.
Oh, no, this is the one.
This is hallowed ground.
Think of all the greats
that played here.
Right over there is where Lou Gehrig
made his "luckiest man alive" speech.
Right over there is where Mickey
Mantle played center field.
Think of all
the World Series games.
Tino hit that grand slam in '98.
And he swept the Braves in '99.
It was the year I went in.
I would have been on that team.
Can you imagine?
It would have been me up at bat.
You would have been watching me,
cheering me on right over there.
The Bleacher Creatures
screaming everybody's name.
Paul O'Neill. Bernie Williams.
Me.
Why didn't I just walk away?
Why did I let that stupid guy
in the street bother me?
Sonny, why are we here?
'Cause every day I was away,
all I'd do is try
not to think about this place.
'Cause more than anything,
it made me think about you.
This is where I took you
on our last date.
We were sittin'
in seats right here.
I remember.
It's the last time I can ever
remember being truly happy.
Being here with you.
I'm getting cold.
Let's go back to the car, huh?
Okay.
This was really nice.
- I really want...
- Yeah, me too.
You too what?
I don't know.
What were you gonna say?
Nothing.
But do you remember...
what you told me
on our first date?
Hands on hands.
That it meant...
forever.
I just made that up
'cause I was scared to kiss you.
But I meant it.
You know
I didn't ask you out just...
I know.
Doesn't matter.
Angela.
Yes, you can call me, Sonny.
Why are we meeting here?
I had some business
to take care of.
Thought you might like to come out to
good old Staten Island, see the old field.
Looks the same.
Maybe a little nicer.
Yeah, paint job,
new scoreboard.
That's about it.
So...
they got rid of Peterson.
Wasn't worth the liability.
Sorry to hear that.
No, you're not.
In fact, I think
you had something to do with it.
What does that mean?
You had some pretty impressive
hitting against him the other day.
And despite all other problems
Peterson may have...
he still had the heat.
He was throwin' hard and fast,
and you were in the zone.
Even Cashman noticed it.
Got lucky, I guess.
Nah. Now that's where
I'm gonna call bullshit on you.
You know as well as I do that you
always had it and you never lost it.
You were showing somebody
something the other day.
Now, maybe it was me, Manny,
who knows,
could even have been God.
But you were the same Stano
I first saw play 20 years ago.
What would you say
if I got you a spot on the team?
I'd say you were crazy.
I think
you still got the goods.
Nah, I played
my last baseball game.
June 24th, 1999.
It was ten days
into my sentence.
Come on, it'd be a joke.
You hit that way
during the season,
the way you were hitting the other
day, it would be no joke.
Who knows? You might even
get invited to winter ball.
No.
- Yeah. And why not?
- 'Cause it's a big maybe.
And I'm 38 years old and I
can't deal with maybes anymore.
Goddamn it, I'm offering you
a second shot here!
I never asked you
for a second shot.
Oh, yeah? Then why are you here?
Huh? I know why.
Okay, because you couldn't
stop yourself, okay?
You got so much talent
inside yourself
you couldn't stop using it
even if you tried.
Sometimes, you gotta give in
to it instead of fighting it.
You had the stuff
to be one of the greats.
Yeah, but I'm not.
And it ain't gonna happen.
You know
what Honus Wagner said?
"There ain't nothing to being a
ballplayer if you're a ballplayer."
And you, Stano,
are a ballplayer.
Hello?
- Sonny Stano?
- Yeah, this is him.
Yeah, this is Charles Denny
from The New York Post.
What's this about?
We heard you were added to the
roster of the Staten Island Empires.
You're an incredible
comeback story, Sonny.
Now, seriously,
it's inspirational,
and I think it would make
a great article.
Would you mind if I just
asked you a few questions?
Yeah, okay.
Great. My first question is, how do
you think the fans are gonna respond
to an ex-con
playing on their field?
I don't know. I mean, uh...
Well, I think baseball fans
are really special.
I just hope that...
that they have
a sense of forgiveness.
Well, how about your teammates?
I can't speak for them, but I...
I hope they just see me
as another player.
You know, I... I'm
really no different from them
and... and they're
no different from me.
This is gonna sound
a little crazy, but...
you think you could
make the majors again,
like you did in '99?
Yeah.
Yeah, I think I can.
I...
I made it once.
I think I can make it again.
We got a lot of different food
here we're gonna get,
but we gotta
stretch it out first!
- Hut! Hut! Hut!
- Three! Four! Five!
- Hut! Hut! Hut!
- Six! Seven! Eight!
Little more, little more!
- One, two, three!
- Empires!
Let's go!
Let's go! Ready? Let's go!
Stano, you got a partner?
Let's go.
Hey, Billy. How you doing?
She ain't here.
Um... You know
when she'll be back?
No. I don't know
when she's coming back.
Well, can you tell her
I dropped by, then?
- What're you doin' here?
- What do you mean?
You know what I mean.
Angela just got out
of a fucked-up relationship,
only to walk into another one?
She don't need that.
And Melissa,
she can't be around you, man.
Not around guys like you
with your kind of history.
Can you imagine some fuckhead
from the joint you had a beef with
comes out looking for blood?
- Now you know what I mean?
- Billy, come on, man.
No, no, no. Listen, listen.
If you really care about my cousin,
you think about her, okay?
She is just straightening out her life
right now for her and her daughter.
I'm gonna ask you one last time
as nice as I can.
Please stay away from Angela.
Capisce?
Sonny, hi. Um, it's me.
I tried you
a couple of times, but... um...
I heard about your good news.
So I wanted to say, um,
I'm so happy that you're playing again.
Call me sometime.
If you have the time, of course.
Okay, bye.
It's a fastball.
- Let's go!
- Come on, Manny, stay icy!
Don't swing! Just look at it!
Sinker.
God damnit, God!
Stano, grab a bat. Come on!
We didn't sign you to sit there
with that ugly puss. Let's go.
Stepping in for
Ojeda is number 13, Sonny Stano.
Hey! It's the jailbird!
Look for your pitch, kid.
- Come on, Stano.
- Let's go, convict!
- Come on, Stano!
- Play!
All right, settle down, Sonny,
settle down.
Look for your pitch, kid!
Get ready.
Come on, let's go.
That's all right, Stano.
Come on, baby.
Let's go, kid, come on.
Get a good pitch!
Strike!
- That's bullshit.
- You say something, Stano?
- No, I didn't say anything.
- No, I heard you say something.
You did. You know what?
If you think I'm gonna go easy on you
and your jailbird ass,
it ain't happening.
You know what? You're done
for today. Get out of here.
- What are you talking about?
- You're done! Get out of here.
- You want to add extra games?
- The pitch was low!
Take a walk, you're done.
And Stano is thrown
out of this ballgame.
All right, guys.
A five-nothing loss
isn't exactly
the greatest way
to start a season,
but let's not let it throw us.
Remember, next Thursday
we're all heading upstate
for a week of away games,
so let's just
take it easy for now,
get our sea legs under us.
And remember,
tomorrow's another game.
In my 35 fuckin' years of
being around this God damn game,
I have never ever seen
such a lazy, crappy,
no-good, no-balls, no-nothing,
Goddamn fucking bunch of losers
blow a fucking opening day game
like that in my entire Goddamn life!
Get your heads
out of your asses!
Or I'm gonna fuck...
Fuck!
Strike!
Strike!
All right, guys,
let's go, let's pack it up.
- Fuck! Fucking stupid!
- Hey, stop that.
We all saw what you did in practice.
Okay? You can still play this game.
Yeah, against some half string
pitcher out of fucking rehab.
No, goddamn it,
I know what I saw.
If anyone was fucking stupid,
maybe it was me.
Maybe I brought
you along too quick.
But there's something wrong,
and unless it changes fast,
they ain't gonna let me keep you on.
You understand?
Hey, Sonny. Do you understand?
Don't let it end this way.
We're missing your best friend.
- Who?
- Manny the mooch.
Find him.
I'm tired of this shit.
Yo, Manny.
Hey.
Let's go.
Come on, man, get up.
Shit!
Hello, man. We were just,
you know, celebrating...
Celebrating what? The fact that you
finally made contact with the ball?
Come on, grab your shit.
Let's go. Get your shit.
Okay. Okay. Okay.
Hey. Oh, shit.
You know, Stano, I don't do
this, you know, a lot.
You don't have to, you know,
talk to Coach about...
you know, any of this. This is...
this don't happen a lot, papa.
Get on the bus.
Now.
Yo, Stano.
Thanks, man.
...not a long lead.
He holds his ground
and it's a base hit
to left field.
Takes to third, he heads to
third, and he's gonna get it.
The throw to second base,
not in time.
Runners at second and third.
Thanks for meeting me.
You want something?
I'm sorry I haven't
called you back.
I've just been doing a lot
of thinking about everything.
I don't know what I'm doing.
I don't know how much longer
I'm gonna be doing it.
I'm pretty sure it's...
It's gonna be over
pretty soon.
And I don't know what's
gonna happen to me after. I...
But I do know that there's
no way in hell
I'm gonna be making
any money doing it.
Please don't tell me that the
reason that you're hurting me again
is because you don't want
to hurt me again.
Because that makes no sense,
Sonny.
I guess Bill was right.
Billy was right.
So is everybody else.
What, you think I don't know?
You think I don't see the way
that these people look at me?
Think I don't hear
what they say about me?
You know, there's people
that buy tickets to my games
just so they can yell stuff
at me from the crowd.
But I get it.
I killed somebody.
And I'm always gonna carry that.
But you and Melissa
don't have to.
This is my fault.
'Cause I just...
I had this fantasy...
that I could get out
and things would just...
go back to the
way that they were.
We're not 19 anymore.
It's never gonna
be that way for me.
As much as it breaks my heart...
you're better off
without me now.
And I have to accept that.
Don't tell me what is...
is or isn't good for me.
In the past I've known
what has been bad for me,
and I have handled it.
If I want to stay with someone
or leave someone...
it's my decision.
But if you want to spend
the rest of your life
sitting there feeling
sorry for yourself...
go ahead.
Think about it.
You know where to find me.
Hirohito Nakahara
sets himself up to the plate.
Go, go, go, go, go!
Slide, slide, slide!
Can't move! I can't get up!
Let's give him
a round of applause, folks.
Yeah, easy... Oh, yeah.
Go for it. Yeah.
Oh! That hurts.
Yeah, easy, easy.
Thanks, man. Thank you.
I just want to stop by
and pay my respects and say...
I'm sure when you're back
out there next year,
you'll get 3,000.
There won't be
any more next year.
There's only, what,
30 guys who've hit 3,000?
Pulling out now,
that would crush anybody.
You know, all we have,
as a player, is your best.
Play every game
like it's your last game.
One day you'll be right.
Thanks.
Give your best in the field.
Yo, Stano.
Stano.
I heard you the first time.
What do you want?
I just wanna, uh,
say thank you for...
not telling the coaches
what you saw the other day.
If I did what was right,
I would have told the coaches.
What is that supposed
to mean, man?
It means I don't care.
You wanna throw
your life away, your dreams,
I don't care.
You got talent, man.
But someday,
it's gonna dry up.
And if you don't
protect it now,
life's just gonna
make an example out of you.
Trust me.
I know you love baseball, man.
But what the fuck is this shit?
I don't know. They built
the Minor League stadium
with a fucking
miniature golf course.
I mean,
I know baseball's boring,
but Jesus Christ...
Let me try that thing, man.
Coo, this...
this is heavy.
- Put your hips into it.
- My hips, eh?
You can do better
than that.
Come on, man. Swing it.
Ah.
- Mom?
- Hm?
I think
they're baseball tickets.
Can we go, please?
Strike!
Pick your feet up!
Run, Goddamn it!
Look, look!
Down! Down!
Safe!
Yeah!
- Hey, here you go, Sonny.
- Thanks, Ronnie.
- Throw it in the tip jar.
- Bye.
- That was really stupid.
- Oh! Don't say that.
You remember that song?
Did you have fun tonight?
Yeah, it was great.
Kind of long, though.
It was really cool when you slid
on the ground. Did that hurt?
Not if you
practice doing it right.
Can you teach me how
to do it sometime?
- Sure.
- No. No, no, no.
She has to go home.
It's past her bedtime.
Yo, asshole!
I'll meet you at the car.
Go ahead. No, no, no.
Congratulations! I hear
you're back in the game,
- playin' for the minors, right?
- Yeah, man.
Nice how things are fallin'
back into place for you.
Got your girl back, I see.
Playing ball again.
And where's my brother?
I'll tell you where he is!
He's still in the fucking
ground, that's where!
And you're walking the streets,
all fucking big man,
happy, healthy, whatever!
Pretending that you're not
what you really are.
A scumbag, killer,
con piece of shit!
Hey, man, don't do this here.
Not here, not now.
Okay. Okay, big man.
Catch you another
time then, I guess.
- Mom?
- Hmm?
Why was Sonny in jail
for 18 years?
Yeah...
I guess Sonny was out one night
with some guys,
and they got into a fight.
There was an accident
and someone died.
Did Sonny mean to do it?
No, baby, of course not.
But sometimes, when you hang
with the wrong people,
in the wrong places...
people make mistakes.
You said
everyone makes mistakes.
Yeah. We all do.
And some can be very bad.
That's why you need
to be very careful.
You know what the most important
part of making a mistake is?
What you learn after...
and you do after.
Now go sleepies!
We have school tomorrow.
Well, congratulation, Stano. Your piss
is cleaner than a shit-hand sanitizer.
Any contact with an officer
of the law?
Yes.
Under what circumstances?
I'm not gonna leave
his cousin alone.
Uh... Do you think
your girlfriend's cousin,
the cop, enjoys
having you around, Stano?
Look, it... might seem like
I'm asking for trouble, but...
Look, you... you and I are gonna
have to agree to disagree on this.
So... do you have a plan
for when you get cut?
- Maybe I'll be like Lou Gehrig.
- Excuse me?
When he got too sick to play,
he found work in another
field...
as a parole officer.
He said it was the most
satisfying work of his life,
helping people get second
chances at their lives.
Okay. We're done here.
You should come see
me play sometime.
You're supposed to come
visit me at work, right?
Yeah, no thanks.
I wanna fall asleep, I'll talk to my wife.
Hey, forgetting something?
Nice catch.
Come on.
Sinker.
Fastball.
Changeup.
Okay, you ready?
Cashman's sending scouts
to see you on Friday night.
You gotta be shitting me.
No, I'm not shitting you.
What do you think,
I drive all the way up to the
Bronx for some bullshit prank
and a slice of pizza?
You're hitting .407, Sonny.
Sixteen home runs, 23 ribbies.
It's one of the hottest months
we've ever seen
- anybody have in the minors.
- I don't know what to say.
Well, how about, that's
great fucking news, Coach.
Why don't they
want somebody younger?
Somebody more proven? Somebody that's
played a couple years in the minors?
You're a monster hitter.
Cashman sees what you're capable of.
So do I.
Don't act like my history
isn't a huge part of this.
My past would outweigh anything
having to do with baseball,
and you know it.
You know how many people out there
don't wanna see me in a Yankee uniform?
It's one thing blocking out
100 people at Staten Island.
It's whole other thing
on national television
with millions of people
watching.
Look, after everything
you've been through, Sonny,
you're entitled
to whatever you want.
But don't run away
from your past.
Your past is a part of you.
I mean, look at everything you've
accomplished since you've been here.
Your past inspires people. I mean, look
what you did for that little prick, Manny.
I mean, nobody could get through to
him, but you got through to him.
You made him a ballplayer.
I was right.
Things happen for a reason.
Don't tell me that
somewhere deep down inside
you didn't think
this could happen.
I didn't.
Just didn't wanna work at
that stupid fish store anymore.
I don't blame you.
The fish store.
Holy shit.
- It was a job.
- Yeah.
- It was.
- Oh, it was a great job.
Yeah, it's an honorable
profession.
- Oh, yes, very honorable.
- Yeah.
That's right,
you and Jesus Christ.
Stop being so
nervous about tomorrow.
- You're gonna be great.
- I know.
It's like the test.
Trust your instinct.
Believe in yourself. That's it.
I'm not really nervous
about tomorrow.
There were years that went by,
I thought I'd never be free again,
let alone play ball.
I took somebody's life,
and here I am about to
take a spot in the majors
from somebody else
who actually deserves it.
You paid your price.
Everybody deserves a second chance.
You're a good person, Sonny.
Maybe that's God's way of telling you that.
Let's just say
the best-case scenario happens,
and they call me up.
And then I'm good enough
for them to keep on.
How many years could
I possibly have left?
One? Two?
I don't know
anything about baseball,
but to me that sounds
like a one-of-a-kind story.
I don't know, I think that you could
make, like, baseball history.
No?
I just wanna know for myself
if I could've made it.
Do you even like baseball?
No, I like soccer.
You know that. You forgot?
But I'll be at all the games.
I'll go.
You taste like chocolate.
Hey, Sonny.
Don't screw it up this time.
I won't.
Thanks.
- Let's go, guys.
- Come on. Let's go.
Come on!
Hold him,
hold him, hold him!
Look at me!
Motherfucker!
Good evening,
Staten Island Empire fans.
And welcome to
Staten Island Park.
It's a beautiful day here.
No ballpark anywhere
has this kind of view.
Come.
Answer the phone, Sonny.
Come on, damn it.
He's not answering my calls.
I don't know where the hell he is.
I don't wanna scratch him.
Check the parking lot, okay?
Make sure he's not running late.
Has he called anybody?
I'm the only body
he's supposed to call.
No, he did not call me.
Shit.
- Yeah, hello?
- Where is he?
- Your boy, Stano? Where is he?
- He's got the shits.
- He's in the bathroom. Okay?
- He a scratch?
- 'Cause we came here, right?
- He's gonna play,
you're gonna see him. Let me get going,
will you? I gotta get this game going.
All right, we'll wait.
Says he's in the can.
Bullshit.
Son of a bitch!
All right, scratch him.
Move Quavis up here.
Put him in his spot.
Put Jones over there.
Where is he?
I'm gonna find out right now.
Pitching tonight
for the Birmingham Tracers...
- There goes my favorite redneck.
- ...former Cy Young winner...
He's throwing
the shit out of the ball.
Number 59, Roger Peterson.
We'll see about that.
Ladies and gentlemen,
now taking the field,
your Staten Island Empires!
Is he okay?
I'm sure he's fine.
Strike!
It's the bottom of the ninth.
Last chance for the Empires,
down one-nothing,
to the former World Series Champion
- Roger Peterson...
- Strike three, out!
...currently in the middle
of a no-hitter.
Sonny. Hey, Sonny.
What happened?
- Got hit by a plane.
- Hit by a plane?
- Sonny, let me see that.
- What's the score?
Who cares what the score is.
Come on. Let me bring
you inside to the medic.
- Peterson's still in?
- Yeah, Peterson's still in.
So what? Come on.
Sonny, let's go back...
- I'm fine!
- All right, well, sit down!
Sit down before you fall down.
Let me see you.
Let me see this.
Holy shit.
Hey, get me some ice.
How fast is he throwing?
Peterson,
he's throwing a no-hitter against us.
We got him 101, 102
on the gun. Come here.
- One out.
- He have a curve?
A curve, he's got a two-seam
and a four-seam
and late-breaking shit.
Put this on.
He's throwing some of the nastiest
stuff I've seen him throw in years.
He's absolutely filthy.
Tell me, where were you?
What happened?
Who's up?
- Holy shit.
- Come on!
What the fuck hit you?
Manny's on deck.
Keep the ice on, Goddamn it!
Manny.
Get in his head.
Ya tu sabe.
- Now batting, short stop...
- Come here.
- Get that shit out of my face.
- ...number 18,
Manny Menendez.
- Jesus Christ!
- Hey, watch that guy!
What's the matter, rook?
Got nothing to fucking say now?
Okay!
Oh, come on! What is that?
He's crowding the plate!
What is this,
fucking Little League?
Menendez takes his base.
Shake it off, there, Manny.
Shake it off, Manny.
Let it go.
Now batting, catcher,
number 33, Thor Digiorno.
- And he's safe at second!
- Manny!
Yeah, brother.
Fucking horseshit!
Good work.
- Put me in.
- You kidding me?
You can't even hold the bat.
You should be sitting down.
Strike!
You said it.
Nobody can hit this guy.
- I can take him.
- Yeah, not in your condition.
There'll be another game, Sonny.
You don't know that.
This might be it.
I gotta know.
I can do it.
Long fly ball to right field.
- Safe!
- Whoo! Whoo!
Tying run now
90 feet from home plate.
Bring the kid home.
Staten Island's
down to their last out.
Miller.
Now batting for the Empires,
Sonny Stano!
Come on, come on!
Foul ball.
Strike one.
What the fuck was that?
Are you kidding me?
Don't waste my time.
Count now, 0-1.
No balls, one strike.
Swing and a miss. Strike two.
Come on, Stano.
- Time.
- Time!
- Time.
- What the fuck, guy? Come on!
What are we doing?
Step in the box!
Hey, blue, that's intentional!
That's what you get when
you keep fucking around, Stano.
Ball one, count now, 1-2.
Peterson is issued a warning.
Butcher boy.
Long fly ball to centerfield!
- Go, go, go!
- And it's gone!
- Boom!
- The Empires win it!
Stano! Stano! Stano!
Yo, Stano. These guys
don't mess around, papi chulo.
Unless you got protection,
you'll be they blow-up doll.
You still need somebody?
Come on, baby! Come on.
Come on, Stano!
Aw, man!
Yo! Come on, man.
You kidding me?
- Yo, what's that?
- That's not right, man.
That ain't right.
Come on. Get up.
- Come on. Get up, Sonny.
- Good eye, Sonny.
Big swing. Big swing, Sonny.
Take it on, Sonny.
Let's go. Big swing.
Come on, Sonny.
Nobody makes me
their fucking bitch!
Stano!
Sonny?
- Hi, Eugene.
- My God.
It is so good to see you.
I couldn't tell by your letter
whether it was this week or
next week you were coming home.
Today. I got out today.
How are you? You all right?
Yeah. Yeah, I'm good.
Thanks.
- You?
- Good.
You, um...
- Do you have the keys?
- Of course.
Here you go.
Thanks.
You know, your mother wanted so
much to stay alive for this day.
It's such a shame
she didn't make it.
Well, if you need anything,
just knock.
Thanks.
Hi, Mrs. Murphy?
It's me, Sonny Stano.
Now, I hope it's okay
that I'm here.
For the past 17 years...
I just wanted to tell you how much
that I wish that night never happened.
I wrote you all these letters,
and they were all returned...
How dare you
show your face here.
No, Mrs. Murphy, please.
I just got out.
And all I wanted to do was come here
and tell you how sorry I am for every...
Any injuries
prior to your release?
- No.
- Okay.
Any, uh, use of drugs or
alcohol in the last 72 hours?
No.
Uh, any contact with an officer
of the law since your release?
- Um... No.
- Good.
Okay, so here are the rules.
You break one, you go back in.
No staying out past 10:00.
No leaving the state. No drugs.
You pee in a cup for me every time you
come and see me as a friendly offering.
You pray like hell
it comes back clean.
Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh...
Oh. Major league contract
and you blew it, huh?
Asshole.
Oh. Tomorrow you start work
at the fish store.
Yeah, about that.
I, uh...
I was hoping maybe
I could have a little time
- to find something better.
- Better?
No. The parole deal is for the fish store.
What are you talking about?
I just thought
that maybe I...
I could find something
in management.
Really? Management?
What are you gonna manage?
A hotel?
A car dealership?
Or maybe a three-star restaurant?
You couldn't manage a bodega.
You barely have
a high school diploma.
You have absolutely
no skills to offer
into a workforce
that's already overcrowded.
Be glad your friend with the fish
store stuck his neck out for you.
Second chances
are hard to come by.
You know the kid
whose life you took?
He sure as hell isn't
getting one.
Be grateful you are.
Now go pee in the cup.
I'm looking
for Joey Costenza.
- The boss?
- Yeah.
- His office is right there.
- Thanks.
Oh.
There he is.
Man, look at you.
You look great,
you son of a bitch.
Hey, you don't look
so bad yourself.
Thanks. I mean, ain't got nothing on you.
Never did, right?
Man. It's good...
It's good to see you.
Good to see you out, Sonny.
I mean,
out here and... free.
Thanks for writing the letter
to the parole board.
No, I'm, I'm not kidding, man.
It meant everything.
If it wasn't for that,
I don't think I'd be out right now.
Don't worry about it.
We'll help you get on your feet.
You have to start
from the bottom,
but the guys on the dock
will show you the ropes.
You got any of that, uh,
signing bonus money left? No?
Nah, it all went to the kid's
family, to the lawyer.
Yeah, right. Right.
Oh. Check this out.
Paid 1,500
for this Rod Carew bat.
Go ahead. Give it a swing.
- Nah...
- Go ahead. I don't give a shit.
Nah, it's okay.
No?
All right.
Hey. I'm gonna sponsor
a summer league.
You wanna play?
- I don't know.
- The Surf Club paid COD, Joey.
- Half check, half cash.
- All right. That's good.
Very good. You stop by my place,
take the trash out of the garage?
- Yeah, it's all done. All done.
- All right. Good.
Hey, this is Sonny. Good friend of mine.
Just got outta jail.
Oh. Congratulations.
We grew up together. Used to play ball
together. Little league, high school.
This guy's got ice in his veins
when he's up at bat.
Yeah.
You were king once.
Remember, Sonny?
Yeah.
What do you want? You're hanging around.
I see the face.
Look, I know I said
that I can work on Sunday.
But I forgot, Joey, that it's
my daughter's birthday,
and it's... they said
it's gonna rain on Saturday.
- So I just wanted...
- Wait, wait, wait.
I gotta clear out my attic.
I just got the dumpster delivered.
I understand.
It's just this one time, Joey.
No. I'm gonna give you
more days.
Wanna know why?
He's gonna be my new swing guy.
- Give him the keys.
- Wait, you're firing me?
Yeah, I'm firing you.
Give him the keys, Bobby.
Know what, Joey?
Why don't you go fuck yourself.
- Whoa.
- Nice. Very nice.
- That's why you're fired.
- Yeah.
- It's not 'cause of me, is it?
- Don't worry about him.
Here, Sonny. You're my new swing guy.
All right?
So you do half days
loading the dock,
half days, you know,
do some personal stuff for me.
This'll be good, man.
It'll be like old times. Me and you.
Get to hang out.
Good to see you.
- All right.
- Yeah.
Thanks, man.
Shit.
I'm sorry.
That's $26.40.
- How much you said it was?
- $26.40.
- Can I put some of it back?
- What do you wanna put back?
I don't know,
like six dollars' worth.
How much is the coffee?
Uh, um... $5.65.
- How about the lettuce?
- Two dollars.
What about the tomatoes?
Rosita, it's okay.
Put it with my stuff.
Hi, Sonny.
Hi.
No. No, no, no. No, no.
I'll put it back.
- No, no. It's okay. It's okay.
- No, I...
Thanks for
bailing me out back there.
- I'll pay you back.
- No, it's fine.
- Will you let me carry your bag?
- My God. It's okay.
It's good to see you.
It's good to see you too.
How long
since you've been back home?
Just a couple weeks.
Still trying to get my bearings.
You'll get it.
You just need time, I guess.
You look great.
How you been?
I've been great.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Sorry about the smell.
I'm working for Joey Fish now.
Just temporary till
I can line something else up.
- You work around here?
- Yeah.
I teach Spanish at Columbus.
Wow.
You mean, you're, like, Seora Ramirez now?
I mean, to the kids?
If they know what is good for them.
I'm that way.
Good luck, Sonny.
Angela.
I just want you to know
how sorry I am.
About everything.
About hurting you.
You gotta understand. It wasn't that
I didn't want to see you anymore.
I just wanted you to move on.
I did.
Hello? Um... No, no, no, baby.
I didn't forget.
Okay. Yeah. Pick the movie.
Yeah. Be there soon. No.
No, not that one, please!
Okay.
All she wants to do is
watch High School Musical.
How old is she?
She's ten.
You got any more?
No, just one. The best one.
Bye, Sonny.
Good luck with everything.
Hey, kid.
What? I gained that much weight?
You don't know
who the hell I am?
What do you want?
I heard you was home.
I wanted to come by
and say hello.
Ah, heard about your mom.
I'm sorry.
Still coaching?
Yep. Thirty years in the minors.
At least it's with the Yankees.
If you're gonna get stuck on the farm,
they're the ones to get stuck with.
I've been waiting
a long time for this.
I have some things
I wanted to say.
Why didn't you
just say 'em then?
Ossining's five stops
up the Metro-North.
Look. I'm here now, aren't I?
I mean, that's saying something.
You wanna go for a walk?
Come on. Let's take a walk.
I must have written
like ten letters.
But everything I wrote
just sounded wrong.
So I would just...
I wanted to feel sorry for you.
Man, I don't want you
to feel sorry for me.
I never wanted anybody
to feel sorry for me.
If that's what this is about,
I don't need your pity, man.
I just thought maybe it
all happened for a reason.
It didn't happen for a reason.
It didn't happen for any reason other than I
made the biggest mistake of my life that night.
You know, there's no path.
I'm sick of this.
There's only screwups and then
consequences afterwards.
All right. So be it.
Anyways, you working?
You got something going on?
Yeah, my buddy hooked me up
with a job at his fish business.
He's got a big warehouse.
Training me...
- What?
- Fish?
What the hell do you know
about fish?
What do you mean? It's a job.
It's a steady job.
All right, all right.
What happens if I had a job for you?
- Doing what?
- In baseball.
I'll get you on salary
as one of my assistants.
Come on, man. Nah.
I'm not interested.
You're not interested
in baseball?
You used to eat,
sleep and drink it.
Look, I know what you're doing.
Okay? And I appreciate it. I do.
But me and baseball...
we're done.
I gotta grow up.
I appreciate you coming
out to see me.
I do.
We're good.
Nobody grows up in baseball!
Hey! Sonny Stan.
The home run man.
- How's things working out?
- Good.
Good. You know what?
I never got your cell phone number.
Oh, yeah. Well, uh...
I don't really have one.
That's right.
You don't got a cell phone.
- Well, we gotta get you one.
- How come?
Because everyone has one, and what
if I gotta get ahold of you, Sonny?
Hey, Flocko, do me a favor. Keep your
shit clean. We got inspections tomorrow.
You can use this one. I mean, the screen
is cracked, but I'm sure it still works.
You know, I don't even know where
to begin with one of these things.
- Just go find a tutorial online.
- Right. Okay.
I need you to do a few things
for me right now.
- Yeah, sure.
- All right, good.
Run to my car.
There's dirty gym clothes in the back.
I can't take 'em home 'cause my
wife, she just breaks my balls.
There's a laundromat around the corner.
You drop it off.
There's a hot Puerto Rican girl.
She's gonna take care of you.
- Okay.
- Oh, and then stop by my house.
You know our damn landscapers never showed up
knowing that I got people coming tomorrow?
What a bunch of shit. So I need you
to go there and mow the lawn for me.
Sonny.
You're okay with that, right?
Yeah, sure. 'Course.
By the way, your, uh, your parole
officer called me this morning.
You know, asked
how you're doing on the job.
I told him
you were banging it up.
- Thanks, Joey.
- Yeah.
Answer me this though.
How come nobody looks at each
other when they talk anymore?
It's that freakin' Facebook,
Insta-sham, Twitter bullshit.
It's ridiculous. You know,
people even pick up chicks on that thing.
It's putting me out of business.
Hey, hon. What'll you have?
I'll have a beer, please.
Thanks.
- A beer, right?
- Yeah.
'Scuse me, but are you a thief?
'Cause you must have stolen the stars from
the sky and put 'em right in your eyes.
Seriously?
Is that your A game?
That line used to work.
A long time ago.
So, you from the neighborhood?
Yeah. I, uh, I went
to Columbus and everything.
Me too.
When'd you graduate?
Probably before you were born.
I was born in '94.
I'm a little older than you think.
I think I'm a little bit older
than you think.
So what do you do?
I'm in food.
Food, uh, management.
Like restaurants?
Like behind the scenes.
So how does that work?
Well, uh...
I mainly work
in retail products.
Uh, high quality, uh... seafood.
That's cool, I guess.
You know, me and my friend,
we wanna open a restaurant.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah. It's called Picnic.
Hey, Sonny.
Tommy.
Heard you went by to my mother's
the other day.
I gotta say,
it takes some balls.
Yeah, I just stopped by
to tell her that...
that I wish
that that night never happened.
Oh, well, it did.
And you're still here,
and my brother's in the ground.
Hey, maybe you guys should
take this reunion outside.
There ain't gonna be
no trouble from me.
After 17 years in the joint,
where you gonna go?
What could you possibly do,
you piece of shit loser?
Sonny, you know, maybe it's gonna take a
while for people to get used to you back.
You know, maybe you should, like, lay low for
a while, you know? You know what I mean?
You ready for this, fish man?
Whoo! Yeah!
Wow.
Mr. Monte!
You weren't kidding when you said
you upped your golf game, huh?
You're falling behind,
little Joey.
Make this one pretty.
Yeah. You know I will.
Hey, Sonny, give me a six iron.
Ah, this is a par three,
big guy.
Nope. Nope.
Not that one either.
We call that the wedge.
Where'd you find this gorilla?
We were short on caddies.
Sonny works for me.
Golf is not his thing, so...
Uh, yeah, no shit, Sherlock.
You know what is his game?
Baseball.
Yeah.
This guy was major stuff.
- Signed to the Yanks.
- Really?
- Yeah. Yeah.
- No shit?
- Hey, man, you were a Yankee?
- Almost.
So, what the hell happened?
Killed a guy.
He's a pisser!
You know, Sonny,
you're a pisser.
Did I ever tell you
what a real pisser you are?
He didn't really kill a guy,
right?
No, he's full of shit.
Right there, that's it!
Yeah, that's nice, right there!
Not a single miss,
boys!
Looking good, looking good!
Hey,
put your helmet on, all right?
Check him out, man.
Oh, yeah! That's what
I'm talking about! Right there!
All right, you're up.
Come on.
Keep your eye on the ball.
Just like
we went over yesterday.
Oh, yeah!
Little hustle!
A little hustle out there!
Keep moving, keep moving!
Everything's cool with your PO?
- Yeah, yeah. Of course.
- All right, good.
You go see Pete
and he'll dress you.
- Pete's still here?
- Everyone's still here.
Hey.
That's Hirohito Nakahara.
Himself.
He's rehabbin' his knee.
Upstairs is trying to squeeze
another season out of him.
But I'm afraid he might be done.
That guy's a legend.
What's he, like,
48 hits away from 3,000?
I thought you were all done
with baseball.
I was in prison,
not on a different planet.
Yeah. Come on,
let's go see the yard.
This Scaleri?
Jesus, that guy was old
when I was here.
Yeah. Well,
where else is he gonna go?
Hey, Buzzy!
Come here.
Stano, yeah.
- You remember me?
- Of course I do.
How are you, buddy?
Good. How you doing?
Stano, I got a story
no one ever heard before, kid.
This was 1974.
Uh, we were doing terrible
as a team.
We'd lost 14 in a row.
Lenny was on third base.
Tied two-two, the game was tied.
I got up.
I hit a great fly ball.
- Great fly ball.
- Right? A great fly ball.
He tagged up, he scores.
It was the shot heard
round... the corner.
You get it?
You're looking good.
Thanks.
You're looking good too.
- Oh, good.
- Yeah.
You don't look so good.
Hey, listen.
Stano's gonna help us
with that Manny kid.
Thank you.
What Manny kid?
That kid
right out there,
with the stuff crawling
off his head.
Manny! Manny!
Talented kid. They sunk a ton of money
into him. But he acts like an asshole.
Had to bail him out of a bar fight
the other night. He's killing me.
Que lo que, Coach?
Manny, I want you to meet
Sonny Stano.
He played right here in our beautiful
little park a little while back.
- One of the best we ever had.
- Que pas? You get hurt?
Doesn't matter what happened.
You can learn a lot from Sonny.
I want you two
to get to know each other.
- Why?
- Because I said so!
Do you need a goddamn
explanation for everything I say?
Chill, chill, chill.
You know Manny.
Manny's up for anything.
Manny's all about commitment.
All about better.
Manny's up for anything that
takes him to the next level.
And besides, there's
a lot to learn from old guys.
I'm in, man. See you.
Hey, Manny.
Listen, man, uh... I'm not trying
to push my life on you, you know?
They called me in.
So maybe you learn something from me.
Maybe I learn something
from you. Cool?
Good talk.
Hey.
Sonny, what are you doing here?
I brought you your money.
- For what?
- For the other day at the market.
No, it's completely unnecessary.
It's completely necessary
for me.
And I also wanted to ask
your advice.
- Advice?
- Yeah, I'm, uh...
I'm thinking of taking
some business classes.
You know,
so I can get a good job
till I open my own business
one day.
What kind of business?
I'm thinking wholesale.
Don't you do wholesale
at the fish market?
I don't really work there
anymore.
I got this, like, consultant job
with a minor league ball club.
I think it's great. Baseball.
It's like, it's who you are.
It's who you always were.
Yeah, I don't know.
The pay's not very good.
Which is why I need
to start taking these classes.
Seeing that you're a teacher,
I figured
maybe you can give me
some pointers.
Well, yeah, go inside.
They have some student forms.
They're pretty self-explanatory.
Ask for Miss Lupe. She'll help...
I'm gonna be
straight with you.
I'm feelin' really lost.
When I was inside, I'd...
I'd see all these guys leave,
and they'd come right back in.
And I never understood why
until now.
I could just...
just use some help.
Sonny, I would really like
to help you,
but, you know, my schedule's
just super tight right now.
Between my job and...
Hola, Mami!
Hi, Mom.
How was school?
Good.
Do you have homework?
- Did it in class.
- You better have finished it all
because I'm gonna check it
later.
Melissa,
this is my friend, Sonny.
- Hi.
- Sonny, this is Melissa.
And you remember Billy, right?
Oh, man,
that's your cousin.
He became a cop?
Billy.
You remember Sonny Stano.
I do. Yeah.
How you doin', Billy?
Can we go home now?
She's really tired today.
Why don't you take her home. Hmm?
I'll catch up with you guys later.
Yeah. Don't forget to go back
there and get your forms.
Thanks.
So.
You're back, huh?
Yeah.
How much time you end up doin'
for killing that kid?
Nine.
Another nine for staying alive.
What're you doin' here?
I just asked Angela for some
help with this idea that I have.
Listen, um, don't try
any bullshit while you're here.
- Okay?
- No, man.
I ran into your cousin
at the market the other day.
I will not see her get hurt again.
Do you understand me?
No, I think you got me wrong.
I'm not trying to pull anything.
I don't give a shit.
Just stay away from her.
Angela made her mistakes.
You were the first.
I won't allow another one.
Just believe me, I'm really not
trying to hurt anybody ever again.
Backing him back up to first...
And here's the wind
and the pitch...
Oh! Martinez connects!
It's looking good,
it's going high, a monster shot!
Back, back, back!
And it is gone!
Out of the park!
Wow! This youngster
really jumped right in.
Your drug test comin' back
negative, that's good.
Any contact
with an officer of the law?
No.
Yeah.
When?
Couple days ago.
Under what circumstances?
He's the cousin of this girl
that I used to go out with.
- Yeah? So what happened?
- Told me to stay away from her.
Pay stub?
Um...
"Staten Island Empires."
What is this?
- It's a baseball team.
- No, no, no.
No, what happened
to the fish market?
I quit.
No. Without telling me?
No. That is not how this works.
Fine, then write me up
for a violation.
- All right.
- But I'm not going back there
another day
to pretend like I belong.
You said it yourself.
I'm not qualified to do anything
but be a ballplayer.
And here, somebody offers me
a job on a team.
This is all up to you.
All right, all right.
Just give me the pay stub.
Give it to me.
Don't you even think of leaving
the state without my prior consent.
I want two weeks' written notice or I'll have
your ass back on a bus so fast to Sing Sing.
You understand me?
And when the season is over,
I want you getting
a regular gig.
Now, you may think
I'm going easy on you.
But I'm giving you just
enough rope to hang yourself.
Stano.
- Got it?
- Thank you.
Do your thing.
Whoo!
Can do this all day, people!
Certainly doesn't lack
confidence.
Yeah. Don't be fooled.
He's 40% confidence
and 60% scared shitless.
- Hoo!
- Of what?
Let's do it!
Uno mas, Coach!
He's one of the best
utility guys I've seen in years.
- He's got the stuff.
- Up the middle!
Any club in the bigs
would want him.
But if he doesn't start out
strong, he gets freaked out.
The pitchers see it, then they
start working him into the ground.
It's 'cause they're reading him.
Whoo!
Ain't no substitute
for youth, baby!
The past, finito!
The future, bang, right here!
Right here! Oh, man.
Hey, show some respect.
Thought you said you had something
to learn from the older guys.
Excuse me?
Does "excuse me" mean
you didn't hear what I said?
Or does it mean you're gonna start
some trouble if I don't back off?
It means mind your business,
and do whatever it is you're
supposed to be doing around here.
Which nobody even knows
what that is.
Ya entiendo.
Yeah. That's right.
All right. We're gonna do a sim game.
Mitchell, get on the mound.
Manny, get back up at the plate.
Let's go! Sim game!
Nakahara, go easy on your knee.
Hit this, golden boy.
You better not be putting shit
on that ball, Mitchell!
Hey! I find out
you usin' Vaseline,
I'm gonna use it
to shove this bat up your ass!
Oops. Super-Crip strikes out.
Try shoving a bat
up your own ass.
Might clear the booze
outta your head.
There you go
with that shit, man.
Whoa, whoa!
Hey, hey, hey!
Hey, get your fucking hands
off me, con!
That's right, I looked you up!
You think you bad 'cause you was in jail?
I bring some of my boys down,
we do a number on your ass!
Hey, man, I'm here to work.
Just like you're supposed to be.
I don't have to listen
to no sorry-ass never-was, okay?
You got nothin' to teach me,
so step off!
- Pick up the bat.
- Fuck you!
Tell me what you're lookin' at
when you're standing here.
- The ball?
- No. Why you looking at that?
I'm not sure if you're aware, but that's
what the fuck you're supposed to hit.
Yes, you look at the ball,
but he hasn't thrown it yet.
So, what are we supposed
to look at then? His ass?
Yes. You look at his ass.
His body, his eyes, everything!
Get on the mound.
Get on the mound!
You give him a signal.
Anything you want.
You throw him
whatever he signals you.
Sinker.
Do it again. Again!
Curve.
One more.
- Fastball.
- How'd you know that?
'Cause he's giving it away
and he doesn't even know it.
You read them.
You don't let them read you.
Let's go. You're up.
Let's go, Mitchell,
come on, baby!
Hey. What are you doing
out here?
Waiting for my Lyft.
Your Lyft?
My ride is gonna be here
in one minute.
What do you mean?
How can you tell?
Look at this.
The little car going there.
For real?
Technology.
Any luck with the classes?
They made me take
this stupid aptitude test.
You didn't even hand it in?
I don't know, I guess I,
like, wasn't ready for it.
Let me see.
You know what?
Maybe I do need to help you.
Come tomorrow to my office.
You know,
test taking is like an art.
Maybe I can give you,
like, a couple of tips.
I work during the day.
How about we do dinner?
It'd be on me.
No, no. You don't have
to buy me any dinner.
I know I don't need to buy you dinner.
I want to.
Come on, it'd make me feel like
more of a man, paying you back.
For helping you with a test?
Well, yeah.
Come on.
Okay. Friday.
7:00?
These mashed potatoes
aren't half bad. You want a bite?
I have bad news, Sonny.
What?
You would have passed this.
- Really?
- Yeah.
But you didn't trust yourself.
And the secret to test taking
is listening
to your first instinct
because that's usually
the right answer.
I guess
I just don't trust myself yet.
You'll get there.
Remember comin' here
after bein' out all night?
Two, three in the morning?
How could I forget?
We had the same routine
every Saturday.
A couple of months ago
for Melissa's birthday,
I took her and her friends
to play mini golf
at Turtle Cove.
You remember?
That was our first date.
City Island.
Fourteen. Jesus.
Remember how big a deal it was for me
to take you out of the neighborhood?
Yeah. It was like
going to another world for us.
We had to get on the bus.
You told me that
it was because of the mini golf,
but then when we passed
the batting cages...
Come on.
I had to show off to you.
Yeah. You did.
Well, it worked, so...
It did.
Can I ask...
where's Melissa's father?
I lost him.
How long ago did he pass away?
Mm-mm.
I lost him.
Like in, I got rid of him.
Oh.
Well, congrats, I guess.
Everything turned out fine.
I have a great daughter,
great job.
I got my teacher's license.
Maybe, hopefully soon,
I'm gonna be promoted to
guidance counselor at the school.
All I want is
a stable life for Melissa.
Hustle up!
Is that Roger Peterson?
What, he's down here
rehabbin' too?
Yep that's the Assassin.
Lost all control of the ball
and himself.
So I guess we got
two legends then, huh?
One's a mute,
the other's a prick.
You next, superstar?
Hey, don't blink.
You might miss my swing.
Gotta watch his two!
Watch his two!
Come on!
Let's see what you got!
Don't be afraid, Manny! He's tryin' to get in
your head 'cause he doesn't have anything.
Hey!
Don't tell me what to do, okay?
I'm not scared of nobody!
Vamos!
Just relax. All he's got left is a
little heat. That's why he's down here.
Hey, shit lips!
Pipe the fuck down!
No one's here to see you!
Someone might get hurt.
Not before I send you back to
marry you cousin, fucking redneck!
Put it out there!
Yo! What, are you crazy?
You okay?
Get him up. Come on! Get him up!
Five-million-dollar deal!
Get in there! Get inside!
He ain't worth it!
The fuck was that,
ass clown?
Talking to me?
I'm not worth shit?
What about you?
You're a fucking nobody.
I got seven years in the show.
What'd you get,
20 years upstate?
Fucking convict!
Sonny!
Let's see what you got, hotshot.
Need some WD-40 with that swing?
Let's go. Give me the heat!
That's all you got anyway.
Let's go, win this, baby!
Come on now!
Whoa! Nice, Stano!
Hey, guys, Cashman's here.
And Bernie.
Let's go, Peterson!
Come on, baby, let's go!
Let's go, baby!
Win this battle. Come on now!
Nice, Sonny!
Crushing it, Stano!
Shallow right.
Nobody's throwing 95 in prison.
That's for sure.
Third base line.
Who would have thought they ever
would have torn down the old stadium?
I hear the new one
over there is amazing.
Oh, no, this is the one.
This is hallowed ground.
Think of all the greats
that played here.
Right over there is where Lou Gehrig
made his "luckiest man alive" speech.
Right over there is where Mickey
Mantle played center field.
Think of all
the World Series games.
Tino hit that grand slam in '98.
And he swept the Braves in '99.
It was the year I went in.
I would have been on that team.
Can you imagine?
It would have been me up at bat.
You would have been watching me,
cheering me on right over there.
The Bleacher Creatures
screaming everybody's name.
Paul O'Neill. Bernie Williams.
Me.
Why didn't I just walk away?
Why did I let that stupid guy
in the street bother me?
Sonny, why are we here?
'Cause every day I was away,
all I'd do is try
not to think about this place.
'Cause more than anything,
it made me think about you.
This is where I took you
on our last date.
We were sittin'
in seats right here.
I remember.
It's the last time I can ever
remember being truly happy.
Being here with you.
I'm getting cold.
Let's go back to the car, huh?
Okay.
This was really nice.
- I really want...
- Yeah, me too.
You too what?
I don't know.
What were you gonna say?
Nothing.
But do you remember...
what you told me
on our first date?
Hands on hands.
That it meant...
forever.
I just made that up
'cause I was scared to kiss you.
But I meant it.
You know
I didn't ask you out just...
I know.
Doesn't matter.
Angela.
Yes, you can call me, Sonny.
Why are we meeting here?
I had some business
to take care of.
Thought you might like to come out to
good old Staten Island, see the old field.
Looks the same.
Maybe a little nicer.
Yeah, paint job,
new scoreboard.
That's about it.
So...
they got rid of Peterson.
Wasn't worth the liability.
Sorry to hear that.
No, you're not.
In fact, I think
you had something to do with it.
What does that mean?
You had some pretty impressive
hitting against him the other day.
And despite all other problems
Peterson may have...
he still had the heat.
He was throwin' hard and fast,
and you were in the zone.
Even Cashman noticed it.
Got lucky, I guess.
Nah. Now that's where
I'm gonna call bullshit on you.
You know as well as I do that you
always had it and you never lost it.
You were showing somebody
something the other day.
Now, maybe it was me, Manny,
who knows,
could even have been God.
But you were the same Stano
I first saw play 20 years ago.
What would you say
if I got you a spot on the team?
I'd say you were crazy.
I think
you still got the goods.
Nah, I played
my last baseball game.
June 24th, 1999.
It was ten days
into my sentence.
Come on, it'd be a joke.
You hit that way
during the season,
the way you were hitting the other
day, it would be no joke.
Who knows? You might even
get invited to winter ball.
No.
- Yeah. And why not?
- 'Cause it's a big maybe.
And I'm 38 years old and I
can't deal with maybes anymore.
Goddamn it, I'm offering you
a second shot here!
I never asked you
for a second shot.
Oh, yeah? Then why are you here?
Huh? I know why.
Okay, because you couldn't
stop yourself, okay?
You got so much talent
inside yourself
you couldn't stop using it
even if you tried.
Sometimes, you gotta give in
to it instead of fighting it.
You had the stuff
to be one of the greats.
Yeah, but I'm not.
And it ain't gonna happen.
You know
what Honus Wagner said?
"There ain't nothing to being a
ballplayer if you're a ballplayer."
And you, Stano,
are a ballplayer.
Hello?
- Sonny Stano?
- Yeah, this is him.
Yeah, this is Charles Denny
from The New York Post.
What's this about?
We heard you were added to the
roster of the Staten Island Empires.
You're an incredible
comeback story, Sonny.
Now, seriously,
it's inspirational,
and I think it would make
a great article.
Would you mind if I just
asked you a few questions?
Yeah, okay.
Great. My first question is, how do
you think the fans are gonna respond
to an ex-con
playing on their field?
I don't know. I mean, uh...
Well, I think baseball fans
are really special.
I just hope that...
that they have
a sense of forgiveness.
Well, how about your teammates?
I can't speak for them, but I...
I hope they just see me
as another player.
You know, I... I'm
really no different from them
and... and they're
no different from me.
This is gonna sound
a little crazy, but...
you think you could
make the majors again,
like you did in '99?
Yeah.
Yeah, I think I can.
I...
I made it once.
I think I can make it again.
We got a lot of different food
here we're gonna get,
but we gotta
stretch it out first!
- Hut! Hut! Hut!
- Three! Four! Five!
- Hut! Hut! Hut!
- Six! Seven! Eight!
Little more, little more!
- One, two, three!
- Empires!
Let's go!
Let's go! Ready? Let's go!
Stano, you got a partner?
Let's go.
Hey, Billy. How you doing?
She ain't here.
Um... You know
when she'll be back?
No. I don't know
when she's coming back.
Well, can you tell her
I dropped by, then?
- What're you doin' here?
- What do you mean?
You know what I mean.
Angela just got out
of a fucked-up relationship,
only to walk into another one?
She don't need that.
And Melissa,
she can't be around you, man.
Not around guys like you
with your kind of history.
Can you imagine some fuckhead
from the joint you had a beef with
comes out looking for blood?
- Now you know what I mean?
- Billy, come on, man.
No, no, no. Listen, listen.
If you really care about my cousin,
you think about her, okay?
She is just straightening out her life
right now for her and her daughter.
I'm gonna ask you one last time
as nice as I can.
Please stay away from Angela.
Capisce?
Sonny, hi. Um, it's me.
I tried you
a couple of times, but... um...
I heard about your good news.
So I wanted to say, um,
I'm so happy that you're playing again.
Call me sometime.
If you have the time, of course.
Okay, bye.
It's a fastball.
- Let's go!
- Come on, Manny, stay icy!
Don't swing! Just look at it!
Sinker.
God damnit, God!
Stano, grab a bat. Come on!
We didn't sign you to sit there
with that ugly puss. Let's go.
Stepping in for
Ojeda is number 13, Sonny Stano.
Hey! It's the jailbird!
Look for your pitch, kid.
- Come on, Stano.
- Let's go, convict!
- Come on, Stano!
- Play!
All right, settle down, Sonny,
settle down.
Look for your pitch, kid!
Get ready.
Come on, let's go.
That's all right, Stano.
Come on, baby.
Let's go, kid, come on.
Get a good pitch!
Strike!
- That's bullshit.
- You say something, Stano?
- No, I didn't say anything.
- No, I heard you say something.
You did. You know what?
If you think I'm gonna go easy on you
and your jailbird ass,
it ain't happening.
You know what? You're done
for today. Get out of here.
- What are you talking about?
- You're done! Get out of here.
- You want to add extra games?
- The pitch was low!
Take a walk, you're done.
And Stano is thrown
out of this ballgame.
All right, guys.
A five-nothing loss
isn't exactly
the greatest way
to start a season,
but let's not let it throw us.
Remember, next Thursday
we're all heading upstate
for a week of away games,
so let's just
take it easy for now,
get our sea legs under us.
And remember,
tomorrow's another game.
In my 35 fuckin' years of
being around this God damn game,
I have never ever seen
such a lazy, crappy,
no-good, no-balls, no-nothing,
Goddamn fucking bunch of losers
blow a fucking opening day game
like that in my entire Goddamn life!
Get your heads
out of your asses!
Or I'm gonna fuck...
Fuck!
Strike!
Strike!
All right, guys,
let's go, let's pack it up.
- Fuck! Fucking stupid!
- Hey, stop that.
We all saw what you did in practice.
Okay? You can still play this game.
Yeah, against some half string
pitcher out of fucking rehab.
No, goddamn it,
I know what I saw.
If anyone was fucking stupid,
maybe it was me.
Maybe I brought
you along too quick.
But there's something wrong,
and unless it changes fast,
they ain't gonna let me keep you on.
You understand?
Hey, Sonny. Do you understand?
Don't let it end this way.
We're missing your best friend.
- Who?
- Manny the mooch.
Find him.
I'm tired of this shit.
Yo, Manny.
Hey.
Let's go.
Come on, man, get up.
Shit!
Hello, man. We were just,
you know, celebrating...
Celebrating what? The fact that you
finally made contact with the ball?
Come on, grab your shit.
Let's go. Get your shit.
Okay. Okay. Okay.
Hey. Oh, shit.
You know, Stano, I don't do
this, you know, a lot.
You don't have to, you know,
talk to Coach about...
you know, any of this. This is...
this don't happen a lot, papa.
Get on the bus.
Now.
Yo, Stano.
Thanks, man.
...not a long lead.
He holds his ground
and it's a base hit
to left field.
Takes to third, he heads to
third, and he's gonna get it.
The throw to second base,
not in time.
Runners at second and third.
Thanks for meeting me.
You want something?
I'm sorry I haven't
called you back.
I've just been doing a lot
of thinking about everything.
I don't know what I'm doing.
I don't know how much longer
I'm gonna be doing it.
I'm pretty sure it's...
It's gonna be over
pretty soon.
And I don't know what's
gonna happen to me after. I...
But I do know that there's
no way in hell
I'm gonna be making
any money doing it.
Please don't tell me that the
reason that you're hurting me again
is because you don't want
to hurt me again.
Because that makes no sense,
Sonny.
I guess Bill was right.
Billy was right.
So is everybody else.
What, you think I don't know?
You think I don't see the way
that these people look at me?
Think I don't hear
what they say about me?
You know, there's people
that buy tickets to my games
just so they can yell stuff
at me from the crowd.
But I get it.
I killed somebody.
And I'm always gonna carry that.
But you and Melissa
don't have to.
This is my fault.
'Cause I just...
I had this fantasy...
that I could get out
and things would just...
go back to the
way that they were.
We're not 19 anymore.
It's never gonna
be that way for me.
As much as it breaks my heart...
you're better off
without me now.
And I have to accept that.
Don't tell me what is...
is or isn't good for me.
In the past I've known
what has been bad for me,
and I have handled it.
If I want to stay with someone
or leave someone...
it's my decision.
But if you want to spend
the rest of your life
sitting there feeling
sorry for yourself...
go ahead.
Think about it.
You know where to find me.
Hirohito Nakahara
sets himself up to the plate.
Go, go, go, go, go!
Slide, slide, slide!
Can't move! I can't get up!
Let's give him
a round of applause, folks.
Yeah, easy... Oh, yeah.
Go for it. Yeah.
Oh! That hurts.
Yeah, easy, easy.
Thanks, man. Thank you.
I just want to stop by
and pay my respects and say...
I'm sure when you're back
out there next year,
you'll get 3,000.
There won't be
any more next year.
There's only, what,
30 guys who've hit 3,000?
Pulling out now,
that would crush anybody.
You know, all we have,
as a player, is your best.
Play every game
like it's your last game.
One day you'll be right.
Thanks.
Give your best in the field.
Yo, Stano.
Stano.
I heard you the first time.
What do you want?
I just wanna, uh,
say thank you for...
not telling the coaches
what you saw the other day.
If I did what was right,
I would have told the coaches.
What is that supposed
to mean, man?
It means I don't care.
You wanna throw
your life away, your dreams,
I don't care.
You got talent, man.
But someday,
it's gonna dry up.
And if you don't
protect it now,
life's just gonna
make an example out of you.
Trust me.
I know you love baseball, man.
But what the fuck is this shit?
I don't know. They built
the Minor League stadium
with a fucking
miniature golf course.
I mean,
I know baseball's boring,
but Jesus Christ...
Let me try that thing, man.
Coo, this...
this is heavy.
- Put your hips into it.
- My hips, eh?
You can do better
than that.
Come on, man. Swing it.
Ah.
- Mom?
- Hm?
I think
they're baseball tickets.
Can we go, please?
Strike!
Pick your feet up!
Run, Goddamn it!
Look, look!
Down! Down!
Safe!
Yeah!
- Hey, here you go, Sonny.
- Thanks, Ronnie.
- Throw it in the tip jar.
- Bye.
- That was really stupid.
- Oh! Don't say that.
You remember that song?
Did you have fun tonight?
Yeah, it was great.
Kind of long, though.
It was really cool when you slid
on the ground. Did that hurt?
Not if you
practice doing it right.
Can you teach me how
to do it sometime?
- Sure.
- No. No, no, no.
She has to go home.
It's past her bedtime.
Yo, asshole!
I'll meet you at the car.
Go ahead. No, no, no.
Congratulations! I hear
you're back in the game,
- playin' for the minors, right?
- Yeah, man.
Nice how things are fallin'
back into place for you.
Got your girl back, I see.
Playing ball again.
And where's my brother?
I'll tell you where he is!
He's still in the fucking
ground, that's where!
And you're walking the streets,
all fucking big man,
happy, healthy, whatever!
Pretending that you're not
what you really are.
A scumbag, killer,
con piece of shit!
Hey, man, don't do this here.
Not here, not now.
Okay. Okay, big man.
Catch you another
time then, I guess.
- Mom?
- Hmm?
Why was Sonny in jail
for 18 years?
Yeah...
I guess Sonny was out one night
with some guys,
and they got into a fight.
There was an accident
and someone died.
Did Sonny mean to do it?
No, baby, of course not.
But sometimes, when you hang
with the wrong people,
in the wrong places...
people make mistakes.
You said
everyone makes mistakes.
Yeah. We all do.
And some can be very bad.
That's why you need
to be very careful.
You know what the most important
part of making a mistake is?
What you learn after...
and you do after.
Now go sleepies!
We have school tomorrow.
Well, congratulation, Stano. Your piss
is cleaner than a shit-hand sanitizer.
Any contact with an officer
of the law?
Yes.
Under what circumstances?
I'm not gonna leave
his cousin alone.
Uh... Do you think
your girlfriend's cousin,
the cop, enjoys
having you around, Stano?
Look, it... might seem like
I'm asking for trouble, but...
Look, you... you and I are gonna
have to agree to disagree on this.
So... do you have a plan
for when you get cut?
- Maybe I'll be like Lou Gehrig.
- Excuse me?
When he got too sick to play,
he found work in another
field...
as a parole officer.
He said it was the most
satisfying work of his life,
helping people get second
chances at their lives.
Okay. We're done here.
You should come see
me play sometime.
You're supposed to come
visit me at work, right?
Yeah, no thanks.
I wanna fall asleep, I'll talk to my wife.
Hey, forgetting something?
Nice catch.
Come on.
Sinker.
Fastball.
Changeup.
Okay, you ready?
Cashman's sending scouts
to see you on Friday night.
You gotta be shitting me.
No, I'm not shitting you.
What do you think,
I drive all the way up to the
Bronx for some bullshit prank
and a slice of pizza?
You're hitting .407, Sonny.
Sixteen home runs, 23 ribbies.
It's one of the hottest months
we've ever seen
- anybody have in the minors.
- I don't know what to say.
Well, how about, that's
great fucking news, Coach.
Why don't they
want somebody younger?
Somebody more proven? Somebody that's
played a couple years in the minors?
You're a monster hitter.
Cashman sees what you're capable of.
So do I.
Don't act like my history
isn't a huge part of this.
My past would outweigh anything
having to do with baseball,
and you know it.
You know how many people out there
don't wanna see me in a Yankee uniform?
It's one thing blocking out
100 people at Staten Island.
It's whole other thing
on national television
with millions of people
watching.
Look, after everything
you've been through, Sonny,
you're entitled
to whatever you want.
But don't run away
from your past.
Your past is a part of you.
I mean, look at everything you've
accomplished since you've been here.
Your past inspires people. I mean, look
what you did for that little prick, Manny.
I mean, nobody could get through to
him, but you got through to him.
You made him a ballplayer.
I was right.
Things happen for a reason.
Don't tell me that
somewhere deep down inside
you didn't think
this could happen.
I didn't.
Just didn't wanna work at
that stupid fish store anymore.
I don't blame you.
The fish store.
Holy shit.
- It was a job.
- Yeah.
- It was.
- Oh, it was a great job.
Yeah, it's an honorable
profession.
- Oh, yes, very honorable.
- Yeah.
That's right,
you and Jesus Christ.
Stop being so
nervous about tomorrow.
- You're gonna be great.
- I know.
It's like the test.
Trust your instinct.
Believe in yourself. That's it.
I'm not really nervous
about tomorrow.
There were years that went by,
I thought I'd never be free again,
let alone play ball.
I took somebody's life,
and here I am about to
take a spot in the majors
from somebody else
who actually deserves it.
You paid your price.
Everybody deserves a second chance.
You're a good person, Sonny.
Maybe that's God's way of telling you that.
Let's just say
the best-case scenario happens,
and they call me up.
And then I'm good enough
for them to keep on.
How many years could
I possibly have left?
One? Two?
I don't know
anything about baseball,
but to me that sounds
like a one-of-a-kind story.
I don't know, I think that you could
make, like, baseball history.
No?
I just wanna know for myself
if I could've made it.
Do you even like baseball?
No, I like soccer.
You know that. You forgot?
But I'll be at all the games.
I'll go.
You taste like chocolate.
Hey, Sonny.
Don't screw it up this time.
I won't.
Thanks.
- Let's go, guys.
- Come on. Let's go.
Come on!
Hold him,
hold him, hold him!
Look at me!
Motherfucker!
Good evening,
Staten Island Empire fans.
And welcome to
Staten Island Park.
It's a beautiful day here.
No ballpark anywhere
has this kind of view.
Come.
Answer the phone, Sonny.
Come on, damn it.
He's not answering my calls.
I don't know where the hell he is.
I don't wanna scratch him.
Check the parking lot, okay?
Make sure he's not running late.
Has he called anybody?
I'm the only body
he's supposed to call.
No, he did not call me.
Shit.
- Yeah, hello?
- Where is he?
- Your boy, Stano? Where is he?
- He's got the shits.
- He's in the bathroom. Okay?
- He a scratch?
- 'Cause we came here, right?
- He's gonna play,
you're gonna see him. Let me get going,
will you? I gotta get this game going.
All right, we'll wait.
Says he's in the can.
Bullshit.
Son of a bitch!
All right, scratch him.
Move Quavis up here.
Put him in his spot.
Put Jones over there.
Where is he?
I'm gonna find out right now.
Pitching tonight
for the Birmingham Tracers...
- There goes my favorite redneck.
- ...former Cy Young winner...
He's throwing
the shit out of the ball.
Number 59, Roger Peterson.
We'll see about that.
Ladies and gentlemen,
now taking the field,
your Staten Island Empires!
Is he okay?
I'm sure he's fine.
Strike!
It's the bottom of the ninth.
Last chance for the Empires,
down one-nothing,
to the former World Series Champion
- Roger Peterson...
- Strike three, out!
...currently in the middle
of a no-hitter.
Sonny. Hey, Sonny.
What happened?
- Got hit by a plane.
- Hit by a plane?
- Sonny, let me see that.
- What's the score?
Who cares what the score is.
Come on. Let me bring
you inside to the medic.
- Peterson's still in?
- Yeah, Peterson's still in.
So what? Come on.
Sonny, let's go back...
- I'm fine!
- All right, well, sit down!
Sit down before you fall down.
Let me see you.
Let me see this.
Holy shit.
Hey, get me some ice.
How fast is he throwing?
Peterson,
he's throwing a no-hitter against us.
We got him 101, 102
on the gun. Come here.
- One out.
- He have a curve?
A curve, he's got a two-seam
and a four-seam
and late-breaking shit.
Put this on.
He's throwing some of the nastiest
stuff I've seen him throw in years.
He's absolutely filthy.
Tell me, where were you?
What happened?
Who's up?
- Holy shit.
- Come on!
What the fuck hit you?
Manny's on deck.
Keep the ice on, Goddamn it!
Manny.
Get in his head.
Ya tu sabe.
- Now batting, short stop...
- Come here.
- Get that shit out of my face.
- ...number 18,
Manny Menendez.
- Jesus Christ!
- Hey, watch that guy!
What's the matter, rook?
Got nothing to fucking say now?
Okay!
Oh, come on! What is that?
He's crowding the plate!
What is this,
fucking Little League?
Menendez takes his base.
Shake it off, there, Manny.
Shake it off, Manny.
Let it go.
Now batting, catcher,
number 33, Thor Digiorno.
- And he's safe at second!
- Manny!
Yeah, brother.
Fucking horseshit!
Good work.
- Put me in.
- You kidding me?
You can't even hold the bat.
You should be sitting down.
Strike!
You said it.
Nobody can hit this guy.
- I can take him.
- Yeah, not in your condition.
There'll be another game, Sonny.
You don't know that.
This might be it.
I gotta know.
I can do it.
Long fly ball to right field.
- Safe!
- Whoo! Whoo!
Tying run now
90 feet from home plate.
Bring the kid home.
Staten Island's
down to their last out.
Miller.
Now batting for the Empires,
Sonny Stano!
Come on, come on!
Foul ball.
Strike one.
What the fuck was that?
Are you kidding me?
Don't waste my time.
Count now, 0-1.
No balls, one strike.
Swing and a miss. Strike two.
Come on, Stano.
- Time.
- Time!
- Time.
- What the fuck, guy? Come on!
What are we doing?
Step in the box!
Hey, blue, that's intentional!
That's what you get when
you keep fucking around, Stano.
Ball one, count now, 1-2.
Peterson is issued a warning.
Butcher boy.
Long fly ball to centerfield!
- Go, go, go!
- And it's gone!
- Boom!
- The Empires win it!
Stano! Stano! Stano!