Synopsis
“How the Worst Was Won” is based on the true, inspirational story of how the prayers of a city abandoned by the Dodgers and Giants were answered through a series of small miracles that united millions of New Yorkers in ways never thought possible. The tale isn’t recounted, it’s re-lived, taking audiences through the mind-blowing moments in real-time as if experienced live.
In 1957, New York was devastated by the abandonment of their beloved Dodgers and Giants, selling out to the west coast by cold-hearted owners, O’Malley and Stoneham. Five years later, scheming for the riches of only one team per city, baseball owners collude to cripple the Mets franchise by fixing the draft and ensuring the Mets get only horrendous players at outrageous prices. In just their first season, the Mets appear doomed.
Until baseball’s greatest manager and legendary showman, Casey Stengel, agrees to lead this bumbling squad of castoffs. At 72, saving the Mets, his reputation, and the hearts of millions of mourning New Yorkers, becomes the greatest challenge of his already storied life – biographically manifested through flashbacks contrasting the events of ‘62.
Not only must Casey outsmart the conspiring owners, but also the Goliath Yankees who cruelly fired him the year before for being too old. Now as a martyr, revenge is at hand – IF he can leverage his ”Stengelese” and hilarious wit to miraculously generate enough attendance from a zany “new breed” of fans and keep the franchise alive.
Cursed luck and oddities abound – two pitchers with identical first and last names, players being traded for themselves, opening day on Friday the 13th and struck by a blizzard, team getting stuck in elevators, 9 games into season and already 9 1/2 games out, season ending on a triple play, never once winning on a Thursday, and so much more.
Beyond the hilarity, the story goes deeper to reveal rare levels of human conflict, faith, and perseverance illustrating valuable life lessons for those young or old – especially the rewards of carpe diem.