The Bad News Bees w/Jason Thurston

In the mid 1980s, baseball had a coke problem, as cocaine use was rampant throughout the major leagues. When Commissioner Peter Ueberroth cracked down and banned several players, one enterprising minor-league owner struck on a seemingly brilliant idea—sign up a bunch of disgraced players to attract fans. Could this ragtag of misfits band together and learn the meaning of teamwork during a thrilling season? They could not, and were in fact one of the worst teams in the history of baseball. Screen Scholars editor Jason Thurston joins us to talk about why fans just said no to the 1986 San Jose Bees.