Major League Baseball has been a tertiary figure in helping produce mainstream baseball films with Hollywood in the past, but rumors suggest the MLB will now generate their first internal project that is expected to focus one of the game's most well-known figures.
"Major League Baseball is going scripted. The league is developing a miniseries about Babe Ruth with Allen Coulter attached as director and executive producer, sources tell THR," writes Marisa Guthrie of The Hollywood Reporter.
"Executives are looking to Coulter (The Sopranos, Terence Winter and Martin Scorsese's upcoming HBO rock drama Vinyl) to round out the dramatic scope of Ruth's biography - including his lavish personal life and little-known details - in a way that also will appeal to non-sports fans."
Ruth has been depicted many times in the past, but perhaps the most revealing account is the Yankeeography series that chronicled the lives and careers of current and former members of the New York Yankees. The television program was produced by MLB Productions and contained rare footage of Ruth, but each episode was only about 40-45 minutes long and did not extensively touch upon every aspect of the character's life.
A miniseries would help cover all angles on and off the field, which would likely reach a larger audience since it won't be specifically focused on baseball.
And Coulter's involvement in the project only helps. The director was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards for his work on The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, House of Cards, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, Nurse Jackie and other television programs.
With Coulter's connections to a number of premium TV networks, it's hard to believe this project wouldn't be picked up after it's pitched in its entirety. Baseball films over the years have had success at the box office, with A League of Their Own, 42, Moneyball, The Rokkie and Field of Dreams leading the way, so a miniseries that mixes baseball, life and history has great potential to be a hit.
