Playing for Peanuts
Episode 1 - Part 1 of 4
"Playing for Peanuts" is the story of the South Georgia Peanuts - a minor league team in the independent South Coast League. There are a few dozen characters - players, coaches, league officials and fans - and multiple storylines. I knew right away that this was going to be a difficult story to tell.
But the hardest part was figuring out where to begin.
In this segment - the first segment of the entire TV series - I chose to bring everyone up to speed on the story of Peanuts manager Wally Backman. To understand the story of the South Georgia Peanuts, you need to understand Wally Backman.
Chances are, you haven't heard the whole story of how Backman's managerial career was derailed in 2004. There are alot of things that I didn't realize when I began working on the show. Although I couldn't fit it all here, I think this seven minute segment does a fair and accurate job of what happened. Here is a quick and dirty guide, with links to the relevant stories:
1.) The Arizona Diamondbacks hired Backman...
2.) The New York Times ran a story about Backman's hiring... The article touches on Backman's past DUI, bankruptcy filing and a domestic dispute. These events had happened years earlier and they are mentioned in the article almost as an afterthought. It was apparently assumed by the writer - Jack Curry - that Backman's legal run-ins were known - and he may have been correct... but...
3.) The Diamondbacks claimed to have been unaware of Backman's legal problems, even though he had been managing in their minor league system for a year.
4.) The Diamondbacks insisted that they would not fire Backman.
5.) Media scrutiny of the Diamondbacks continued to build.
6.) Then, days later and for reasons that aren't entirely clear, the Diamondbacks did a 180 and fired Backman.
7.) In the aftermath of the firing, the Arizona media completely savaged Backman and his reputation. Again, the reasons for this aren't entirely clear. Other media outlets jumped in as well and their dislike of Backman seemed to date back to his days on the New York Mets. (Note: The Arizona Republic now charges for you to read their archives. Consequently, there are no direct links to their articles, although the headlines and quotes in the video are all real. You can do a search on them if it helps you in your research).
And that is your quick and dirty guide to Wally Backman, circa 2004.
I am not a Wally Backman apologist, by any means. What he did was wrong and there is no other way to say it.
The funny thing is, Backman apologized for his part in the events that led to his dismissal by Arizona. As far as I can tell, he apologized for his DUI in 1999 and he continued working in baseball. Yet here it is nearly ten years later and because Arizona's handling of the situation in 2004, he still has not been given a second chance. Backman has not - to my knowledge - received an interview for a job in affiliated baseball since 2004.
And that is what I had to convey in the first seven minutes of the show. Not an easy task and it isn't one I set out to tell in the first place. Remember, this is just a fun show that takes a light-hearted look at the collective life of a minor league baseball team.
So this is where the story of "Playing for Peanuts" begins - Wally Backman has been out of the game for two years. His reputation is shattered and he can't get a job in the major or minor leagues. He turns to the newly formed independent South Coast League. It is his only choice:
And things only get more interesting (and fun) from here. Check back for more updates.
Thanks for watching,
John Fitzgerald
Playing for Peanuts
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