An unfortunate byproduct of my divorce is that after the split, I wanted nothing to do with sports. My ex lives and breathes for the sports world, knows statistics by heart, and retains even the most arcane sports trivia. There's nothing wrong with that, I suppose that I just wanted to leave that part of my life behind with the rest of the failed marriage.
Truth be told, I love baseball. I have never been to a Twins game, because I believe that baseball is a sport best enjoyed outside, under a summer sky with the sun beating down. I equally love it on a crisp autumn evening, when the games take on more importance and urgency. I love the interaction of the crowd, the smell of hotdogs and mustard and beer, the feeling of peanut shells crushing underfoot. I've lived in several cities during championship runs, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and now Minneapolis.
It's no wonder that I love so many baseball movies, and often end up in tears at some point or another during a viewing.
Amy's Favorite Baseball Movies
1. Bull Durham Hands down, the most pure baseball movie out there. Back in 1988, Kevin Costner hadn't yet become a parody of himself and could still be tolerated on the silver screen. This was the movie that brought Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins together, but back then they weren't infected with gravitas and self importance. The following is my second favorite scene from the movie. My favorite scene is where Tim Robbins character shakes off his catcher's instructions for the second time. This one is almost as good.
2. Angels in the Outfield Stereotypical, formulaic Disney movie. Orphan? Check? Kid with one parent? Check. Predictable plot? Check. Character coughing at beginning of movie eventually succumbing to a grave illness? Check. I don't care. I unapologetically love this movie. When I was pregnant and on bedrest with my twins, Alex would watch this over and over. So I suppose it triggers some deep hormonal response in me resulting in a weepfest at the end of the movie. I don't know why Danny Glover agreed to it, he was already riding the success of the Lethal Weapon movies at that point, but he puts in an effort that's more than just a phone in performance. I've seen this dozens of times, and still if it's on cable, I'll break from channel surfing and watch the ending. Best scene: Danny Glover and Jospeh Gordon Leavitt conspire to convince Tony Danza that he has an angel by his side, ready to help him secure the championship game. The crowd joins in, flapping their angel wings in a show of support.
3. Field of Dreams Not a very true adaptation of the book Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, but a great baseball movie nonetheless. In the book, James Earl Jones character is supposed to be JD Salinger. It is a tribute to the love of the game, and any baseball film Kevin Costner made after this (cough,"For the Love of the Game" cough) should be ignored and forgotten.
Best scene: The final scene, Kevin Costner asks his father, with a hitch in his voice, "Hey...dad? Wanna have a catch?" And the sobbing commences.
4. A League of Their Own Tom Hanks starts out as an unlikeable drunk, but because he's Tom Hanks, his character is redeemed by movie's end. Geena Davis is awesome, even Rosie O'Donnell and Madonna are tolerable. A great film, wonderful period piece, several opportunities for weeping. Best scene though, Tom Hanks attempting to toughen up one of his players.
5. The Bad News Bears Not just a great baseball movie, but a quintessential 1970's film. In spite of a cast comprised mostly of children, the acting is genuinely believable, unlike most 1970's films. I always thought Tanner, the smartass, was hilarious
6. Pride of the Yankees I don't know what it is about movies from the 1940's and 50's, but for some reason actors tended to affect faux British accents, regardless of their nationality. It's distracting, and most of the acting is wooden and contrived to boot. Gary Cooper though, he was the man back in the day-the Tom Hanks of his time. I've seen several of his performances, and he was always a standout. This film is most famous for the "Luckiest Man Alive" speech, one of the great movie moments of all time. Also noteworthy, Babe Ruth plays himself in the film.
7. Major League Definitely the corniest movie on my list, but I loved it even though I got homesick watching it. The movie was filmed several years before the Cleveland Indians enjoyed a resurgence both in popularity and talent. Classic scene, Charlie Sheen walking on to the field while the entire stadium screams along to X's version of "Wild Thing". Great lines throughout, including Bob Uecker's "Juuuust a bit outside."
8. The Natural The most subdued of all my favorite baseball movies. Robert Redford and Glenn Close bring Bernard Malamud's novel to the screen, but it's not a very true adaptation. Awesome soundtrack, too.
9. Fever Pitch Amazingly, this movie was brought to us by the cinematic rulers of scatalogical humor, the Farrelly Brothers. If not for the serendipitous timing of the filming, I don't know that it would have been as good. I think a better male lead could have taken Jimmy Fallon's place, but he does a credible job as an obsessed fan. Not really buying Drew Barrymore as a workaholic, but she's so damned cute and earnest it's easy to forgive.