Episode 1.2: Producer Commentary

Playing for Peanuts
Episode 1 - Part 2 of 4



This is the first time we meet the players of the South Georgia Peanuts. In Episode 1.1, I had to decide how to condense Wally Backman's lengthy backstory into one segment. In this case, I had to fit the bios and personalities of 25 guys into one segment.

Many of the players fell into one of the following categories:

1.) Former Arizona Diamondbacks Minor Leaguers - These are players that played for Wally Backman in Lancaster (A) in 2004 - Steve Garrabrants and Doc Brooks. Later in the season, Backman would sign Jon Zeringue and Jared Doyle - both had been prospects in the Arizona organization while Backman was there.

2.) Former Texas Rangers Minor Leaguers - These are players who played in the Rangers system with Backman's son - Johnny Washington, Joey Hooft, Steve Butler, Pat Ford, Shannon Wirth and Austin Weilep.

3.) Rookies - Along with the veterans listed above, the Peanuts had a large number of rookies - Jared Sutton, Chris Demons, Dustin Taylor and Mike Colacchio, among others.

The players had some interesting stories as well, both on and off the field:

1.) Doc Brooks had been suspended 50 games for violating MLB's minor league drug policy. His first step back to affiliated ball would be playing for the South Georgia Peanuts.

2.) Chris Demons had been signed at an open tryout in Florida. Within two years, he would be playing in AAA for the Toronto Blue Jays.

3.) Jasha Balcom had been a prospect in the Cubs organization until his father passed away and he decided to stop playing. He moved back home, got a job and got married. After some encouragement from Cecil Fielder and Backman, he agreed to make a comeback with the Peanuts.

4.) Dustin Taylor was primarily a first baseman in college. He asked Backman if he could tryout as a pitcher and he was immediately signed.

5.) Josh Cowles was originally signed by the Angels as an OF, but had recently converted to being a pitcher.

6.) Damien Dantibo had one year of experience in independent ball, but he had left to become a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Episode 1.2 is Dantibo's biggest appearance in "Playing for Peanuts." Within a few weeks, he was training for another fight. He apparently contracted a staff infection and nearly had his arm amputated. All of this occurred off-camera and nobody seemed to be entirely sure of the situation. The point is, Damien Dantibo disappeared very early into the season, but his presence was entertaining while it lasted.

7.) Chris Howell appears very briefly in the show - he is seen but not interviewed, yet his story is worth mentioning here. Howell had recently been released by the Angels and was hoping to rebuild his career with the Peanuts. He was also planning to marry his fiancee - but he was hit by a drunk driver before spring training began. His fiancee was killed in the accident. Howell rehabbed his injuries (broken ribs) and hoped that his return to the mound would help him cope with the devastating loss. He pitched one game and it didn't work out. He decided it was best to leave the game until he was ready - physically and mentally. I chose not to cover this story in the show because I felt it would be too difficult to accurately cover - and I also felt awkward shoving a camera in a guy's face and asking him to relive something like that, just weeks after it happened.

The team's salary cap was $75,000. The players lived in an old military housing complex - their neighbors were Hurricane Katrina refugees. Each player got a mattress and they slept on the floor - two to a room, with one player sleeping in the living room.

Meanwhile, Backman had chosen to live in an RV in the woods, constantly swatting - and swearing at - bugs as he talked about his goals for the season. His goals were simple - get his players back into affiliated baseball and win.