Courtesy of Sony Classics

It’s no coincidence the baseball drama “Sugar” came to theaters April 3 alongside the start of the baseball season here in America, and immediately following the end of the second World Baseball Classic.

While the film certainly stands alone as a captivating character study of a Dominican pitcher nicknamed Sugar, it will also rely on getting baseball fans to the theater for its success.

Starting off in the title character’s small village outside of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, the story heads full force into the lives of Dominican players being groomed at American baseball academies around their neighborhoods.

The day-to-day activities include essential American teachings such as learning to say “I got it! I got it!” and for Sugar, the mechanics of the knuckle curve pitch: the pitch that gets him signed to a minor league team for the Kansas City Royals.

Following up the equally character-heavy “Half Nelson,” which featured Ryan Gosling as a teacher by day, drug addict by night, the writing and directing team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck turn out another unique tale of a character’s struggle to succeed.

Algenis Perez Soto plays Miguel “Sugar” Santos and brings a certain believability to the role, which isn’t surprising when one looks at his background. Soto himself was a baseball player in the Dominican Republic hoping to one day get to America and play in the big leagues. It was when Boden and Fleck were scouting film locations in his neighborhood that they discovered Soto and had him audition for the role.

Combined with the authenticity in Soto’s portrayal of Sugar, the film itself hits all the right notes as it documents his journey through the complex baseball system. Particularly for someone so far on the outskirts of the American baseball structure, it becomes even more poignant as you witness how much his family depends on his success.

“Sugar” carries the theme of isolation rather nicely as it depicts how hard it is for the Spanish-speaking baseball players to navigate through American culture. This is highlighted when a waitress brings him a combo plate of scrambled, over-easy and sunny-side-up eggs to teach him and help him escape his routine of the only English word he knows for breakfast: French toast.

The film really takes off roughly halfway through when Sugar’s baseball career hits some road bumps and the audience watches how he responds to the setbacks.

It’s Boden and Fleck’s honest storytelling that lets viewers connect with the story of this knuckle curve-throwing pitcher. And with its careful way of connecting the dots and bringing simplicity to the tale, you don’t even need to be a baseball fan to enjoy.