It's Opening Day! Here is a Baseball Movie for All 30 Major League Teams
Finally, after a long, cold winter, baseball's opening day has arrived! OK, fine: it may still be pretty cold where you are, but... baseball! Spring! Renewed hope that this is the year for your favorite team! When it comes to baseball movies, however, your favorite team is likely quite underrepresented. (Unless you're a fan of the Yankees, Indians or Durham Bulls, of course.) But, there's no need to feel sad and disenfranchised on such a glorious day! In an effort to include everyone, here's a list of 30 movies for each and every major league team.
(In deciding each movie or, in a couple of cases, television series, we wanted to stick with scripted material. So no documentaries or championship season recaps. Yes, some of these are a stretch.)
AL East
Boston Red Sox: Fear Strikes Out (1957)
Tony Perkins stars in the true story of Jimmy Piersall. Red Sox fans, just be glad that this movie exists or this entry could very well be Fever Pitch.
New York Yankees: Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Gary Cooper was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Lou Gehrig (the luckiest man on the face of the Earth) in this 1942 classic.
Toronto Blue Jays: Major League II (1994)
The Blue Jays aren't really known for their appearances in popular culture. In Major League II, however, the Cleveland Indians clinch the division against Toronto in the final game of the season. So, there's that.
Baltimore Orioles: A Winner Never Quits (1986)
Surprisingly, the Orioles are very light on movie appearances. Before the Orioles moved to Baltimore for the 1954 season, they were the St. Louis Browns. At one point, the Browns had a one-armed player name Pete Gray. He wasn't bad, actually!
Tampa Bay Rays: The Rookie (2002)
When The Rookie was released, the Rays were still the Devil Rays, but still: Not bad for a fairly new franchise. Added bonus: The Rookie also features Angus T. Jones, making Jon Cryer the only title character from Two and a Half Men not on this list.
AL Central
Chicago White Sox: Eight Men Out (1988)
Probably not every White Sox fan's favorite subject, but, hey: At least you weren't alive when this happened Also, Charlie Sheen's lesser-known third film on this list. (If you want "feel good" White Sox option, watch Max Dugan Returns.)
Cleveland Indians: Major League (1989)
Well, of course. And at least Tom Berenger isn't on a cocaine binge or in jail for tax evasion.
Kansas City Royals: The Bronx is Burning (2007)
True, this mini-series is about the Yankees, but the Yankees play the Royals in the 1977 ALCS, which is depicted on-screen. Sorry, there's not much out there for the Royals. For people under the age of 30, the Royals used to be a good team. (And for Royals fans, get excited for your AL Central title in 2016!)
Minnesota Twins: Little Big League (1994)
It's either this or Major League: Back to the Minors. Before Target Field opened, I bet at one point Twins fans actually wished that a 12-year-old kid owned the team.
Detroit Tigers: For Love of the Game (1999)
The Tigers aren't very good in this movie. And, honestly, this movie isn't very good, either. Though it does feature a perfect game thrown against the New York Yankees -- and that has to count for something, right?
AL West
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Angels in the Outfield (1994)
Probably one of the most underrated films in terms of future star power: A young Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adrien Brody and Matthew McConaughey are all in this film. And Tony Danza.
Oakland Athletics: Moneyball (2011)
It's not out yet, but no matter how good or bad Moneyball turns out to be, the selection for the Oakland A's will be Moneyball.
Texas Rangers: The Rookie (2002)
The only film to appear twice on this list, primarily because the Texas Rangers don't make a lot of appearances in film. When Jim Morris makes his Major League debut, it's in Arlington against the Texas Rangers.
Seattle Mariners: The Naked Gun (1988)
Judging from this story, it appears that only way the producers of The Naked Gun were allowed to use the (at the time) California Angels in the film was to use the Mariners as their opponent.
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Comments
Go Dodgers!
Yankees should watch The Sandlot, and remember what baseball was like before the big money stadium and sell out and merch... oh who am I kidding? The Yankees never knew any of that.
Frequency is a far better choice for a Mets movie than Men in Black.
The Astros movie HAS to be 'The Bad News Bears 2, Breaking Training". "Let them play! Let them play! Let them play!" And didn't Marley run out on the field during a Marlins' game in 'Marley and Me'? That should nudge it ahead of BTTF2 for the Fish.
American Express.... don't steal home without it!!!
Best. Post. Ever.
But Marley and Me makes me cry!
But c'mon, so did 'The Rookie'. Right? Right!? It can't just be me, can it. Dennis Quaid finally makes The Show and his little boy is there to see it. If you welled up at 'Toy Story 3', that HAD to get you...
(Spoiler Alert!) No dogs perished at the end of The Rookie.
My husband loves this time of season for baseball. One of his favorite movies is Major League. Working at DISH Network I got my husband the Google TV. He is going to have such a great time twitter all the Highlights of the Rockies and checking out all the other teams’ scores while he is watching the game. He won't have to even get up from the couch. That is every man's wish come true. I know he can't wait until tomorrow.
I didn't see Sugar, but doesn't the title character spend a good chunk of time as a Royals minor leaguer? thus making it much less of a stretch?
"For Love Of The Game" is a great movie by a great director (Sam Raimi) with a narration by legendary Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully. A friend practically forced me to watch it & I'm glad he did. Who'd thought that Kevin Costner could go the the (movie) plate 3 times & hit it out of the park each time?
Hey, Saint Louis - check out "It Happens Every Spring" - one great baseball comedy
I can't blame The Jackie Robinson Story for the Dodgers, but I was totally expecting that movie to be The Sandlot because of the great ending to the story and The Jet stealing home as a Dodger.
And the Cubs have been in many movies, but Ferris Bueller has a timeline that proves they filmed that part of the movie around an actual game and used the stats from that game as part of the dialog.
The “injury leads to super-human ability” phenomenon has actually happened at least once before in MLB.
During his youth, Mordecai Brown suffered a tragic farming accident that severed his index finger and damaged all of the others. After the injury, he discovered that his pitches now had an unusual amount of spin and gave serious movement to everything he threw. Today, Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown is in the MLB Hall of Fame and still has the lowest career ERA of any pitcher with more than 200 wins.
Now THAT would be a great movie for the Cubs, if Hollywood would get around to making it.
Frequency is a very good choice, but I favor "The Odd Couple".
In Bull Durham, when Nuke is in the Show and being interviewed, it is at old Arlington Stadium. That should be the Rangers choice. Plus, until last year, the whole "minor league" tag mostly applied (and i am actually a big fan).
How about Field of Dreams? Joe Jackson (White Sox), M00nlight Graham (NY Giant), Fenway Park. This is the absolute best ever in my book!
This is a long, forgotten flick, but it was a great one! Thanks for the memory. Go BoSox!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ummm, Big Daddy and The Jays maybe? The whole story revolves around Jon Stewart getting a girl pregnant during the World Series in Toronto.
A St. Louis Cardinals fan and yet you forgot Strategic Air Command starring James Stewart as Cardinal third baseman Dutch Holland? Shame on you. Sure, made in 1955, it was well before any of us were born, but it was one of those rare movies that combined jets AND baseball...two of my favorite story lines...and it appeared all the time on local TV late night movies!
Check it out --> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048667/
It's a winner! Plus, it features Stewart's favorite female lead June Allyson.
Great list! Thanks for doing the leg work to put it together!
The top Astros movie should be Brewster McCloud. It may be quirky, but it's directed by Robert Altman and it's set in the Astrodome. It's way better than Night Game. I don't want to leave Roy Scheider out of the mix by removing Night Game, so how about replacing For The Love Of The Game for the Detroit Tigers and replacing it with a made-for-TV classic starring Scheider: Tiger Town. That movie just oozes Tigers baseball and beloved Tiger Stadium (RIP).
@Jab - "For Love Of The Game" is a great movie by a great director (Sam Raimi) with a narration by legendary Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully. A friend practically forced me to watch it & I'm glad he did. Who'd thought that Kevin Costner could go the the (movie) plate 3 times & hit it out of the park each time? ===> I LIKE THIS!!!