Determined to find his way back to the majors, Willie heads south to play ball in Mexico. He tears it up, setting records throughout the league. But at the same time, he finds his addiction growing more serious and culminating with his introduction to a new form of smokable cocaine.... called crack.

Also, a history of Liga Mexicana de Béisbol, and a look at the crack epidemic, facts and misconceptions surrounding the drug and the ways in which the media helped shape America’s perception of crack cocaine.

Everything in Willie’s life comes crashing down the day a woman stops and asks for directions. She says her name is Karen. Willie thinks she might be looking for a boyfriend.

She’s not. And her name isn’t Karen.

Also, criminal defense attorney Doug Passon explains sentencing entrapment as it relates to mandatory minimums.

As Willie’s trial quickly concludes, it becomes increasingly evident that mandatory minimums will play a critical role in determining his fate. And that the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine is about to send him to prison.... for a very long time.

Also, a look at the history of mandatory minimums and issues of racial bias in the criminal justice system.

While serving a lengthy sentence, first in Leavenworth and later in Atlanta, Willie finds redemption and a shot at a new life. Once released, he embraces his new role as a husband and father, and even eventually finds his way back to the Kansas City Royals.

Also, an examination of where we are today with mandatory minimums and the war on drugs, particularly how they’ve impacted the Black community. And finally, some thoughts on where we might go from here.

A power hitter and superstar for the Kansas City Royals in the early 1980’s, Aikens career was derailed by a debilitating addiction to drugs. Arrested at a time when the U.S. had instituted harsh mandatory minimum sentences as a weapon in the on-going war on drugs, a policy that inequitably targeted people of color, Willie found himself sentenced, on a non-violent drug conviction, to twenty years in federal prison.

Sometimes it Rains uses Willie’s journey to explore the history of America’s war on drugs, mass incarceration and the impact it has had on communities of color. 

At its heart, this story is about one man’s journey through baseball stardom, to rock bottom, and finally… redemption.