New Netflix True Crime Series Has Pro Baseball Connection

“The Innocent Man” is a true crime series premiering on Netflix this month. The story is compelling, and also has a major connection to professional baseball.

What a good time for quality true crime content! Just a few days ago, Ghosts of Highway 20 dropped (via The Oregonian) and now, we’re not too far from the premiere of Netflix latest true crime project. The new docuseries — titled The Innocent Man — consists of six parts and is to be released on December 14th.

The Innocent Man — which is based on a 2006 John Grisham book of the same name — is not just a true crime story, however. Instead, the docuseries is twice as important to us because it has a major connection to professional baseball.

Ron Williamson, the man who is actually innocent in The Innocent Man, sat on death row for over a decade after being charged with murders he did not commit in his hometown of Ada, Oklahoma. But the whole reason he was back in his hometown, to begin with, was because he had flamed out as a professional baseball player in the early 1970s. What’s most surprising, though, was how good a prospect he must have been; Williamson was drafted in the SECOND ROUND of the 1971 MLB June Amateur Draft. To go that high, the dude must have been a stud!

Unfortunately, he wound up playing less than 150 games in the Yankees and A’s minor league systems, hitting .205 with three home runs. Though drafted as a catcher, Williamson turned himself into a pitcher late in his career and made five appearances on the hill in his last minor league season.

Williamson never made it beyond Single-A, playing with four different farm teams (Burlington Bees, North Bend A’s, Key West Conchs, and Oneonta Yankees).

I don’t want to give away any spoilers so watch the trailer now, then watch the series when it drops on Friday. It looks really interesting and it’s an added bonus that baseball plays a role. True crime and sports…what else is there, right?