image found at lasordaslair.com
By Patrick Despain
The long baseball winter is almost over, and if you need a little extra help to push through the last few weeks, a good baseball movie or two is a great way to go. We’ll be counting down the top 20 baseball movies of all time over the next couple weeks. Here is numbers 16 through 20.
The long baseball winter is almost over, and if you need a little extra help to push through the last few weeks, a good baseball movie or two is a great way to go. We’ll be counting down the top 20 baseball movies of all time over the next couple weeks. Here is numbers 16 through 20.
image found at imdb.com
#20 Angels In The Outfield
The ranking of #20 has nothing to do with the team itself. If you didn't know, this movie is a remake of a 1951 movie of the same name. While the film is entertaining and has Danny Glover and former Minor League player Tony Danza, it lacks substance. I enjoy it, as a baseball fan with the caveat that your team can catch fire at anytime, and make a run. See the 1969 Mets. However, it's not a great movie. Enjoyable? Yes. But not worth the RedBox fee.
Final grade: PASS
The ranking of #20 has nothing to do with the team itself. If you didn't know, this movie is a remake of a 1951 movie of the same name. While the film is entertaining and has Danny Glover and former Minor League player Tony Danza, it lacks substance. I enjoy it, as a baseball fan with the caveat that your team can catch fire at anytime, and make a run. See the 1969 Mets. However, it's not a great movie. Enjoyable? Yes. But not worth the RedBox fee.
Final grade: PASS
image found at imdb.com
#19 Cobb
This movie is a shell of what it could have been. If follows a ghostwriter who interviews the aging Ty Cobb, who wants to set the record straight before he dies. It showcases a mis-cast Tommy Lee Jones as Ty Cobb, and skirts the real issues of his true personality. It is mildly entertaining, but this movie is pretty bad. Cobb was a miserable human being, and while the film captures that to a point, it doesn't dig deep enough into his desire to win at "any cost." This movie made a tad over $1 million at the box office.
Final grade: PASS
This movie is a shell of what it could have been. If follows a ghostwriter who interviews the aging Ty Cobb, who wants to set the record straight before he dies. It showcases a mis-cast Tommy Lee Jones as Ty Cobb, and skirts the real issues of his true personality. It is mildly entertaining, but this movie is pretty bad. Cobb was a miserable human being, and while the film captures that to a point, it doesn't dig deep enough into his desire to win at "any cost." This movie made a tad over $1 million at the box office.
Final grade: PASS
image found at imdb.com
#18 Rookie Of The Year
Here is a movie that holds no realistic value. However, it's fun. It's a very Disney, Blubber type flick, where you lose yourself in the movie, even though the baseball movements are terrible, including and not limited to Gary Busey. However, it will hold your attention, which says something for a fan of the great game. As a kid, we all dreamed of playing in the Majors, and this tries to put you into that frame, as the kid. Great concept, but just didn't work.
Final grade: PASS
Here is a movie that holds no realistic value. However, it's fun. It's a very Disney, Blubber type flick, where you lose yourself in the movie, even though the baseball movements are terrible, including and not limited to Gary Busey. However, it will hold your attention, which says something for a fan of the great game. As a kid, we all dreamed of playing in the Majors, and this tries to put you into that frame, as the kid. Great concept, but just didn't work.
Final grade: PASS
image found at amazon.com
#17 Mr. Baseball
Ok, the first movie on the list worth the actual time to view it. While not great, it's good. It's the opposite of what Matsui, Dice-K, and Yu went through. This film stars Tom Selleck as an aging power hitter who gets traded to the Nagoya Chunichi Dragons, the only taker for his services. He struggles to adapt to the Japanese lifestyle and culture at the beginning. Predictably, Selleck (Jack Elliot) falls in love with a girl, who happens to be the manager's daughter, and changes his tune. It's a good movie,
Final grade: WORTH THE WATCH
Ok, the first movie on the list worth the actual time to view it. While not great, it's good. It's the opposite of what Matsui, Dice-K, and Yu went through. This film stars Tom Selleck as an aging power hitter who gets traded to the Nagoya Chunichi Dragons, the only taker for his services. He struggles to adapt to the Japanese lifestyle and culture at the beginning. Predictably, Selleck (Jack Elliot) falls in love with a girl, who happens to be the manager's daughter, and changes his tune. It's a good movie,
Final grade: WORTH THE WATCH
image found at imdb.com
#16 Fever Pitch
This is a fun movie. It follows Jimmy Fallon, as a school teacher, is an over obsessed Red Sox fan. The movie starts with Fallon (Ben Wrightman) as a kid who is blessed with Boston season tickets. He meets Drew Barrymore along the way, who doesn't quite get the Red Sox obsession and things get tense. This is a romantic comedy, but holds enough baseball value for the single guy to fight through. This flick also follows the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who broke the "Curse of the Bambino." This movie is easy to connect with because at some point we were all as superstitious as Fallon's character.
Final grade: WORTH THE WATCH
This is a fun movie. It follows Jimmy Fallon, as a school teacher, is an over obsessed Red Sox fan. The movie starts with Fallon (Ben Wrightman) as a kid who is blessed with Boston season tickets. He meets Drew Barrymore along the way, who doesn't quite get the Red Sox obsession and things get tense. This is a romantic comedy, but holds enough baseball value for the single guy to fight through. This flick also follows the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who broke the "Curse of the Bambino." This movie is easy to connect with because at some point we were all as superstitious as Fallon's character.
Final grade: WORTH THE WATCH
Stay tuned as we continue the movie countdown along the way to counting down the days to pitchers and catchers reporting.
Patrick Despain is the founder and CEO of Shutdown Inning. You can e-mail him at Patrick.Despain@shutdowninning.com or get him on twitter @Shutdowninning
Patrick Despain is the founder and CEO of Shutdown Inning. You can e-mail him at Patrick.Despain@shutdowninning.com or get him on twitter @Shutdowninning
