Sugar by Shanelle Lester

Sugar is an independent film made in 2009. An American Film Institute movie of the year, it tells the story of 19 year old Miguel "Sugar" Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) born in Dominican Republic (San Pedro de Macoris) with the dream of winning a slot on an American professional baseball team  -  although other real pro teams are mentioned like the Yankees and the Dodgers  -  he ends up being recruited by the semi-ficticious Kansas City Knights.

With his wicked curve ball and talent as a pitcher Sugar advances to the United States minor league system where he eventually lands a slot to be  invited to spring training by the fictional Kansas City Knights. He is later assigned to their Single A affiliate in Iowa,called the Swing. Miguel is assisted in learning how to speak and understand English and American culture by his mentor Jorge Ramirez (Rayniel Rufino), a Dominican first baseman who has prior knowledge of life in the US. The challenges Sugar faces in gaining acceptance into his new community isn’t just his getting use to new surroundings, but the problems within Sugar’s new environment are exposed in different ways. Sugar having struggles of his communicating in English and with discrimination from his skin color during the conflict in the bar. Sugar is at first dominating the games - throwing strike after strike.  Later, he suffers an injury during a routine play. Once Sugar is out on the disabled list, his English mentor Jorge is cut from the team leaving Sugar to not fully recover, feeling loneliness and losing his closest friend they gave him courage and confidence to keep trying.
Pressure is all on Sugar when a young phenomenal pitcher who played with Sugar in the Dominican Republic is brought up to join the team. To play better and not stress Sugar had started to take pills that would make him focus better. As his dreams start to fall apart decided to leave baseball and pursue another dream by getting a job and working. The change that sugar went through pushing his dream aside had finally brought him to New York City were at first he struggles with communication and trying to make a home for himself. Sugar ends up playing baseball with other rejected playing that were in minor leagues including his mentor Jorge.