2007 All Star Game Tribute – Minneapolis

(Name of Project)

by

(Name of First Writer)

(Based on, If Any)

Revisions by

(Names of Subsequent Writers,

in Order of Work Performed)

Current Revisions by

(Current Writer, date)

Name (of company, if applicable)

Address

Phone Number

EXT. - DAY A HELICOPTER VIEW OF THE METRODOME

JOE BUCK

Welcome to the 2007 Earl Weaver

Baseball Tribute to the Minneapolis

Mutiny. This year’s site of the

EWB All-Star game.

INT. - DAY - INSIDE THE METRODOME

Various angles of an empty Metrodome including the field,

empty stands, the locker room, the infamous roof of the dome,

etc.

JOE BUCK

There it is the Bermuda Triangle of

Fly Balls. I’m Joe Buck joined by

baseball analyst Tony Gwynn and two

time Bob Gibson Award Winner, once

with Dallas and one with

Minneapolis, Steven Ferguson. In

just a few days this stadium will

be packed to the limit and the best

of the best will be dueling it out.

But for now the stadium is empty

and we begin our tribute to The

Minneapolis Mutiny. Tony, Steve

thanks for joining me.

GWYNN

My pleasure, Joe.

FERGUSON

Ditto.

INT. - DAY

Inside of skybox overlooking the baseball field, we see Joe

Buck, Tony Gwynn, and Steven Ferguson. Buck and Gwynn are

dressed in suits, while Ferguson is wearing a wrinkled Black

polo with Reebok prominently stitched on the left breast of

his polo. Ferguson has an overgrown goatee with slicked back

hair.

BUCK

I suppose the first thing we can

discuss is the success that the

Mutiny has had in the first half of

this season.

GWYNN

Ya, Joe. Really unbelievable. A 22-

4 April with I believe a 17 game

win streak in there. This type of

performance in a very tough Plains

Division has to make you think that

it is very likely we could be back

here for the Series.

BUCK

Very true, but I think the

Wolverines in Omaha might have

something to say about that.

Minneapolis has managed to keep

them at bay so far. No disrespect

to the teams in the Mountain West,

but if Minneapolis was in that

division, I think they might have

clinched.

FERGUSON

(laughing)

I could pitch for LA right now and

I ain’t touched a baseball in three

years.

BUCK

This is a team that has really

built an identity. You can’t think

of power hitting without thinking

of the Mutiny. But it hasn’t

always been that way.

FERGUSON

Damn right.

GWYNN

That’s right Joe. Even though

Minneapolis has enjoyed success in

the last eight years, they really

haven’t been one of the more

dominant teams of EWB.

BUCK

Despite their lack of a

championship, the Mutiny have

produced some very good playoff

teams throughout the 37 year

history of the league. One thing

you can say about Minneapolis is

they have had there fair share of

talent.

2.

(MORE)

You are talking about players like

Al ‘Hodge Podge’ Hill, Stu

Macniter, Jim Majors, (emphasis)

Steve Ferguson, Rober Palmer, Hoshi

Kobayashi, and of course the tragic

Angel Rosa.

GWYNN

Ya, and let’s not forget the recent

history of guys like Joe Collins,

Clinton Picot and Jose Watkins.

FERGUSON

You know Watkins nickname is

“Hamburger”? Not a lot people know

that. They used to just call me

Fergie then the Black-Eyed peas got

popular and that kind of muddled

everything up.

BUCK

Really? Fergie?

Now players like Miguel Lopez, Jeff

Day, Dominic Doyle and of course 2

time MVP Ed Moran are really the

meat of why everyone associates

power hitting and Minneapolis.

GWYNN

It’s funny Joe because a lot of

sportswriters were condemning the

Mutiny. Basically saying you can’t

do it with just power, you need

pitching. Well Minneapolis

pitchers have been doing well

enough and the sluggers have proved

the critics wrong so far.

BUCK

Before we get into the Mutiny as

the Sluggers Club, lets go back to

the start. To the story of one of

the great pitchers of the early

history of EWB. The story of Al

Hill as told by long time teammate

and fellow pitcher Jim Majors.

We get the start of a series of short clips of Al Hill

walking around on the field, highlights, occasionally cut

with Jim Majors in previously shot interview. 60 year old

Majors is sitting in a studio chair with a dark gray

background. The clips are shown cut within his narration.

The clips coincide with the events he is telling.

3.

BUCK (CONT'D)

JIM MAJORS

Well, when I got traded to

Minneapolis, the first person to

come and introduce himself was

Hodge Podge. Hodge comes up to me

and says, “hey, you got some good

stuff, but you best learn real

quick this is my team.” Of course,

I just thought he was this grumpy,

insecure jerk and that really got

me to try and out pitch him. That

whole year we never spoke a word to

each other. I pitched the most

wins of my career that year, but

course ol’ Hodgey pitched more

wins. I hated that SOB. It wasn’t

until the playoffs of that same

year that Hodgey finally broke his

silence to me. He says, “Come on

Majors, you go out there and win

won for our team.” Course I want

out and pitched a terrible game,

but after Al comes up to me and

asks if I want to go get a beer.

After that we became the best of

friends, I actually first started

calling Al, Ol’ Hodge Podge cause

he acted like a grumpy old grandpa

even back then. His nickname for

me never caught on cause he was the

only one that could get away with

it and that was Major *Bleep* I

never imagined Hodgey would pitch

all the way into his 40’s. Oh and

you sure bet he was as cranky as

ever. Al is in the HOF, but it

just makes him sick to death that

he is the all-time loss leader.

Hodgy was a competitor like no

other. At 36 he had one of his

best seasons. In the twilight of

his career he got himself traded to

Dallas and he told me, “Jimbo I got

to get back in the playoffs, thats

the only thing I keep playing for.”

JIM MAJORS (CONT’D)

I just always thought it was real

sad that Dallas didn’t make it and

oddly enough Minneapolis did in

‘89. But of course ol Hodgey was

in the stands rootin on his Mutiny.

4.

JIM MAJORS (CONT’D)

Al just loved the game and he loved

to win its just real ironic that he

is often known as the pitcher with

the most losses. And even though

Hodgey gave everyone a hard time,

he had a heart of gold. I remember

when the kid broke on the scene.

Al went up to Angel and told him

that he wished he played for Omaha

so he could take all those

strikeouts he was given out. Rosa

just shrugged his shoulders and

smiled. When Rosa died in that

terrible accident, Hodgey was real

broken up about it. I know Hodgey

was giving Rosa the same treatment

he had given me to inspire him. Al

really liked Rosa and thought Rosa

would take him and the rest of The

Mutiny to its first Series. Ol’

Hodge Podge really bled green and

gold.

INT. - DAY

Back inside the Metrodome skybox.

BUCK

What a great piece. Thanks to Jim

Majors. Of course, Jim talked

about the tragic story of Angel

Rosa which is a large part of the

history of the Minneapolis Mutiny.

GWYNN

The untimely death of Angel Rosa

really shook the Mutiny

organization up. They didn’t

manage to get back on track until

‘89.

FERGUSON

Ya, it really was a horrible thing.

Sometimes it messes with my head to

think that Angel Rosa probably

would have been part of our ‘93 and

‘94 post seasons. We really could

have used him.

5.

BUCK

Now here is former EWBer’s Vincent

Carter, Sherwood Johnston, Joe

Warren and Chris Henry to talk

about Angel Rosa.

INT. SAME STUDIO THAT JIM MAJORS WAS IN

These three players discuss Angel while various clips of

Angel are being cut within their narration.

JOHNSTON

Well, it definitely took us all by

surprise.

CARTER

Rosa just kind of came out of

nowhere.

HENRY

I think the amazing thing is that

he only played in 128 games the

year he set the record. He could

have had twenty more homeruns.

WARREN

I think for me, he really set the

bar and kind of showed everybody

what could be done.

CARTER

Ya, I think I had one of the

highest amounts of homeruns of my

career that year. But Rosa was

definitely pushin me to do so. All

of a sudden 35 homeruns just

wouldn’t cut it for a power hitter.

And no offense to you Joe, but it

is amazing that with all the power

in the game today that your record

of 62 is still the most homeruns.

JOHNSTON

I was glad to be leaving the league

at this time. Rosa just set the

bar too high for a veteran player

like myself.

6.

(MORE)

I remember in ‘81 I had the most

homers of my career and I won the

Triple Crown, but my back was

always sore and then in ‘82 when

Rosa went off, I tried to keep up

and I had another good year but my

body was taking a toll. I came out

in ‘83 and my body finally was

telling me, ‘Enough’!

CARTER

I told you Sher! Slow and steady

wins the race. But Angel just like

Sher, wouldn’t have it. He aimed

for the bleachers everytime and hit

them almost as many times as he hit

the ball. He played the game like

he lived.

HENRY

I was real happy when the league

decided to make the rookie of the

year award the Angel Rosa Award. I

think it was a classy move.

JOHNSTON

Joe Warren here, finished what

Angel started and that was the

shift in the league. Historically

you look back and you can say, okay

the 70’s was a pitching era. And

the 80’s began the transition

especially in the AL to the batting

league. Myself, Carter, and Henry

all had some of our highest homerun

years in the 80’s, but I think you

look at what Angel did and it puts

things in a different light. The

kid was the first of the real

sluggers in this league.

WARREN

I think now that you look what is

going on in Minneapolis it is very

fitting. It’s a sluggers paradise

up there and somewhere Angel Rosa

is looking down and proud of what

he began in Minneapolis.

INT. - DAY

Back with Buck, Gwynn, and Johnston.

7.

JOHNSTON (CONT'D)

BUCK

Truer words have not been spoken.

GWYNN

I think it is worth mentioning that

Minneapolis has won 6 Angel Rosa

Awards. I believe that is more

than any other team.

BUCK

Now to the more recent history of

the Mutiny, we look at the mid 90’s

and that includes you Steven

Ferguson and Closer Stu MacNiter.

FERGUSON

Ya, it was a great time I would

get’em from the front end and Stu

would plow ‘em from the back end.

BUCK

And I think that is all that needs

to be said about that.

GWYNN

Really I think your right Joe.

Most of the success of this

organization as a TEAM resides in

recent history. Bosnian born GM

Kressimir Bukvic took the reigns

from controversial GM Matt Egger at

the start of the new decade and the

Mutiny haven’t looked back.

BUCK

Here is a highlight reel of the

Mutiny from the last five years.

After reel is shown.

BUCK (CONT’D)

I think that says it all. Power,

power and more power. Doyle, Lopez,

Day, and Moran plan on hitting the

Mutiny into the playoffs and even

sooner hit the AL into an All-Star

game victory.

FERGUSON

Hell yeah!

8.

BUCK

Thanks for spending this afternoon

and our special tribute to the

Minneapolis Mutiny. Joe Buck, Tony

Gwynn and Steven Ferguson signing

off.