As the calendar turns from February to March, Spring is just around the corner. Of course, this means baseball season is approaching; Spring Training has already begun. Being America’s pastime, baseball has been the subject of many a great film over the past century.
Baseball has found itself the subject of films of all genres: romances, comedies, dramas, and even fantasies. Certain baseball films adhere closely to the nature of the sport, while others take a looser, more exaggerated approach to the game itself, choosing spectacle over realism.
Realistic: Moneyball (2011)
Directed by Bennett Miller and boasting a script by two Hollywood giants Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, 2011’s Moneyball stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane. Beane, in his real-life tenure as general manager for the Oakland Athletics, developed a computer-generated analytics system that determined which players he should pursue, given the team’s limited budget.
The film is appropriately realistic in its baseball scenes, as the premise of the film has to do with the intricacies of the sport. Statistics like on base percentage are more important than home runs, a rarity for any baseball film.
Unrealistic: The Scout (1994)
Whereas Moneyball depended on the realism of the statistics involved, 1994’s The Scout is as fantastical as it gets in this category. Albert Brooks plays a scout for the New York Yankees who discovers a godlike player named Steve Nebraska on his trip to Mexico. Nebraska, played by Brendan Fraser, is a lights-out pitcher who also, as a hitter, boasts a perfect batting average; unheard of in baseball, and virtually impossible.
When he makes his debut for the Yankees, he pitches a perfect game, striking out every batter on three pitches; again, virtually impossible. The Scout is not a bad film by any means; as a comedy, it’s actually quite good. But realism is definitely not one of its strengths.
Realistic: The Pride Of The Yankees (1942)
Considered by many to be the greatest baseball film ever made, The Pride of the Yankees is a biopic of Lou Gehrig, one of the games greatest heroes. The movie is written by Herman J. Mankiewicz, made famous by the new film Mank. Gary Cooper plays Gehrig, who the film follows from his time a a Columbia University student to a beloved baseball star, through his ALS diagnosis which cut his career, and his life, all too short.
Most notably from a realism standpoint, Gehrig’s legendary teammate Babe Ruth plays himself in the film. The movie also dramatizes Gehrig’s real-life career highlights, including a multi-home run World Series game (some liberties were taken with the timing, for dramatic effect, but Gehrig did have a multi-home run World Series game in 1932). The movie was released in 1942, one year after Gehrig’s death.
Unrealistic: It Happens Every Spring (1949)
Another film from the 1940s, It Happens Every Spring is a totally fanciful yet undeniably charming and enjoyable comedy. A professor’s science experiment is disrupted when a baseball smashes through his window, making a mess of his lab.
He soon realizes the spilled substances have combined and coated the baseball, and that the substance just so happens to be a natural wood repellant. He then parlays this discovery into a career as a major league pitcher, where he leads his team to the World Series.
Realistic: The Bad News Bears (1976)
1976’s The Bad News Bears is not about the world of professional baseball, but rather, Little League. Walter Matthau stars as a washed up ex-minor league player who coaches an initially terrible team to the championship game. What makes this such a special film is the unflinching realism of the kids on the team, who feel more like real people than typical movie characters. To add to the realism, the Bears end up losing the championship game; a rarity in sports films, especially children’s sports films.
The movie is certainly dated, and particular scenes are startlingly out of touch with today’s social dynamics, but there’s nothing “Hollywood” about the film at all.
Unrealistic: Little Big League (1994)
In 1994’s Little Big League, Billy Heywood, a 12-year-old boy, inherits the Minnesota Twins, and ends up managing the team. This alone is outlandish and unrealistic, but the baseball scenes themselves also force a certain suspension of disbelief despite featuring cameos from real life stars like Ken Griffey, Jr. and Randy Johnson.
The team pulls of a phantom pick-off play that, while clever from a moviemaking standpoint, would never work in a real game, and would probably be considered an illegal “balk” move by most umpires even if it did. Randy Johnson, famous for his 100 mph fastballs, throws what are obviously staged pitches, as they go much slower than they would in real life. The editing is also such that outfielders like Griffey are made to cover impossible amounts of ground in impossibly little time. Little Big League is a nice family movie, but die hard baseball fans will surely notice its mistakes.
Realistic: Bull Durham (1988)
1988’s Bull Durham is another baseball classic by writer-director Ron Shelton, who based the script on his days as a minor league player. Tim Robbins stars as Ebby “Nuke” LaLoosh, a young pitcher alongside the team’s groupie, Annie, played by Susan Sarandon. As the two pursue a romance, Nuke is mentored by veteran catcher Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner.
The film is a smart and funny romance, but also a great sports film. Because catchers are generally among the most acquainted with the nuances of the game, Crash’s scenes with Nuke are quite realistic when they discuss pitch type, location, signs, etc.. The blow-up between Crash and the umpire will also strike baseball fans as quite authentic.
Unrealistic: Ed (1996)
By the time this film was released in 1996, Matt LeBlanc was already a known star for his starring role as Joey on Friends. It made sense, then, that he would star in his own movie. Unfortunately, that movie was Ed, in which LeBlanc plays a talented pitcher with great potential who befriends his minor league team’s third basemen, a chimpanzee named Ed. Ed was the team’s mascot until the manager realized he had a knack for baseball, and so they put him at third base.
The film holds a rare 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences weren’t much kinder to this truly bizarre, and yes, wildly unrealistic, baseball movie.
Realistic: Sugar (2008)
2008’s Sugar is the story of a Dominican baseball player named Miguel Santos who gets a life-changing opportunity to play professional baseball in the United States. He dreams of making it big and pulling himself and his family out of poverty, but is faced with many on and off-the-field challenges along the way.
The whole film has a very realistic tone, and the baseball scenes are no exception. The gameplay itself is convincing, as is the commentary from the announcers, and the cinematography, which sometimes makes the audience feel as if they’re watching an actual sportscast on television. The film garnered excellent reviews and is considered one of the more underrated sports films ever made.
Unrealistic: Rookie Of The Year
In 1993’s Rookie of the Year, a freak accident has the unusual, and quite unrealistic, result, of giving a 12-year old boy a practically supernatural throwing arm. He discovers this ability by accident while attending a Chicago Cubs game, and is offered a contract by the struggling franchise.
Even though the premise is completely fantastical, and the baseball scenes themselves are as much slapstick comedy as anything else, Rookie of the Year is a fun family film nonetheless, especially due to its great supporting cast including Gary Busey, Daniel Stern, and the great John Candy as the team’s announcer.
