Red Sox manager BOBBY VALENTINE “has produced a film about baseball in the Dominican Republic, and that film, being released this week, is the subject of considerable controversy,” according to Loren King of the BOSTON GLOBE. The film, “Ballplayer: Pelotero,” has “not gone over well” with MLB. The league is “displeased with the film’s allegations of corruption and coercion in the signing process for young prospects from the Dominican Republic.” MLB Senior VP/PR PAT COURTNEY in an e-mail said the league “had a conversation with the Red Sox about the inaccuracies and misrepresentations that were in the documentary.” Valentine said that the film “simply reflects reality.” The new film tracks top prospects MIGUEL SANO and JEAN CARLOS BATISTA “as they prepare for the July 2, 2009, signing date for 16-year-old international players.” Dir TREVOR MARTIN said that Valentine “did more than bankroll the film.” Martin: “He’d come in and watch some footage and provide a professional baseball eye.” It is the “first funded by Makuhari Media, a sports film production company Valentine formed in 2010 with ANDREW J. MUSCATO.” Muscato tracked Valentine’s ‘07 season as manager of the Nippon Professional Baseball's Chiba Lotte Marines for the ESPN Films documentary “The Zen of Bobby V” (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/10).
