The Best Baseball Movies of All-Time

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We can argue the merits of baseball as an exciting sport until the end of time (I say it’s the best), but instead let’s look at movies based on or about baseball.  The overwhelming majority of baseball movies don’t do the sport justice, but fortunately there have been some real gems over the years.  Whether appealing simply to our love of the game or reminding us of a time when we were in Little League, the best baseball movies stand out from the rest.  With apologies to A League of Their Own, which barely missed the cut, and Eight Men Out, here are the best baseball movies, presented in reverse order:

5.  Bull Durham

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Yes, the movie borders on “chick flick,” but it’s a fun look at the minor leagues and the attitudes and idiosyncracies of the players trying their best to get to the big show.

4. The Sandlot

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The Sandlot is the type of movie that brings you back to your childhood.  Even if it doesn’t remind you of playing baseball with your friends, it should at least take you back to a simpler time when playing any sport or game with your friends was better than anything else.

3. Field of Dreams

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An homage to old-timey baseball, Field of Dreams tugs at the heartstrings.  “Hey Dad, wanna have a catch?”  Kudos to Costner and James Earl Jones for appearing in two movies in this article.

2. The Natural

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It’s impossible not to get goosebumps when Roy Hobbs cranks the game-winning homer at the end of the game with Randy Newman’s score playing during the scene.  The Natural takes us back to a time when America was deeply passionate about baseball and fas less cynical, and the movie holds up real well today.

1. Major League

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Speaking of holding up well, Major League is still hilarious, and the depiction of Major League Baseball, including Spring Training and greddy owners, is second to none.  Bob Uecker’s as the Indians’ play-by-play announcer adds some authenticity to the flick as well, and Ricky Vaughn, Roger Dorn, Lou Brown, Willie Mays Hayes, Jake Taylor, and Pedro Cerrano are unforgettable characters.  “Want me to drag him outside?  Kick the sh*t out of him?”  It’s no Citizen Cain, but as far as baseball movies go, none are better than Major League.  I can only imagine how much Indians fans love this flick.

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One Comment

  1. I’m a little late to the party on this, but in a year or so, no one has left a comment, so here goes:

    Good picks. I would go ahead and toss up some others. Pride of the Yankees makes me cry every time, the origional (real) Bad News Bears was hysterical. I’m not sure if you’re the writer who avowed a hatred for musicals, but either way, Damn Yankees is fabulous. It’s a musical. That involves baseball. In an anti-Yankees light. Freaking brillant.

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