This is the untold story of Jim Piersall’s struggle to play for the Boston Red Sox, only to suffer a nervous breakdown at the very start of his career. Perkins plays the emotionally unstable ballplayer perfectly, and Malden is the overbearing father who totally manipulates his son’s actions and thoughts. Watching this is a bit like learning that FDR was bound to a wheelchair. It only gives you greater appreciation for all Piersall was able to accomplish in his 17 years in the majors, which regrettably was not documented at the end of the film, made in B&W in 1956.