An arm and a leg for these ‘Million Dollar’ stars

Rinku and Dinesh cracked Major League Baseball, a story that inspired a Disney film

Sports and drama are inseparable, and when they combine on the screen, it becomes an irresistible watch. Million Dollar Arm , which premiered on Indian television recently, was a film waiting to be made. The real-life events that inspired it were a gripping saga of grit and determination, a striking David and Goliath plot.

Rinku Singh
Rinku Singh

Two boys from rural Uttar Pradesh win the “Million Dollar Arm” talent show and go to the U.S to train in, and eventually to play, professional baseball. After rigorous training, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel performed in front of talent scouts from 20 Major League Baseball teams in November 2008. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed them, becoming the first Indians to win American Major League Baseball contracts.

 Dinesh Patel (above) and Rinku Singh showed immense grit.— Photos: Special Arrangement
Dinesh Patel (above) and Rinku Singh showed immense grit.— Photos: Special Arrangement

In a telephone interview, the pair discusses the challenges and joys of their unusual journey.

“Dinesh and I were javelin players. We went to a small college in Lucknow and trained there and played a couple of international events and represented India. But our life took a complete turn and we have got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Mr. Singh said.

The talent show is the brainchild of a sports agent, Jeff Bernstein, who was inspired by Yao Ming, a Chinese athlete and basketball player with major success in American sports.

Bernstein watched a cricket match on ESPN and noticed that the bowlers were delivering at high speeds, something that could work well for baseball. So he created a television show that would find the strongest throwing arm in India and the programme would offer $1 million to anyone who could throw three consecutive balls at more than 145 kmph. It came to be called the “Million Dollar Arm”.

“They went all over India and they could not find anyone who could through hard and fast, and finally Dinesh and I went to the ‘Million Dollar Arm’ competition and both of us got a speed of 145 kmph,” Mr. Rinku said.

Glitzy turn

Their story was turned into a major Disney movie, directed by Craig Gillespie and with screenplay written by Tom McCarthy. Jon Hamm, famous for his role in the television series Mad men , plays Bernstein. Suraj Sharma plays Rinku Singh and Madhur Mittal, Dinesh Patel.

As part of the competition, the two had to travel to the U.S. to train and get a chance to try out professional baseball.

“After we won the competition in India, we were taken to America, to a new country where we did not speak the language; it was a totally different world and we had to play baseball which was a sport that we had no idea about. At that point, we did not speak any English; there were times when we would try to go get food but we could not order anything,” Mr. Singh said.

“We felt like we were not cut out to play baseball because we saw the other players and they were really good. They have been playing this their whole life, ever since they were kids and here we were 18-19-year-old kids going for try-outs to play professional baseball. The experience of the life there itself was amazing. I am still on the journey and trying to make it to leagues. I want to represent India and be able to support youngsters back in India who are not able to have three meals a day. The goal is to be able to give an opportunity to India, and to open up huge doors,” he said.

While he is still in the U.S., working through an injury, to make it for the next try-outs, Mr. Patel is back in India. “I left the U.S. in 2011 and came back to teach kids in India how to play baseball. I just finished my graduation in English and Hindi and even went to China in 2012 to learn how to be a baseball coach. I am still involved with the Million Dollar Arm project and I spent some time with Gaurav, who was the second season winner and helped him train in baseball. The next season is starting as well. So I will be involved with that.”

He just had a baby girl last week and is looking forward to spending time with her, “It’s good to be back home with all this new learning, I want to help more kids to learn and love the sport to hopefully have them train and go to America. I want to teach my daughter to play javelin, I am not sure about baseball.”

Mr. Singh interrupts him and says in Hindi: “ Agar aapki beti ko baseball khelna hai tho hum use sikaenge (If your daughter wants to play baseball, we will teach her).”

The two have surely come a long way from children playing a different sport in a college ground in Lucknow.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National / by Rini Mukkath / Mumbai – October 14th, 2015

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