The Top 10 Best Baseball Movies
5. A League of Their Own
Ain’t no rule that says a girl can’t play baseball (though, I am pretty sure there’s one against dogs playing baseball but don’t quote me on that). One of the greatest baseball movies of all time features a team of women playing the sport during World War II. It starts off as a move to raise morale by MLB owners and make sure that the sport doesn’t go bankrupt. No one takes them seriously at first, but the women soon prove themselves to be damn good players and the public takes notice. A League of Their Own captures everything that makes the sport great as we watch this team of go-getters prove that it doesn’t matter where they’re from or who they are, instead all that matters is how well they play ball on the field.
4. The Natural
Robert Redford is one of the most iconic American actors of all time, so it’s appropriate that he was chosen to embody the legendary (fictional) baseball player Roy Hobbs on the big screen. The Natural tells a tale that’s as American as apple pie as it follows Hobbs journey from middle America to the big city where he’s determined to prove that he’s the greatest player the sport has ever seen. His, shall we say, confidence proves to be a bit of a setback as he’s shot in the stomach by a psycho fan targeting top tier athletes. That doesn’t stop him from joining the sport and knocking it out of the park. Hobbs overcomes all sorts of obstacles and proves that there’s nothing a white guy can’t achieve if he’s got enough heart. Seriously though, it’s a pretty great movie.
3. Moneyball
This one goes out to all those jocks in my statistics course that said, “what me need math for when me hit ball real good?” Now a lot of people might argue that you can’t measure a player’s drive, determination or sportsmanship. Turns out you can measure everything else though, and you can pull together a solid team using good old fashioned economics. Sure, Moneyball kinda takes a bit of the passion and excitement out of the game as it follows a team being put together with cold hard science (called sabermetrics). However, it just goes to show that all those fantasy sports geeks were on to something all these years. Moneyball is actually based on a real story and just goes to show that those jocks probably should have paid attention in math class.
2. Field of Dreams
When you think baseball, a few names probably jump readily to mind like Rawlings, Louisville, and Kevin Costner. The actor has starred in quite a few baseball movies in his days, including some of the best of all time. Field of Dreams is one of the rare movies that every dad is obligated to stop and watch whenever it’s playing, which is why it’s earning such a high spot on this list. One night an Iowa farmer hears a voice whispering to him in his cornfield, compelling him to build a baseball field for dead players to rise from their eternal slumber to play on. Don’t worry, Field of Dreams isn’t a horror film (though it really does sound like one with that description). Instead, it’s one of the most beloved baseball movies of all time and Leonard Maltin called it, “a story of redemption and faith, in the tradition of the best Hollywood fantasies with moments of pure magic.”
1. Bull Durham
Costner’s back again in a film that embodies everything a player loves about the sport of baseball, fame, glory, and groupies. Seriously, Bull Durham follows a love story between an aging war-horse of a player sent down to the minors to prepare a hotshot rookie to be called up. There he meets a woman with a very specific type and the two hit it off. Despite being a romantic comedy at its heart, Bull Durham embraces the good and bad that comes with America’s beloved sport. Costner’s character experiences the bittersweet that comes with being a mentor to an up and comer, watching his meteoric rise even as his own career fizzles out. That’s the game though, you win some, you lose some, but as long as you’ve got love for it you’ll keep on playing. Because of that, Bull Durham earns the top spot on this list of baseball movies.
Honorable Mention: Take Me Out to the Ball Game
A film professor of mine said that the most American genre of film was the musical. If that’s true, and if Baseball really is as American as apple pie, it seemed only appropriate to give a shout out to Take Me Out to the Ball Game. The film features some of the greats of yesteryear, including Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, and Gene Kelly, dancing and singing their way around the bases.
Did this list of baseball movies knock it out of the park or strike out? Let me know in the comments what you thought of the films on this list. As always, I’ll be updating it as new baseball movies hit the big screen. So, be sure to check back from time to time to see how the rankings might change.