Breaking Down Some Of the Top All-Time Baseball Movies

Matt Loede

3. Major League

You'd have to think this will be on every Cleveland fan's list based on it's rich history and tie in to the city we all love. The cast is memorable, and the Hollywood type ending almost came through twice for the Tribe in 1997 and 2016, to no avail. You can't do a little dance whenever you hear the 'Wild Thing' version of the song played at a local bar or here or there on the radio. Again a special place in the heart of just about every Indians fans who ever lived.

2. The Sandlot

A movie that brings back so many memories of losing baseballs, running from wild animals, and sharing stories with old guys in the neighborhood who use to think they were gonna make it pro. There was an innocence about this movie, the summer parties, the days at the pool, the parties with the adults, mingling around - but it always came right back to where it started - getting a group of guys and some bats and balls and a field to play ball in.

1. The Natural

Based on a 1952 drama of the same name, 'The Natural' was a classic with Robert Redford playing the lead role as Roy Hobbs, who career as a youngster was derailed after being shot and had to walk away for nearly 20 years. When he returned as a 30-something-year-old rookie he took baseball by storm, playing for the New York Knights. The roles were amazing and the story was sensational in terms of the performances by the actors.

T.J. Zuppe

Honorable mention: Moneyball

I know. I know. It gets some of the timeline wrong and ignores the A's MVP shortstop and stellar starting pitching staff in favor to telling a more Hollywood-friendly story centered around Star-Lord -- errrr, Scott Hatteberg. But there is something about this movie that makes it almost impossible for me to turn off every time it's on TV.

3. For The Love Of The Game

Sure, it's more of a story about love, life and realizing your mortality than baseball. But using one game as the vehicle in which to deliver it really works well. Having Vin Scully as the voice calling the action gives it such an authentic feel, and Kevin Costner's internal and external narration of the moments on the mound makes you wonder if every pitcher is having a private conversation with himself in the same way I do when making a sandwich or loading the dishwasher.

2. Major League

This film does such a great job of making you genuinely care about the characters and enjoy when they succeed. Also, it shouldn't be ignored when a baseball movie manages to make the baseball look like baseball, if that makes any sense. The action and attention to detail makes it easy to suspend reality, making the ultimate payoff at the end feel like you just watched a great game that was disguised as a classic sports comedy.

1. Little Big League

This was the movie that convinced my younger self that I could easily manage a big-league club. If 12-year-old Billy Heywood could do it, why not me? Was he such a savant, after all? I mean, Heywood started seldom-used "Wedman" in the pivotal one-game tiebreaker against the Mariners to appease his friends.

When that actually works out for the Twins, Heywood lets Wedman face Ken Griffey Jr. a third time, and Griffey promptly hits a 3-run homer. I thought you were a forward-thinker, Billy. Anyhow, this game actually features several big-leaguer cameos, including Sandy Alomar Jr. and Carlos Baerga, so it's a nice blend of realism and storytelling. And the end, spoiler alert, proves that a happy ending isn't always the one that you're expecting.

Dave Alligood

3. Bang the Drum Slowly (1973 version)

An understated film about an unlikely relationship between a star pitcher, Henry (played by Michael Moriarty), and a catcher with limited talents, Bruce (played by a young Robert De Niro). The crux of the story is, “why is this all-star pitcher standing up for this no-talent, in-over-his-head catcher who has no place on a major league club?” The big reveal is that Bruce has a terminal illness, and with little time left, Henry wants to make sure Bruce lives his final months to the fullest in the sport he loves.

2. Major League

Who doesn’t pull for the underdog? For all those who remember the hapless Cleveland Indians of the 1970s and 1980s, this film brought a prophetically bright version of the near future with the 1990s just around the corner. And long before LeBron and the Cavs made it a rallying cry, Major League was truly “Cleveland Against the World.”

1. Bad News Bears (1976 version)

Another movie about a group of underdogs going up against the established power structure, this film captured the quintessential little league experience of 1970s Southern California, with marching bands, community pride, and over-the-top parents and coaches. The cranky loser Morris Butterworth (played by Walter Matthau) and a cast of misfits play the game their way, unorthodox and irreverent in the process, complete with a cooler of beer in the dugout. And how great is it that they celebrated losing the championship to the Yankees by inviting the champs shove their trophy in their collective posterior.

Honorable mention:

Have to mention the 1979 version of The Kid from Left Field, starring Gary Coleman.

Three reasons:

1. Gary Coleman

2. 1979 uniforms

3. San Diego Padres go to the World Series