I used to dream when you born
that someday I'd be your hero,
Like I was a hero in Kansas City
hitting all those home runs in the World Series,
I prayed so hard every day
that you'd make it up from Mexico
with your mother safely,
And we can give it a shot then,
Try to be a family together,
I've been working so hard,
been doing everything I can do to get out of here
and show you that I can be a decent father,
God's grace came upon me through you, Camila,
Because of you I have a spiritual life now,
I didn't have that before,
I thank you for that,
Love, your daddy,
You okay, Willie? Catch,
You got two more days
to pack your stuff,
We've worked really hard for this,
Wanna thank you,
I'm going to see you in Kansas City in two days,
Flying back tonight,
Can you call Sara for me?
I already did,
She can't wait to see you,
Camila, on the other hand,,,
What about Camila?
Well, Sara's working on her,
She's 17, Willie, it's not personal,
If you want to have a relationship with her,
be a role model,
Starting now,
Work with me like we agreed,
What about my mama?
I'm sorry,
Rejected outright,
She barely holding on right now,
I can't get out of here and not see my mother,
No, you're going to report to your parole officer
within 12 hours of getting to Kansas City,
'Cause if you mess up, you'll be back here quicker than you can blink an eye,
And as your attorney, I strongly urge you
to obey your court order, Willie,
Game on,
I gotta go,
All right, Willie!
Good luck to you, Willie,
What happened? How'd you end up in prison?
You know that saying, "Keep your eye on the ball"?
Yeah, Sure,
Let's just say, when you don't, everything go to hell,
Gotcha,
Hey, pull over right here,
Come on, Willie,
Come on,
- Ball one! - Hey, what was that?
- Ball two! - Come on, bro,
What you doin'?
Come on, Willie,
Come on,
Settle down,
Ball three!
Wait, wait, what are you doing? You're still at bat,
They won't let me play, That other coach don't like me,
Willie, they don't like you because they're afraid of you,
They're afraid you're gonna knock that ball into the next county,
like you usually do,
- Right? - Yeah,
Now, you go play ball, boy, all right?
- All right, - Go on, boy,
Young man, you not back at that plate in three seconds,
I'm gonna call you out for delay of game,
Come on, Willie, go on,
Come on, Willie,
Let's go, boy!
They're afraid of you, boy, They're afraid of that right there,
I got it, I got it!
Fancy stuff will get you in trouble every time, kid,
What's it matter to you?
Matters a lot to me,
- Look at this dude, - Holy shit,
Oooh, look here,
Is that a ghost I see?
Oh, Willie Mays Aikens,
- Welcome home, slugger, - Shit,
- Welcome home, - Damn, man,
Hey, why don't you come on and sit down, man?
Sit down and have a beer,
Good seeing you brothers, but, um,,, can't stay,
Willie Mays Aikens, are you still thinking you're too good for us?
- No, it ain't that, - Well, what you sayin'? What you sayin', Willie?
I'll tell you one thing, I ain't never been locked up,
Yeah, me neither,
I mean, there was that one time now,,,
but you got us beat there, don't you, man?
Say, Willie, they say you used to play ball coked up,
- Is that true? - Hell, yeah, it's true, Look at him,
Shit, don't you know?
Crack helps you crack bats,
Ain't that right, Willie?
Hey, hey, Willie,
Oh, boy,
Look out, man,
Oh, comin' to take you back there, slugger,
Go on, man, Run, Willie, run,
Coach?
Sheriff now,
White kids I used to coach ended up voting for me,
Sheriff?
Come on, let's go,
Let's go where?
You arrestin' me?
Well, this ain't the back door I'm holdin' open, is it?
Now, come on, get in,
Go on,
Went by the old field?
Uh-huh,
You was a local hero, Willie,
I used to hit some ball,
Do you remember that? Hmm?
You left a lot of people hanging,
A lot of kids, too,
My son, for one,
Man, I was counting on you,
Truth is, I was lost,
In some ways, I still am,
God willing, I'm gonna fix it, though,
You just can't bench me, coach,
Well, you ain't no baseball star no more, Willie,
you an ex-con,
You better wake up,
You realize the risk you're taking coming here?
Oh, My lawyer get to ya,
Lucky for you she did,
How the hell do you plan on getting back in time?
There's a flight leave out in the morning,
Arrive 2 p,m,
I got the ticket already,
She said you're supposed to report at noon,
Been locked up 14 years,
Yeah?
The least I can do is be a few hours late,
Listen, there's a flight leaving in two hours
with a connection that will get you in there at 11:20 a,m,
Listen here, now, you might be cutting it close
but you'd have a chance,
I promised your lawyer I'd put you on it,
What about my mama?
Huh, coach? I ain't seen my mama in 14 years,
I'm getting you on that flight, Willie,
Can I go see Mae?
Please,
You got ten minutes,
- Hey, Delores? - Willie?
I wasn't expecting to see your ass for another eight years,
I know, considering you ain't even come to see me 14 years I was in prison,
Don't give me all that mess, You weren't expecting to see me,
We never been that close, Willie,
Ah, damn, you done got in trouble again already,
Is she here? I ain't got that much time,
Yes and no,
- What you mean, yes and no? - Come on, Shut up, Willie,
Comin' over here with all that, you ain't got no attitude with me,
- This is my house, nigga, - How's it your house? I paid for everything,
You know what? How about that?
Hey, Mae, Hey,
Mae?
Gary, man,
It's Willie,
We called him Gary, my brother,
It's Willie, Mom,
- Huh? - It's your son Willie,
Your son,
Oh, yeah,
He in the house, ain't he?
I got to go in there,
I got out of prison to come see you, Mae,
I don't even know you,
Damn,
It's like she's deaf,
She's like that most of the time now,
It's so hot in here,
She can barely breathe in here,
- What are you talkin' about? - What happened to the A/C?
- Willie, that thing been broken, - Why don't you fix it?
You know what, you come up in my house after all these years
and you ask stupid questions!
I've had enough,
That's my brother and sister,
- Mae, - See 'em over there?
I'm free now,
I got out,
Got out,
- I'm a free man, - Okay,
My wife, my daughter, Camila, the grand baby,
she gonna come up from Mexico,
They ain't been to no Mexico,
my brother and my sister,
They gonna come up here, she gonna come up here to go to college,
You don't know me,
Willie, what she tryin' to tell you is she ashamed of you,
Now, what you gonna do?
Take it, Fix the A/C,
I put some extra in there,
Mama, I'm gonna come up to see ya,
Remember I came to see ya, it's your boy Willie,
It's time for you to go, Willie,
- It's time for you to get on out of here, Willie, - Mama?
- God bless you, - It's time,
It's time for you to get out of my house,
You still got five minutes,
I don't need 'em,
You, you, you, and your missions,
Don't worry, he'll be on time,
- I'm not worried in the least, - I know,
- If he's even a minute late,,, - I know the drill,
I told you he'd be here,
Willie Mays Aikens,
Both of you meeting with me?
- Mm-hmm, - Elsie Montgomery,
Are you testing the boundaries,
or do you have a legitimate reason for being late?
All due respect, I'm supposed to be here at noon,
Here I am, so,,,
So just follow the rules,
And stay sober,
And we'll get along fine,
Yes, ma'am,
I have a job lined up for you,
Road repair, Starts tomorrow,
Oh, oh, no, wait,
Ma'am, I'm a Major League baseball player,
Right? Got a tricky hit, Can't be,,,
Gainful employment is a requirement for your parole,
No welfare,
Welfare?
Road work will be just fine,
I've never been on no welfare, but whatever you wanna assign me,
I'm a working man, whatever,
I'll do road crew, What is it, road,,,?
- Yeah, road crew, - Good, Good,
This is the halfway house, This is your new home,
There's a bus that stops downstairs that'll take you straight there,
I'm gonna give him a ride,
Um,,,
so when can I live in a place of my own choosing?
Well, that's to my discretion, Mr, Aikens,
Meaning, when I think you're ready, Got it?
You talkin' about a week, a month?
- What are we talkin' about? - I could be talkin' about a year,
Like I said, it's when I think you're ready,
Willie's gonna do whatever it takes to transition
and earn your trust,
Thank you, Mr, Aikens,
Thank you, Elsie,
- Thank you so much, - You're welcome,
- This is yours, - Goodbye,
Talk to the woman,,, gonna have me come out here,
Willie, listen to me, You were supposed to be here early,,,
Don't ever embarrass me again, and you haven't learned to respect the goddamn law by now?
You don't use the Lord's name in vain, now you got me a house arrest,
We had a deal that you were gonna speak out against the mandatory minimums,
and it would have been nice if you could have said something to the press
about the injustice of these drug laws, quid pro quo,
This is my daughter's phone, It's old, but it works,
You'll become as addicted to it as everybody else is,
I've only arranged one community meeting
next week, okay?
- Here, - What's this?
Talking points,
This is my car,
Get in it!
No, come on, Sara, now,
I'm sorry, You,,, You gotta convince her,
I'm talking to her, It takes time,
Life here is all she knows,
And she barely knows you,
Let me talk to her,
No, Not a good idea,
I have to go,
Whoa, okay,,,
Tell her that I love her,
I will,
Adiós,
Willie?
Willie Aikens?
Pastor Means,
Wow! God is good,
Been praying for you, brother, It's good to see you,
When did you get out?
A few days ago,
Got a job,
Good, good,
Livin' in a halfway house, man,
Well, there's nothing for you here,
Walk with me, I wanna show you something,
Come on,
Remember this place?
Yeah,
Listen, I gotta go,
You know where to find me,
We don't have a meeting scheduled until next week,
Um,,, I know, but I came by to ask you
if I could stay at my place again,
- Willie, I've already told you, - I know, I know,
Um,,,
I need you to see that I'm ready,
I'm ready now, right?
I, uh,,, I've been working,
Right? I've been staying off drugs, I'm clean,
Haven't I?
- True, - Okay,
But you've just gotten out in the last couple weeks,
Now, typically, I don't even consider these kind of requests
until at least six months,
This is a special circumstance,
I have my,,, my wife and my daughter,
They're coming up from Mexico,
She's a teenager,
And she, uh, she changes her mind every day,
sometimes every hour,
And I'm afraid if I don't have no home here,
that I'm gonna miss my chance with them,
miss my chance for a family,
So, ma'am, Miss Elsie, I'm begging you,,,
'Cause I need my family,
Please, ma'am,
How old is she, your daughter?
She's 17 years old,
Seventeen,
That's mine, Sixteen,
Dealing with parole is easy
compared to raising a teenage girl,
I wish I'd been in my daughter's life
enough to know what you're talking about,
I haven't seen Camila since she was 6 years old,
Think it ain't too late to be in her life,
I'm gonna keep trying,
Word of advice,
Don't treat her like a child,
They hate it when you treat them like a child,
Thank you, I thank you,
Willie,,,
have a seat,
This is your one chance,
I give everybody one chance, and if you mess it up
even a little bit, I recommend you go back to prison, you got it?
Now, go on and get outta here,
Keep going up around there,
We're gonna need to get you a car,
Car, I got a car,
It's been sitting for a while,
Yeah, That's what makes it a classic,
Sorry the lawn's not perfect,
But you began to run out of money,
Welcome home,
Thank you, Francine,
Classic,
It's like a time capsule in here,
A lot of memorabilia,
You could make some money off some of this stuff,
George Brett,
Gorgeous George,
One of the greatest players ever lived,
He was our third baseman,
Back it up! Get on the ground!
Hands up! Get on the ground!
When did you say they were getting here?
Two weeks or so, I don't know,
You know, you better get crackin',
Thanks for your help,
That's what friends are for,
You gonna paint or you gonna preach?
You expecting someone?
Not yet,
Well, looks like somebody's here,
Thought you wasn't coming till Saturday,
We wanted to be together as soon as possible, no?
- Oh! - My baby,
He's been working really hard,
We,,, haven't finished painting,
Are we, um, interrupting something?
I'm Francine,
Willie's lawyer,
I'll help you with your luggage,
Camila,
The house,,, is good,
Está bien,
- It's good, - Houses are like people,
Some you like, some you don't,
L,M, Montgomery,
It's a writer,
I read more books in prison than you read your whole life,
Willie, stop being weird,
You know how long I waited for this moment?
Been through 14 years in prison just to,,,
sit here and eat with my family,
Don't worry, y'all, We,,,
We're gonna get used to each other,
I just got one more thing to do in my life,
One thing? I can think of, like, 15,
Well, I got a plan,
Of me,,,
us,,,
we'll get back into baseball,
Willie,
Baseball?
You're too old, mi amor,
Don't worry,
Don't think I was in prison all them 14 years
just staring at the wall,
I got a plan,
You really think they'll give you a chance to coach?
I don't see why not,
I mean, who a better hittin' coach than me?
Maybe you should ask George Brett to help,
I mean, you two were so close,
Nah, I won't go to George for no handout,
I'll do this on my own,
You still believe in me, right?
We'll see,
What do you mean, we'll see?
I'm here, Willie,
No? Sí,
Sí, Estás aquí,
Todavía no,
What do you mean, not yet?
You know I've been locked up for 14 years,
And whose fault was that?
The government,
No, It's your fault,
It was your fault, Willie,
Now, if you can't sleep with me without sleeping with me,
I'm going to Camila's room,
No, no, no,
Okay, all right, all right,
I need time,
Okay, you take all the time you need,
Not too long,
'Cause I just need 20 minutes, that's all,
Estúpido,
I've missed you,
You know I'm a former player, right?
- No, - Yeah, Before your time,
You know how many home runs I hit?
No idea, sir,
Bet you don't care, either,
Mr, Aikens,
- Oh, hello, - Such a pleasure to meet a former player,
Yeah,
- A World Series hero at that, - Thank you,
May I ask the purpose of your visit today?
Here to see Mr, Benson, He available?
Mr, Benson's here, but his schedule's full today,
Do you want to tell me the purpose of your visit?
- I'll set an appointment, - Oh, of course,
I believe he has openings in July,
Three months from now?
Mm-hmm, I'm sure you know, as team president,
he's a very busy man,
Well, I know you got a little reception area in there,
you're supposed to cater to ex-ball players,
Mr, Aikens, would you like to make an appointment or not?
You ain't got to follow me, either,
You didn't show up,
I had a room full of people waiting to meet you,
Your blowing me off has gotten me thinking,
Let's just take one big swing at bat,
Right? That's the way you like it,
You're a home run hitter, I saw the World Series,
They're having a congressional hearing coming up
and they are discussing the injustices
of the mandatory sentencing laws,
It's gonna get national attention,
and it can help the guys that you left behind,
the ones that you promised,
Just tell your story,
Tell it on the huge stage and then we will be square,
Don't you understand that I want a rock right now?
That I've been wanting a drink every day since I got out of jail?
I'm trying my best!
Okay, okay,
Leave me alone,
This is personal,
I've been with you every step of the way,
And I may not know what it feels like to be you
or to have gone through the things that you've gone through,,,
but there are half a million people
who are unjustly incarcerated,,,
and a lot of them look like you,
I'm just asking you to tell your story,
Your daughter will love you for it,
You think I'm rotating my hips?
I think you could put a little bit more weight into it,
I gotcha,
Camila,
Got a little friend I want you to meet,
He a throwaway just like me, Help you settle in,
- Oh, my God, No, - What?
- No! - What?
What is that?
A puppy!
He's just a little puppy,
Mama!
Willie, what is that?
It's a dog,
That's her dog?
Mi amor, she has allergies, she breaks out, it's,,,
Camila, I'm sorry, I ain't know,
Yeah, I wonder why, Maybe 'cause you weren't around?
It's cool, I'll just make you a list of everything I'm allergic to
so you can catch up,
Un perro?
Ay, mi amor, She's not a little girl,
I was just trying to bond with her,
Walk the dog,
Feed the dog,
- Dumb idea, - It's not a dumb idea,
Your heart was right, pero, the next time you have an idea, ask me,
You know, Camila wants to learn how to drive,
I teach her a little bit in Mexico,
pero, here it would help to,,,
You think it would help if I paid for the driving lessons?
That's not what I'm thinking,
Why are you assaulting my computer?
Looking up the home address of the team president,
Oh,
You're cyber stalking,
What?
Cyber stalking, It's illegal,
How come George Brett can't help you?
Who told you that name? Your mother?
No,
George Brett,
Sometimes when I was really bored, I used to read about you online,
I know he was someone you used to hang out with,
one of the guys you didn't do drugs with,
When you was reading all that bad stuff about me,
you read about the good stuff too?
We get it, you're good at sports,
Are we doing this?
Okay, yeah,
Great,
I do miss this old neighborhood,
You know, I was thinking about it,
Maybe you should let it go,
Thinking about what? What should I let go?
The Royals thing,
- The Royals thing? - Yeah,
It's just, I don't know, it's kind of sad
watching you cling to the past,
People are trapped in history, history is trapped in people,
James Baldwin?
Yeah,
You gonna hit me with James Baldwin,
How about you just focus on the road,
focus on what you're doing?
And put on your signal,
There you go,
Slow,,,
Good,
Okay, That's good,
You're doing great,
Thanks, Willie,
Camila, you know,,,
it wouldn't be so bad if you called me "dad" sometime,
Nah, "Willie" works for me,
No, "Willie" doesn't work for you,
I'm your dad,
Technically,
Technically? What do you mean, technically?
Nobody's even asking you for that much, Really,
The bar is set at "be there,"
The bar is like "be there for your child,"
And that's all my fault?
It is your fault,
What you want from me?
You trying to act like you don't have a fault?
Uh, dads teach you how to ride a bike,
Dads teach you how to drive a car,
Dads tuck you into bed at night,
Dads make sure you got food in your mouth,
Dads know things about their daughters, like, I don't know,
that they are allergic to dogs,
How long this gonna go on?
- Slow down, - You know what?
Dads don't have to ask their daughters to call them dad,
Stop!
What was the first rule that I told you?
I know, "keep your eyes on the road,"
Keep your eyes on the road and look both ways,
- Yep, - And you didn't,
'Cause you wanna argue with me about I'm a dad,
You're the one who wants to have this conversation in the first place,
- Get out of the car, - I just wanted to learn how to drive,
Get outta the car!
Told ya,
Halfway done killed me twice coming out here anyway,
Don't know what your mama was thinkin',
How did it go?
I hate him!
Got any more good ideas?
She almost a woman,
Be so much easier for me to just let it go,
But I want her to love me,
I need her to love me,
Willie,
She has a lot of pain,
All her life growing up her friends knew
that her father,,,
That doesn't go away overnight,
I know that,
Still,,,
Perhaps she could just,,,
Do you want an instant family?
After all you put us through, after all we've been through?
I can't change what I put you through,
I can't change what I put Camila through,
Just the fact that you are trying so hard,,,
she sees that,
I know my daughter,
Our daughter,
She'll come around,
Like me,
Mr, Benson! Ha!
Willie Mays Aikens!
- Oh, Will,,, - Oh!
You just scared the hell out of me,
I'm sorry, I'm coming from work, I'm a mess right now,
Yeah, work, huh? What do you do, dig ditches?
Actually, I am digging ditches right now, but,,,
Look, Willie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean,,,
That's no problem, That's why I came to see you,
Oh, that's right, My secretary Anne said you came by,
Did you make an appointment?
Well,,, that's what I wanted to talk to you about, Mr, Benson,
The possibility of getting me a coaching job,
With the Royals?
Of course, Hitting coach, Single-A,
The Minors, rookie ball,
Just trying to get back in the game,
I get it, Willie,
I'm sure you'd make a great batting coach,
But it's complicated,
Hey,,,
How many home runs I hit for the Kansas City Royals?
Including the four in the series?
- Uh-huh, - 77, am I right?
That's right,
Am I right?
Okay, Willie, I'll tell you what,
- I'll do what I can, - Okay,
I gotta be honest, it more than likely won't work,
- That's all right, - The Royals have shareholders, a corporate image,
And because of your history, adding you to the coaching staff would be,,,
challenging,
Optics just aren't right,
Optics,
That's the world we live in,
- You take care, Willie, - Okay,
You get home safe, Mr, Benson,
Hey!
Ha ha!
Baby, what happened?
What happened?
Your mother,,,
she passed,
She died,
I just got off the phone with Delores,
I'm so sorry,
You gotta be kidding me,
I'm so sorry,
Mama died,
I can't win,
God, you gotta be kidding me,
Yeah, but allowing you to leave the halfway house was at my discretion,
This falls under Missouri state law,
Parolees are not allowed to leave the jurisdiction
without a signed judge's release,
My mama's funeral,
- I know, - This ain't right,
I'm sorry,
There's nothing I can do,
Willie?
Please, don't do anything stupid,
Okay,
I gotta call my sister now,
You don't know my sister,
She'll hit you over the phone,
Yeah, well, it ain't about you all the time,
Yeah,
I'm trying, You,,,
I can't make the lady,,,
I'll pay for it, I told you I'd pay for it,
I'll pay for everything,
I don't know, Delores,
Well, she my mama too,
Okay? She my mama too,
All right,
Welcome, Let me know if you need help finding anything,
Deciding if I want a drink,
Hey, buddy, Buddy, you okay?
I decided I want one,
Do you need me to call somebody for you or something?
All right, look, are you okay, man?
Come on,
Look, I don't want any trouble, man,
Just,,, come on,
Hurry up, you're starting to freak me out, okay?
Do you hear me?
Hey, buddy,
Are you gonna buy that or not?
Jesus Christ, man,
Damn,
Have a good one,
Right through that door there's a girl
who needs you more than anything,
If you mess this up, I will never, never forgive you,
Camila! Camila,
Camila,
Yes?
Messy, All teenage girls this messy?
I mean, the house ain't been this messy since, uh,,,
since I was on drugs,
Sure read a lot of books, right?
Yeah, well, a house without books is like a room without windows,
Writer,
Educator, actually,
Horace Mann,
Did you,,, need something?
Oh,,,
I was gonna get you another driving lesson if you wanted to,
Really? 'Cause last time we were in a car,
you said you never wanted to drive with me again,
Yeah, and you said you hated me,
Forget it, Just forget it,
I'm gonna be outside, waiting,
Okay,
Your lawyer's right,
You're perfect for that Congress thing,
Can't believe she called you,
Well, she called Mom, asked her to talk to you, and Mom asked me, so,,,
Oh, so it's a conspiracy,
What are you scared of?
Scared of nothing,
Just working on us right now, nobody else,
Oh, that's right,
And baseball, how is that going?
I talked to the team president,
He said that, uh,,,
I'm not good for optics,
Hmm, well, I guess that makes sense,
You trying to piss me off?
No, I'm just being realistic,
Like, how's it gonna look if they have a crackhead
coaching their players?
A crackhead?
Ex-crackhead,
Oh, man, you just love to push me away, huh?
Ex-crackhead, Come on,
Let's go work on your left turns,
Hopefully you're gonna signal this time,
With your crackhead dad,
Crackhead,
Ex-crackhead,
Your mother's limpin',
You're so damn clueless,
Lupus?
I mean, that's serious,
It's an autoimmune disease,
Similar to arthritis, pero,,,
stronger,
Why you didn't tell me?
You barely notice me, Willie,
You're so busy with work,
Camila, baseball, tu mamá,
The lupus is coming out now because,,,
estoy embarazada,
You're pregnant?
This is good,
This is a good day,
This is a blessing,
This is a blessing, baby,
Come here,
You okay?
Does Camila know?
Ay,
What did she say? How'd she take it?
Like a 3-year-old,
What about the doctor?
Willie,
We don't have insurance,
I haven't been to a doctor,
I'm sorry,
I've just been focusing on everything else,
I'm gonna get you a doctor first thing tomorrow,
Don't worry,
It's a good thing, baby, I promise you,
This is great,
All right, keep it slow,,, keep it straight,
Oh, no, no, no, Over the shoulder,
- You always look in the direction that you're going, - I know,
Put that back on the wheel,
All right,
See? I got it,
Well, the doctor says that your mother and the baby,
they'll be fine if they don't have too much stress, so,,,
if me and you,,,
can get along?
Yeah, well, I'm gonna be at college,
so you don't have to worry about me,
Stop right here,
Stop the car,
Just hear me out,
No family's perfect,
Neither is this family,
I know I haven't been the best father,
Maybe I haven't been a father at all,
But I love you, Camila,
I thought we agreed to just drive
and like not talk about stuff,
You're right,
Put it in drive,
Take us home,
Wait, home?
Yeah, You ready,
Are you sure?
Take the test, yeah, You ready, come on,
I mean, we probably gonna die
in a fiery crash on the way back, but,,,
I'm with you,
Good one,
Good to meet you, Thanks,
Man,
Willie, Willie, Willie,
It's so great to see you, man,
Nice seeing you too, George,
Thank you for agreeing to meet me,
Are you kidding me? Cut that out,
Come on, sit down, Sit,
You miss it, Willie?
Ain't nothin' like the big show,
I mean the drugs,
Just clownin' you, man,
I mean, I know it's a little twisted, right?
But I couldn't resist,
George still the big clown,
Oh, um, just a couple of Chiantis, please,
- Certainly, - Thank you,
Sorry, I,,,
Uh, actually, just, uh,,,
just a couple of diet Cokes,
- And, um,,, - Sure, right away,
Thank you,
Diet Coke is better, right?
I mean, you're,,, you're starting to spread a little bit,
so,,,
You know, the truth is I do miss it,
Crack was the greatest thing ever happened to me,
It was, George,
Felt better than hittin' them home runs in the World Series,
It's true,
I ain't gonna never touch it again,
I'll continue missing it the rest of my life,
Giorgio's still got it, huh?
You said it, Hmm,
You know what, man, I am so glad that you called me,
We need to reach out and get some of the other guys together,
Well, George, I need to ask you for a favor,
Sure, Shoot,
A big favor,
Willie, I'm not,,,
I'm not as flush as you might think I am,
but if you need a little cash or something,,,
It ain't nothin' like that,
Okay, now I'm worried, so,,, tell me,
I want back in,
I need back in,
Willie, come on,
Come on, George,
Just a coaching job,
Something small,
I already talked to Mr, Benson,
He said they gotta go through the owner,
I thinking you could talk to him,
Willie Mays Aikens, still swinging for the bleachers, huh?
I know I'm asking a lot, but I'm thinking that,,,
you could help me out,
You know what, I got an idea,
I mean,,,
there's this autograph event that I'm supposed to appear at,
Why don't you come with me?
Okay? The fans will freak out,
It will feel just like old times,
Nah, that,,, that's just gonna remind me of what I lost,
what I'm missing,
The Royals love you, man,
I'm just askin' that you try,
Okay, Okay, I will, I promise,
But you know what? Don't hold your breath, okay?
I mean, the suits, they don't see the game the way we see it,
We see stats, they see profit-and-loss statements,
It's not about what's right, it's about what looks right,
Optics,
How'd it go?
I did it,
That's great,
You know, your mom, she was right,
Thanks, Willie,
Hey, uh,,, who's Willie?
Thank you,
- Was that so bad? - What, the test or the hug?
Hey,
Need somebody licensed to drive me somewhere,
Thought you was gonna catch it,
- Catch it next time, - Mm-hmm,
There you go, Thanks for coming,
Okay, thank you,
Oh, man,
- Hey, George, - Thank you,
Looks good, man,
Yeah, I know that one,
Aren't you glad you came today?
You kiddin' me?
Okay,
Hey, how are you? What's your name?
Mama,
Sara,
Mama!
Honey?
Sara?
Camila!
Baby?
- Sara, - Mom?
Mama!
Call 911,
She does this?
No,
Sara!
Sara?
The stroke was isolated, and I think we caught it in time,
We're still monitoring the situation,
Is the baby okay?
Well, we're still monitoring the baby, too,
We're hoping for the best,
We're looking for a full recovery,
but it's gonna take a lot of work from the both of you,
but especially her,
We know hard work,
Hello?
Pastor Means,
- Hey, Willie, - You have a moment?
Uh, sure, just a second,
Want a roll?
No, I haven't much of an appetite,
Let's go upstairs,
Come on,
Doctors say that she gonna pull through, but,,,
Sara's a good woman,
And a good mother,
But I don't know how much more of this I can take,
I try my best,
I keep the Lord in my thoughts, in my heart,
But it don't go the same way,
It don't,
I know I done plenty wrong,
I know I ain't welcome here,
- I know it, I ain't welcome here, - That's not true, Willie,
- That's not true, - I ain't,
You were called,
God is calling you to serve,
You heard God's voice when you were in jail,
He didn't guarantee that you were gonna,,,
you know, not have no hardship when you came out,
That's what makes your testimony so true,
because you lived it,
You lived it,
It's our courage and faith in the dark nights,
that's what makes our testimony,
Keep testifying,
Excuse me, Pastor,
Uh,,,
Willie Mays Aikens?
Uh,,,
Pastor told me all about you, and, um,,,
I just want you to know, I remember that World Series,
And, uh,,, I just wanted to come over here
and let you know that,,,
you inspire all of us,
And I had some hard times,
So you keep the faith,
All right, brother?
Pastor,
Hey, Mom,
You're gonna be okay,
We're gonna help you get better,
We got you,
Okay, can you flex you right hand for me?
Okay, Make a fist,
Nice,
You keep that up, you'll be going home real soon,
A lot of good I'll be at home,
Willie, turn on the TV,
The baseball game is on, the Yankees,
What, is the Kansas City Royals out?
I remember, back in the day,
I couldn't take your father away form watching baseball on TV,
Mama exaggerating,
Hmm,
He says that watching the game makes him sad now,
What happened with the Royals? Did they get back to you?
I ain't worried about the Royals no more,
Now all I care about is my family,
making sure you get back up on your feet,
Okay?
I don't know, Camila,
I mean,,, are you sure?
I mean, yeah, I wanna go to college,
but I'm not gonna be able to concentrate when she's like this,
Anyway, it's not up to you,
I don't need your permission to help my mother,
Well, no, I'd actually prefer you'd be here, but,,,
I don't think she's gonna like it,
We don't have to tell her, do we?
I think that she's gonna notice when you haven't left for school,
A secret's worth is only as much as the person,,,
Hey, listen, no fancy quote
if you wanna make your mother not find out,
Okay, fine, but until then,
it can just be our little secret, okay?
Cool?
Cool,
Here you go,
You cooked for me?
Yeah, I ate earlier,
You gotta be hungry, right?
Come on, sit,
Hey, Dad,
I just, I'm just wondering like if you,,,
do get back into it and your plan does work,
are you gonna leave again?
I'll never leave you again, Camila,
Um,,, what do you think?
This is the best meal ever,
Oh, you haven't, like, tried it yet,
Oh, yeah,
Best meal ever,
Excuse me, George, There's a young woman here who really needs to speak with you,
Oh, really?
Oh, come on,
Um,,, so sorry to bother you,
Is it your mother? Is she okay?
She's hanging in there, sir, Thank you for the flowers,
I'm actually here about my father,
Please,
My father can quit a lot of things,
but I don't think that he can quit baseball,
Did you ever end up talking to the GM?
I did, twice, but, um,,,
I think Mr, Benson's giving me the silent "no,"
Which just means that they never really respond,
I, um,,, just, the autograph show was really, it was amazing,
I just wish they could see what I saw
and see how the fans responded to him,
Look, I know, I agree,
I mean,,, Willie's got baseball in his veins,
Honey, what about the high-school opener?
I'm sorry, I just, I don't think he'd agree to coach high school,
I think he'd be kind of insulted,
Willie would definitely be insulted,
but don't worry, it's nothing like that,
Mr, Benson's son plays for the team,
and this could actually work, but, you know, the problem is
that you're going to have to convince your father
to give a speech,
And if I know Willie, then,,,
Not bad, old man,
You're,,, gonna be great,
You're gonna be great,
To be honest, I wouldn't even think about doing this
unless it was you asking,
George Brett was right to call you,
I'm a big-time home run hero,
World Series hero, Big Leaguer,
I'm also a disgrace,
A big Major League slugger,
who had it all
and threw it all away,
Trashed my life,
That's what the judge told me at the trial,
"You trashed your life,"
And he was right, I did,
I trashed my life, I trashed my team,
I trashed my friendships,
I ain't gonna tell y'all what I did to my family,
'Cause I could hit,
As long as I could hit, I know that I could get away
with anything I wanted to get away with,
Am I ringing the bell with one of y'all?
Am I talkin' to any one of y'all?
The next time somebody offers y'all drugs or alcohol,
I want y'all to remember my face,
Big Major League champion,
Hero,
That spent more time rotting in a prison jail
than all of y'all been alive,
I don't know what God got in store for me,,,
I don't know if this is the end of my story,
this is how my legacy play out,
But if it is, I'm fine with it,
If I could get through to just one of y'all in this room
to not make the dumb mistakes that I made,
That it is about your team, it is about your family,
It's about his grace,
It's about the grace that's right here in this room,
Hey, Oscar, Oscar, hey, I want you to meet somebody, This is, uh, Willie,
This is Mr, Benson's other son, Oscar,
Pleasure to meet you, young man,
Great speech, Mr, Aikens,
My dad really loved it, too,
Thank you, Where is your dad? I'd love to talk to him,
He had to leave, He asked me to see you,
Well, you know what, he is a busy man,
Run the whole entire baseball team,
You do me a favor, you tell him I said hello,
Yes, sir, Mr, Aikens, I will,
I'm sorry, I really thought that he would stick around, you know?
- You tried, - Yeah,
Really appreciate this,
That was a great speech,
You know, I started to get some tears,,,
You need a hug?
I mean it, man, it was really from the heart, you know,
I'm serious,
People really need to hear you speak,
hear what you gotta say,
Let me get on over here,
Hey, I gotta make a phone call,
Hey, Willie, what's up?
How is Sara doing?
Sara's stronger than ever,
Camila too,
Both them women, they,,, they tough as nails,
Yeah,
Just like you,
Francine, remind me again,
What are the dates for that hearing?
You're gonna do it?
Yeah, I need to do it,
Willie, thank you,
Thank you so much,
I overcame poverty in my childhood,
I rose to fame as a professional athlete,
Came close to ruining my life with drugs
and I paid a heavy price for my self-destructive behavior,
I received a mandatory sentence of 248 months,
In prison,
Had those drug charges against me
involved a similar amount of cocaine powder,,,
I'd have been sentenced to 27 months,
That's 2½ years,
compared to 21 years,
If you can use my case as an example to show
how crack sentencing is cruel and unusual punishment,
I'd be glad after 14 years of spending my life in prison
that something good will come out of it,
Today, I have a spirituality,
A spiritual life,
I didn't have that before,
I thank you for that,
I look forward to being able to live out the rest of my life
as I was supposed to live,
I think testifying here today
is part of that journey,
Thank you,
- Hello? - Hey, George, are you watching?
Yes, sir, I am watching,
Would Willie mind if I ask you for his number?
Mind? No, um,,,
No, sir, I don't think that Willie would mind
if I gave you his number,
You left a lot of people hanging,
a lot of kids, too,
Man, I was counting on you,
Thank you,