It is that time of the year again. Time to pull out the baseball gloves, put some Sugar in your lemonade, and dust off the classic baseball DVDs. So go out and have a Summer Catch while you try to show your Mr. Baseball skills and when things move to a Fever Pitch you can Bang The Drum Slowly, head inside and throw in any one of these classics. There may be Eight Men Out but there are ten spectacular baseball flicks on this list. Remember, this is the one time when it is okay to argue balls and strikes in the comments section, but please, don’t Kill The Umpire!
10. Bad News Bears (1976 – dir. Michael Ritchie)
Walter Matthau plays the curmudgeon like Billy Bob Thorton could only imagine in the original version of this Little League classic. It’s like The Sandlot on the other side of the tracks as these youngsters embrace the role of anti-hero. Featuring crazy antics and comical baseball bloopers, Bad News Bears is a classic by anyone’s standard.
9. The Comrades of Summer (1992 – dir. Tommy Lee Wallace)
You’ll have to dig deep into the clearance bin to find this gem, but I assure you, it is worth it. Joe Mantegna stars as a former Mariners’ player who, after a falling out with the organization, is forced to assemble a rag-tag unit of Russian baseball players. As with all rag-tag sports stories, Goliath must be slain, and this time the Comrades have to go head-to-head with a major league team. And you guessed it; they square off against the Mariners. Genuine characters and a unique take on a classic story set this one apart.
8. The Rookie (2002 – dir. John Lee Hancock)
It might take a while to delineate this one from The Natural, but once you do, you’ll find some redeeming qualities. Dennis Quaid stars as the talented high school baseball coach who finds the encouragement from friends and family to try out for the Devil Rays. Quaid shines in this true story that will give you goose bumps on multiple viewings.
7. The Sandlot (1993 – dir. David M. Evans)
I simply cannot watch this movie with my father without it conjuring up some nostalgia that we share. Everybody can relate to this family flick, which we really makes you appreciate the simpler things of baseball: summertime, fun and friends. One of the most culturally-relevant movies of the 1990s, The Sandlot, is a classic movie with an anthological soundtrack that is loved by all.
6. The Natural (1984 – dir. Barry Levinson)
The Natural, to this day, offers one of the most memorable scenes in cinematic history. Robert Redford’s character hits a home run that ignites the stadium lights and he rounds the bases with the resulting sparks and debris falling to the ground behind him in slow motion. It is a visually stunning sequence that takes significant artistic freedom and delivers accordingly. Oh, and the rest of the movie is great, too.
5. Major League (1989 – dir. David S. Ward)
Bob Uecker delivers in this flick about second and third rate ballplayers pieced together by a nefarious owner with the goal of losing. Filled with classic one-liners and an epic climax (including what my baseball purist dad never fails to point out is “a terrible bunt”) Major League delivers a riotously funny experience with unprecedented rewatchibility. “It is very bad to drink Jobu’s rum. It is very bad.”
4. Field of Dreams (1989 – dir. Phil Alden Robinson)
This one is about as far removed from a baseball movie as a baseball movie can be. It is more of a generational, deeply personal fantasy painted onto a baseball diamond. Although it does make reference to the Black Sox, this is a moving picture about a man trying to reconnect with his past. Kevin Costner stars in this summertime fixture about personal journeys and how a baseball field can bring everything into equilibrium.
3. The Pride of The Yankees (1942 – dir. Sam Wood)
“I have been given fame and undeserved praise by the boys behind the wire up there in the press box: my friends, the sportswriters. I have worked under the two greatest managers of all time: Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy. I have a mother and father who fought to get me help and a solid background in my youth. I have a wife, a companion for life who has shown me more courage than I ever knew. People all say that I’ve had a bad break. But today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”
2. A League Of Their Own (1992 – dir. Penny Marshal)
Tom Hanks deserves credit for perhaps his most under-appreciated performance as manager Jimmy Dugan in this fan-favorite. Geena Davis is likewise superb in the uplifting and highly entertaining story about the short-lived women’s professional baseball league during World War Two. Emotional, inspiring, and downright funny, A League Of Their Own shows what a baseball movie can really do.
1. Bull Durham (1988 – dir. Ron Shelton)
It is impossible to pick the best one-liner of this timeless flick, but I will be damned if my dad and I don’t try at least once a summer. Superficially, Bull Durham is a story about an old sagacious catcher trying to control a young, wild fireballer. Dissected, it is about an insecure, weary ballplayer just trying to finish the season. Whichever way you chose to watch it, Kevin Costner perfectly over-performs the role (and we’ll assume that is on purpose), and the subtleties of the movie really shine with each successive viewing. By the time you’re able to recite it word for word, you’ll know a thing or two about both baseball and life.
Which are your favorites? What is your favorite one-liner from a baseball movie?