Top 5 Baseball Movies
Opening Day. Two words that cause the hearts of baseball fans everywhere to skip a beat. It’s the start of a new season. The possibilities for your team are wide open. Everyone starts with the same 0-0 won/loss record. For a brief moment anything is possible. Especially because this year Major League Baseball will attempt to return to playing a full 162 game schedule following a pandemic-shortened 2020 season Opening Day takes on an extra degree of meaning. In honor of Opening Day here are five movies for the entire family to enjoy.
The Perfect Game (2009, PG)
The Perfect Game is based on the true story of the 1957 Industrial Little League team of Monterey, Mexico which was the first team from outside the United States to win the Little League World Series. Cesar Faz (Clifton Collins Jr.) had been pursuing a career in baseball by working as a clubhouse attendant for the St. Louis Cardinals. When he is let go from his job he returns home to Monterey, Mexico to work in a local factory like many other of the men in town. There he meets Padre Esteban (Cheech Marin) who is leading a group of local boys in playing baseball. At the urging of pitcher Angel Macias (Jake T. Austin), Cesar agrees to coach the team and attempt to make it to the Little League World Series. But the challenges they face along the way are many including blatant racism while competing in the qualifying tournaments in the United States. Even though they lack many of the material advantages that other teams have they do not lose their determination to play their best.
The Rookie (2002, G)
Jimmy Morris had a lifelong dream to play Major League Baseball. As a military brat he moved several times before finally settling in a small town in West Texas in high school. After graduating from high school he briefly makes it to the minor leagues before injuries would seemingly end his career. So Jimmy (Dennis Quaid) returns to Texas to teach high school chemistry and, more importantly, coach their baseball team. But football is king in Texas. The baseball team’s constant losing doesn’t help their situation one bit. Jimmy has never stopped pitching. Even though he thinks that he doesn’t have a chance of pitching in the big leagues again he still keeps his arm in shape. Things change when he makes a simple wager to motivate his team to play better. If they win their district he will agree to try out for a major league team. When his team keeps their end of the bargain Jimmy has to face his own doubts and give baseball one more chance. Based on the true story of Jimmy Morris this film reminds us that sometimes it is still worth pursuing our dreams even when the odds of success seem impossible.
The Pride of the Yankees (1942, Not Rated)
Produced just a year following the death of Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig (portrayed by Gary Cooper), this film is more of a tribute to his career rather than an actual biography. An added bonus is appearances by Gehrig’s teammates Babe Ruth and Babe Herman among others. Although his streak of 2130 consecutive games played is featured prominently in the film, its focus is more on his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which following Gehrig’s death would popularly become known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. At the time the disease was not well understood. Gehrig demonstrated extraordinary courage in his battle with the disease. It is also this film that brought his 1939 “luckiest man” farewell speech into the public consciousness. This year, Major League Baseball will celebrate its first “Lou Gehrig Day” to raise awareness about ALS
Opposite Field (2015, not rated)
In the late 1990s, Christian missionaries brought baseball to Uganda. One man, George Mukhobe, fell in love with the game and dreamed of one day taking a team to the Little League World Series. Though his dream was nearly derailed in 2004 by a truck crash that killed eleven of his teammates he never lost hope in one day making the tournament. The film tracks the three-year odyssey of the Ugandan team from 2010 to 2012 to finally make it to Williamsport. Along the way, they have to overcome numerous obstacles such as racism, bureaucratic red tape, and defeating heavily favored opponents in order to achieve their goal.
Million Dollar Arm (2014, PG)
J. B. Berstein (Jon Hamm) is a big-time sports agent with a huge problem. He’s just started his own agency but is having trouble finding clients. Most of the athletes he has worked with in the past have either retired or moved on to other agencies. In a last-ditch effort to save his business he decides to try something completely unconventional: go to India to try to find athletes that could be molded into Major League pitchers. He manages to get financial backing for his scheme that he calls the Million Dollar Arm. But finding suitable talent is only one of the many challenges he will face especially since they don’t play baseball in India. Based on a true story, this is a fascinating look at one man’s attempt to broaden the international appeal of baseball
