Baseball Movies, Major League Baseball

Totally Subjective Top 10 List of Baseball Movies: Number 6

Editor’s Note: In the spirit of counting down to the start of the Major League Baseball season, over the next two weeks we here at Triple B will present our completely subjective ranking of the Top 10 Baseball Movies. Today we look at number 6 on the list.

Last time, we looked at Moneyball which showed the future of the game of baseball. Today it is only natural to balance things out a little bit by looking at the past.

Roy Hobbs and his “Wonderboy” come in at number 6 on the Triple B Top 10 Baseball Movies list with The Natural which is a tale of making the most of second chances and knocking out a few stadium lights with a handmade bat in the process.

The movie came out in 1984 and is an adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s 1952 baseball novel of the same name.

The number 6 movie on the Triple B totally subjective top 10 countdown of baseball movies is The Natural starring Robert Redford. Photo R. Anderson
The number 6 movie on the Triple B totally subjective top 10 countdown of baseball movies is The Natural starring Robert Redford.
Photo R. Anderson

Starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Wilfred Brimley, Kim Bassinger and Robert Duvall, the movie recounts the experiences of Roy Hobbs, a player in the 1930’s with great “natural” talent, and questionable decision making when it comes to members of the opposite sex.

After being shot when he was 19 by a crazed female fan, Hobbs makes a comeback attempt in his mid thirties with the New York Knights managed by Pop Fisher (played by Brimley).

There are many baseball clichés included in the movie from the grizzled “seen it all manager” to the “intrepid baseball reporter” looking for a scoop. However, all in all the clichés do not distract from the overall tone of the story.

And the movie’s climax is certainly one for the ages with the cascade of sparks falling down from the busted stadium lights after Hobbs hits the home run as the iconic music plays in the background.

It is an iconic scene in and iconic film and certainly one to remember.

The music from that scene can be heard at Ranger Ballpark in Arlington whenever a member of the home team sends one out of the park. I am sure there are other teams that do the same thing, but the only one I have seen do it in person is the Rangers.

Admittedly, I am sure many of us have hummed along to that song after achieving some feat of skill or other accomplishment while picturing a shower of sparks falling around us.

Some days just getting out of bed can be cause for humming the theme to The Natural as we make our way around the base path of life.

In addition to creating lasting memories of home runs that knock out the stadium lights, the film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close), and nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger).

So, with all of that in its corner, it would be only natural for The Natural to make the countdown.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Baseball Movies, Major League Baseball

Totally Subjective Top 10 List of Baseball Movies: Number 7

Editor’s Note: In the spirit of counting down to the start of the Major League Baseball season over the next two weeks we here at Triple B will present our completely subjective ranking of the Top 10 Baseball Movies. Today we look at number 7 on the list.

Few people can argue that the game of baseball was forever changed when the sabermetrics element of the game was moved from the back rooms to the general manager’s office.

Like it or not the advanced analytics are here to stay and coming in at number 7 on the Triple B Top 10 Baseball Movies list is Moneyball which is the true story of how the Oakland Athletics front office used charts and graphs to build a team in a way that changed the game of baseball.

The number 7 movie on the Triple B totally subjective top 10 countdown of baseball movies is Moneyball starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. Photo R. Anderson
The number 7 movie on the Triple B totally subjective top 10 countdown of baseball movies is Moneyball starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.
Photo R. Anderson

In the movie starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill (who received an Oscar nomination for the role), viewers are transported into the mind of the Oakland Athletics front office as they took a different approach to finding players for their roster.

While a new concept when it was introduced by the Athletics in the 1980’s, almost every team today using sabermetrics in one degree or another to build their rosters each year.

Whether sabermetrics is good for baseball in the long run is still up for debate but it has certainly allowed many smaller market teams the ability to be competitive and stand toe to toe with the big spenders in baseball for the past few decades.

While the past few decades have certainly proven that sabermetrics is certainly not going away any time soon, for those wanting to see how it all began Moneyball is the way to go.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Baseball Movies, Major League Baseball

Totally Subjective Top 10 List of Baseball Movies: Number 8

Editor’s Note: In the spirit of counting down to the start of the Major League Baseball season over the next two weeks we here at Triple B will present our completely subjective ranking of the Top 10 Baseball Movies. Today we look at number 8 on the list.

Kevin Costner has made three baseball movies in his career. By the time the third leg of the Costner baseball triangle rolled around though it was clear that he did not have much left in the tank.

Still, it is hard to not count the complete Costner trilogy in a listing of baseball movies so coming in at number 8 on the Triple B Top 10 Baseball Movies list is For Love of the Game which allows Costner to move from behind the plate to the mound as a nearing the end of his career pitcher.

The number 8 movie on the Triple B totally subjective top 10 countdown of baseball movies is For Love of the Game starring Kevin Costner. Photo R. Anderson
The number 8 movie on the Triple B totally subjective top 10 countdown of baseball movies is For Love of the Game starring Kevin Costner.
Photo R. Anderson

The movie focuses on Costner as a 40 year-old pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. Throughout the course of pitching what could be the final game of his career Costner flashes back to various points of his career both on and off the field and thinks about the events that made him the person that he became.

The movie is helped by the presence of Vin Scully calling the on-field action as only Vin Scully can.

Like the number 9 movie on our countdown, Fever Pitch, this movie probably could also fall into the romantic category but as Fred Savage’s character in The Princess Bride comes to learn you likely won’t mind the “mushy stuff” as the movie draws to its conclusion.

The baseball action is strong for the most part and the flashbacks do not seem to water down the present day action.

Again, it is not Kevin Costner’s strongest baseball movie but it does deserve a place on the shelf next to the other two sides of the Costner baseball triangle. And of course like I said there is Vin Scully to listen to so one really can’t go wrong there.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Baseball Movies, Major League Baseball

Totally Subjective Top 10 List of Baseball Movies: Number 9

Editor’s Note: In the spirit of counting down to the start of the Major League Baseball season over the next two weeks we here at Triple B will present our completely subjective ranking of the Top 10 Baseball Movies. Today we look at number 9 on the list.

Like Neil Diamond, one tends to either love or hate the Boston Red Sox. It probably is not too surprising then that Neil Diamond and the Red Sox are so intertwined with Red Sox fans belting out a Neil Diamond song during every home game.

While the Red Sox have a long history of winning, they also had a long year of “cursed” play where the diehard fans wondered if their beloved BoSox would ever hoist the World Series trophy again.

The number 9 movie on the Triple B totally subjective top 10 countdown of baseball movies is Fever Pitch starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore. Photo R. Anderson
The number 9 movie on the Triple B totally subjective top 10 countdown of baseball movies is Fever Pitch starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore.
Photo R. Anderson

As the defending World Series champions heading into the 2014 season, the Red Sox have certainly been on a bit of a winning streak lately.

Coming in at number 9 on the Triple B Top 10 Baseball Movies list is Fever Pitch which explores the fanatical side of Boston Red Sox fandom while also exploring interpersonal human relationships in the form of a baseball Rom Com, or romantic comedy.

At its surface the terms romantic comedy and baseball should not really be uttered in the same breath. But upon deeper inspection one can accept that baseball fans have long had a romance with the game that often starts when they catch their first game or pick up a ball and glove for the first time.

In Fever Pitch, the romance is between a Red Sox loving man, played by Jimmy Fallon, and the conflict that arises as he tries to choose between his love of his team and the pressure he feels to grow up.

The movie resonates with fans in different ways depending on where they see themselves along the spectrum.

For some people at a crossroads they can think about whether they need to give up their childhood love of the game and get a real job.

For others watching perhaps they long for a return to when they loved the game as much as the characters in the film.

Others may be somewhere in the middle finding balance between a so called normal life and support of the home team.

Regardless of where one stands in terms of their personal baseball journey, Fever Pitch offers a glimpse into a year of fandom related to one of the teams with the most rabid fan bases in all of baseball.

Of course, the movie also may or may not have helped break some of those dreaded Red Sox curses so it should be a must have for any member of Sox Nation.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Baseball Movies, Major League Baseball

Totally Subjective Top 10 List of Baseball Movies: Number 10

Editor’s Note: In the spirit of counting down to the start of the Major League Baseball season over the next two weeks we here at Triple B will present our completely subjective ranking of the Top 10 Baseball Movies. Today we look at number 10 on the list.

I have often said that baseball is a sport that is best experienced live and in the Ballpark since there are so many sights, sounds, smells and other sensory sensations that just can’t be captured on television.

But for people who may not have access to a Ballpark or live in an area where games are frequently rained out there are several cinematic options to transport the movie goer into the world of the bleachers.

Coming in at number 10 on the Triple B Top 10 Baseball Movies list is Bleacher Bums which explores the view from the bleachers and the relations

The number 10 movie on the Triple B totally subjective top 10 countdown of baseball movies is Bleacher Bums starring Wayne Knight and Brad Garrett. Photo R. Anderson
The number 10 movie on the Triple B totally subjective top 10 countdown of baseball movies is Bleacher Bums starring Wayne Knight and Brad Garrett.
Photo R. Anderson

hips that can build over the course of a season among fans with adjoining seats.

The movie follows a group of season ticket holders over the course of the season and captures the highs and lows that go along with being a diehard fan.

Fans of Seinfeld will be treated to Wayne Knight in the film but do try to resist shouting “Newman” whenever he is on screen as one will end up with a sore throat and miss a lot of the dialog.

While the actual baseball scenes in the movie offer a few errors the film connects on the interaction of fans and the conversations that often break out during the course of a game.

Through the years just as I think I have heard almost everything imaginable in a Ballpark something new is overheard from my seat and I am reminded of Bleacher Bums and how it captures the Ballpark conversations to a science.

I never will understand fans that heckle players and feel it is their right to do so because they purchased a ticket to the game but unfortunately that is a part of the Ballpark experience.

While I recommend going to the Ballpark in person as often as possible to hear actual conversation, on a rainy day or when the ballpark is too far away the number 10 movie on our totally subjective countdown can be a good fit. Plus, you can always fast forward through the heckling scenes which is something I certainly wish could be done in real life.

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson

Covering the world of baseball one pitch at a time.