Sports Media Report
Evzone Media+Experiential, LLC, a documentary production company, announced today they are launching a new streaming television channel, The Sweet Spot – A Treasury of Baseball Stories. The Sweet Spot will feature an original documentary anthology series of the same name, focusing on deep, personal, and inside stories from players, coaches, writers, fans, mascots, and more.
The Sweet Spot premiered last week simultaneously on Roku, Amazon Prime, and Vimeo on Demand. In early 2017 they will add Apple TV, Google Chromecast and other streaming media outlets. The channel offers both ad supported and subscription-based viewing.
Filmmaker Jon Leonoudakis has three baseball documentaries in the permanent collection of the Hall of Fame. He can still play the game, seen here pitching at the 2016 San Francisco Giants fantasy camp.
Co-Founder and baseball documentarian Leonoudakis, says, “This is a new look at America’s oldest game. There’s so much more to baseball than who had the most RBIs. I’m exploring baseball’s sub-culture to examine stories and themes the mainstream media typically miss.”
Co-Founder, Kelly Holtzclaw, agrees, “The Sweet Spot is the story behind the stats. Record books only tell you what happened, we show you the how and why. What goes on behind the scenes is fascinating.” There are also plenty of former players’ gritty, on-field war stories. “Above all,” Leonoudakis says, “The Sweet Spot is about preserving baseball history.”
Some upcoming episodes include: former players such as Mike “Tiny” Felder and Jim Campanis, Texas Rangers bench coach Steve Buechele, New Yorker artist Mark Ulriksen, ironman scorekeeper Ed Munson (who scored 2,003 consecutive games), female umpire Perry Barber, former Yankees bat boy Matt McGough, sportswriter Ron Rapoport, Dodgers Super Fan Emma Amaya, and the San Francisco Giants’ legendary equipment manager of almost 60 years, Mike “Murph” Murphy and pitcher Jim “Mudcat” Grant on discussing racism with President Kennedy at a surprise breakfast in 1961. There are some 35 episodes in the can with at least another 30 planned for production early next year.
The Sweet Spot is the logical next step for Leonoudakis who has directed three feature-length baseball films; the cult classic Not Exactly Cooperstown, The Day The World Series Stopped, and Hano! A Century in The Bleachers. All three films have been screened at The National Baseball Hall of Fame and are in Cooperstown’s permanent collection.
Fans can interact with The Sweet Spot at facebook.com/thesweetspottv, @ twitter.com/sweet_spot_tv, and @instagram/the_sweet_spot_tv.
