Baseball: Beyond Belief Review – A Celebration of Baseball, Religion, and Miracle Moments, Uplifting

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Category: Haute This Issue

Published on Friday, 03 April 2026 07:15

Written by Janet Walker

Baseball: Beyond Belief, from Paulist Pictures, and Crewneck Productions, brings to the screen a captivating idea that through baseball, America's pastime, we can reach the divine, and experience, on some level, the indiscernible understanding of God.

As the documentary opens, a clip from the Bull Durham, with Susan Sarandon, walking across the screen saying, "I've tried them all, I really have, but the only religion that truly feeds the soul is the church of baseball."

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This is where we meet New York University President Emeritus John Sexton, an intellectual on the highest level and also a die-hard baseball fan, passionate about one team, throughout his entire life, until he meets his crucible. He begins the documentary explaining for the last two decades he has taught at NYU, a course titled, "Baseball as a Road to God."

To the skeptics, he attempts to convey to his students, the indescribable. And to do this he uses the analogy of love. How do people know they love? It is only the word? Is it only deeds? How does one know love? He explains how love is more an understanding, a realization, and in his words this elusive mystery of love, something we cannot touch, yet we feel is, if we allow ourselves, for this moment to believe in the inexpressible we find that baseball and religion are more connected than one thinks, then we, too, will begin to understand the illusive mystery of the divine.

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Sexton explains his own miracle moment, when his 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers were three outs from winning the world series, and as he, a young boy, clutched the crucifix, praying, one out, praying more fervently, clutching the crucifix, two outs, and as he describes it one can envision this young boy resting his head against the crucifix, his entire belief resting on this last pitch, and three outs! The Brooklyn Dodgers win it. And this moment, becomes a single defining moment in this young boy's life of faith and love of baseball.

Baseball: Beyond Belief, narrated by Joe Mantegna, is told in nine segments, one for each of the traditional nine innings of regulation play. Through "Miracles," "Sacred Times and Places," "Faith and Doubt," "Saints and Sinners," "Blessings and Curses," "Community," all of which are also notions of both the world's great religions and America's national pastime.

Throughout the documentary, the filmmaker, John Scheinfeld, includes stories like "Baseball Behind Barbed Wire." The story of Kenichi Zenimura, an interned Japanese-American, who like all lost everything after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he refused to lose his love for America's Pastime, and during the three year internment built a 32-team and 3-division baseball league of interned players. Suddenly the worst of times were interrupted by one man's determination to make the best of this very bad time, to build a community, fellowship, and for one moment forget.

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Baseball: Beyond Belief celebrates the traditions of baseball and mirrors the traditions of religion, we see the place of worship, we understand the need for community, and we suddenly, in this sanctuary of the ballpark, become friendly and welcoming. There are no strangers among baseball fans. We greet our neighbor and celebrate together our teams success and comfort through the disappointment. And in the clinches, we pray together for that one memorable or miraculous moment when through fate, chance, happenstance, kismet, or God, the divine provides the player the super human moment.

Baseball: Beyond Belief is a fascinating exploration of the many and surprising similarities between baseball and religion. The documentary felt like it went into extra innings, and it was a bit longer than those of us who enjoy the game but are not die-hard passionate lovers of the game, would prefer.

Even with this, there is no doubting the documentary is uplifting, nostalgic, and a celebration of baseball, religion, and miracle moments. This feel good documentary offers viewers an inspiring journey toward hope, happiness, and overcoming life's challenges. By the end we do understand the passion and love of baseball is as ineffable as the mystical connection to the divine.

Baseball: Beyond Belief is airing this Sunday, April 5, at 4 PM ET / 1 PM PT on Fox Sports 1. See it.

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Country: U.S.

Language: English.

Runtime: 101 minutes.

Director: John Scheinfeld.

Producer: John Scheinfeld, Dave Harding.

Executive Producer: John Sexton, Mike Sullivan, Tom Gallagher, Tom Gibbons CSP, Peter Jared Schwartz, Thomas Oliphant.

Writer: John Scheinfeld, based on the book, "Baseball as a Road to God."

Featured: John Sexton, Willie Alfonso, Rebecca Alpert, Andy Azzarello, Chip Caray, Casey Cole, Kavitha Davidson, Curtis Granders, Shawn Green, Donald S. Lopex, Kerry Yo Nakagawa, Larry Olmsted, Joe Price, David S. Lopez, Roberto Tito Serrano, Joe Sikorra, Lori Skiorra, Varun Soni, Bill Staples Jr., Joe Torre.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.