Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/303789
Singh and Dinesh Patel, the teenage w inners of t he compe- tition. "At the time, I was what you m ight ca ll a ser ia l bache - lor," says Ber nstein. "At no point did I ever t h ink I wa s going to have k ids —much less t wo 18 -yea r - olds who didn't speak English. The whole thing wa s so fa r out side of my com- for t zone, I didn't rea lly k now what to expect." T he young men had never even hea rd of ba seba ll before t hey met Ber nstein, but by November of 2 0 0 8 , bot h had sig ned minor-leag ue cont ract s with the Pittsburgh Pirates. And it wasn't long before Hollywood came knocking for the rights to Ber nstein's unbelievable t a le. The resulting film, Million Dollar Arm, will be released on May 16, with Mad Men star Jon Hamm portraying Bernstein. "I'm a fan of people who think outside the box," says the actor, "and J.B.—like Billy Beane and Bill James before him—took a lot of rules about how people can and can't play the game, threw them away, and created his own." In conjunction with the film, Bernstein, who moved to Las Vegas last year after having vis- ited count less t imes t h roughout h is life, ha s w r itten a book t hat digs deeper into t he stor y a nd his process. "In some ways I k now my life w ill cha nge," he says of h is t u r n in t he public eye, then adds with a laugh, "but I'll still get up a nd work a ll night." As for his "sons"? While Patel has returned to India after playing two seasons in the minors, scouts are keeping an eye on Singh. "They say he has an excellent chance of making the major leagues in the next couple of years," Bernstein says. "It really would be an amazing ending to t his cra zy stor y." Adds Ha m m, "It 's a n inspir ing lesson to believe in you rself." V PHOTOGRAPHY BY ISHIKA MOHAN/DISNEY ENTERPRISES INC. (TAJ MAHAL); RICK DIAMOND/GETTY IMAGES (GAME); RYAN FAGAN (PATEL AND SINGH) continued from page 68 " J.B. took a lot of rules about how to play the game, threw them away, and created his own." JON HAMM RIGHT: Hamm on location at the Taj Mahal. BELOW: The actor at the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game in 2012. BOTTOM: Bernstein flanked by the winners of his competition, Dinesh Patel (LEFT) and Rinku Singh. 70 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM SCREEN SHOT 068-070_V_SP_ScreenShot_MAYJUNE_14.indd 70 4/21/14 1:24 PM