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Ben McCloud, ace pitcher for the AAA Richmond Braves, is on his
way to the Major Leagues. His biggest obstacle is his father,
Norm. Norm is constantly critical of Ben’s performance, including
a two-hit shut-out. He wants so much for his son to make it to
the Majors that he will except nothing short of perfection. He
wants Ben to succeed where he failed though he is, in effect,
pushing his son down the same path that ended his career. He is
constantly embarrassing his son in front of the other players, and
Ben is approaching a breaking point. Monica comes on board as the
team’s new trainer, allowing Ben to vent some of his frustrations,
something he desperately needs. His father will not listen to
him, and if he knew, would prevent him from visiting his
grandfather, Candy, a great ballplayer in his own time. Norm’s
drive is all encompassing, he treats his son as little more than
an avenue to success, and his own father as a pathetic liar. He
is unable to accept his father’s old story of pitching a perfect
game and the even more legendary feat of striking out Babe Ruth.
Now he doesn’t even see his father, having abandoned him years
before to a life of loneliness and an eventual stroke. Later on,
while Ben is pitching a perfect game of his own, Monica and the
Angels take Ben and Norm into Candy’s memory to reconcile the
debate surrounding “the perfect game.” Tess shows them all how
the game began, how Candy pitched, how the Babe was defeated, and
how anger and pride led a promising pitcher to a life as a
baseball clown. With the memory played out, sons forgive fathers,
fathers embrace sons, and Ben’s perfect game resumes as though he
never left it. He finishes the game allowing no hits, walks or
errors, and with his family finally together, he embarks on what
will be a promising career in the majors.
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