Chicago Native Stars in Baseball TV Series

    CHICAGO, IL, October 03, 2008 /24-7PressRelease/ -- October 2, 2008 - A documentary TV series about minor league baseball will be aired on Sportsnet Chicago during the month of October. Although the TV series was filmed in Georgia, it has several connections to Chicago baseball on the prep, college and professional levels.

"Playing for Peanuts" gives viewers an inside look at the daily lives of minor league baseball players. Cameras followed the South Georgia Peanuts - a team based in Albany, GA - in the clubhouse, dugout and on the field during a tumultuous season that included league financial problems, drug suspensions, a pennant race and a bench clearing brawl.

Catcher Tug Gillingham is a native of Maywood, IL and played for Walther Lutheran High School and Northern Illinois University. Before joining the Peanuts, Gillingham played professionally for the Windy City Thunderbolts of the Frontier League.

"It was a crazy season," explains Gillingham. "Alot of the things that happened were totally unbelievable and I'm really glad that there were cameras there to get it all on film. I think the whole team pretty much feels that way - people are going to see this show and be amazed at some of the stuff that happened to us."

"There were definitely bizarre things that happened over the course of the season," adds producer John Fitzgerald. "There were blackouts during games, rain delays when there was no rain and alot of things like that. But the show is really focused on the motivations of the players - I tried to find out why guys would endure long bus rides and low pay while sleeping on the floor in bug infested apartments, just for the slim chance that they might someday play in the major leagues."

Other notable players on the Peanuts roster include former White Sox shortstop Mike Caruso and pitcher Dumas Garcia. Caruso replaced current Sox manager Ozzie Guillen at shortstop in 1998 and finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Garcia was signed by the Cubs after his season with the Peanuts and is currently pitching with the Tennessee Smokies (Cubs AA affiliate).

"Playing for Peanuts" will begin airing October 5 at 5:30pm on Sportsnet Chicago (DirectTV channel 665, Dish Network channel 429). Two episodes will be shown each Sunday at 5:30 and 6:00pm throughout October.

"It's definitely exciting to have the show air in Chicago because it is such a big baseball town and also because of Tug's involvement," explains Fitzgerald. "We already had a few episodes air in Chicago over the summer and we got a great response so I'm really looking forward to having the entire series on the air as the Cubs and Sox enter postseason play."

About Playing for Peanuts

Playing for Peanuts is a new TV series about minor league baseball. For further information, visit www.PlayingforPeanuts.com or call 914-316-2056

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