Branca's Pitch

Director Andrew J. Muscato throws the jockumentary genre a slight curve in Branca's Pitch by partially addressing the literary art of ghostwriting, and—by extension—a co-author's relationship to his subject. Here the ghost is prolific David Ritz, and his collaborator is Ralph Branca, part of the legendary early-1950s Brooklyn Dodgers lineup that included Jackie Robinson. Branca would become notorious for throwing the famous pitch in the 1951 National League playoff game that New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson slammed for the “shot heard round the world” winning home run. Relentlessly scapegoated, Branca became an insurance salesman, and was not even included among the interviewees for the 1983 cable-TV documentary adaptation of Roger Kahn's 1972 book The Boys of Summer, chronicling the early Dodgers' history. Now in his 80s, Branca wants to tell all—including bombshell charges that the Giants had spied on the Dodgers at practice and deciphered their rivals' hand signals, giving Thomson an unfair advantage. A Wall Street Journal reporter confirms this game-changer revelation, but also finds inaccuracies elsewhere in the Branca/Ritz manuscript (although Ritz claims that as a ghostwriter his job is not to represent objective truth). While very much a NY-centric baseball tale, this fine documentary should have wide appeal, and will serve as an excellent complement to the 2011 Branca/Ritz book A Moment in Time. Highly recommended. (C. Cassady)