ESPN Films Highlight 2016 Little League Baseball® World Series Champions in “World Beaters” Documentary

The feature, covering 2016 Little League Baseball World Series champions, Maine-Endwell Little League, is set to premiere August 13.

ESPN Films will debut the documentary “World Beaters” on Sunday, August 13 at 1 p.m. on ESPN. The film tells the story of the 2016 Little League Baseball® World Series in which Maine-Endwell Little League from New York became the smallest community to ever win the Series.

Maine-Endwell Little League arrived in Williamsport with an unblemished record after going 4-0 in the Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament in Bristol, Conn. The team from New York then went a perfect 5-0 in the World Series, topping it off with a 2-1 win over East Seoul (South Korea) Little League in the championship game, giving the United States its first Little League Baseball World Series championship since 2011, when Ocean View (California) Little League won.

Directed by Jonathan Hock (Of Miracles and Men, The Best That Never Was), produced by Thomas Tull (former Chairman and CEO of Legendary Entertainment, Pittsburgh Steelers minority owner, and Endwell native) and narrated by actor James Brolin, the documentary brings the pure love of baseball to life through appearances from current and former Little League and MLB players.

“Whenever I work on a sports documentary, I start from the premise that it’s not about sports,” said director Jonathan Hock. “So what is the Little League World Series about, if not sports? It’s about joy. It’s about kids and friendship, parents and love, and a place – Williamsport, Pa. – that seems to exist for the sole purpose of making dreams come true. Last year’s champions, Maine-Endwell—the smallest town to ever win it all—was the ultimate dream-come-true story.”

Following the debut on August 13 at 1 p.m., the full film will be available On Demand on both TV and streaming devices and will re-air at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and at 12 p.m. ET on ABC on Sunday, August 20.

This will be the 55th year that Little League and ABC/ESPN team up to broadcast 140 Little League games. Game coverage includes the seven Little League Baseball and Softball World Series tournaments, as well as all the games from the Little League Baseball Regional tournaments.