Safe at Home: Celebrating Baseball at the Movies

By Michael Lyons

At the end of the 1976 little league opus “The Bad News Bears,” one of the diminutive players yells at their opponents, “Just wait ‘til next year!”

Baseball fans can relate.  Next year, at this point, looks like it sadly may be the only option to see a game.  Like everything else in the world, Major League Baseball is understandably and indefinitely postponed, as well as facing the reality of possibly cancelling the 2020 season that was scheduled to begin on March 26th.

For fans, the site of their favorite team’s logo, the smell of a hot dog or even the memory of sitting in a crowded stadium brings about a pang of sadness around the fact that the “Boys of Summer” aren’t taking the field.

For years, Hollywood has shared this love of baseball, creating some memorable stories, in a variety of genres, celebrating America’s past time.  

What follows are just some of these movies.  While not a definitive list (and listed here chronologically) these films make for the perfect “consolation prize” during this missing baseball season.

“The Pride of the Yankees” (1942).  Gary Cooper stars as New York Yankees super star Lou Gehrig, who died tragically at the age of 37 of a form of sclerosis (later dubbed Lou Gehrig’s disease).  Over sentimental?  Corny?  Dated?  Yes...but it all works, as it celebrates our love for sports heros.

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1949).  A good ol’-fashioned MGM musical about baseball at the turn of the last century, starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra.  Some smile inducing dance routines including Kelly’s “The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore,” which is one of his more stunning and underrated moments in film. 

“The Bad News Bears” (1976).  The aforementioned comedy from Director Michael Ritchie, in which boozy coach Walter Matthau takes the titular little league team from worst to first.  The film has taught generations quite a bit about baseball, sportsmanship...and profanity.

“The Natural” (1984).  Robert Redford stars as Roy Hobbs, the oldest rookie on the New York Knights, in Director Barry Levinson’s ethereal and mysterious adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s novel.  The film raises baseball to almost Spielberg-like mystical proportions and weaves quite the spell.

“Bull Durham” (1988).  The tale of a minor league baseball love triangle between a washed up catcher (Kevin Costner) a baseball groupie (Susan Sarandon) and an up and coming pitcher (Tim Robbins). Down and dirty, with a true feel for its minor league environment, the film has a voice and tone all its own.

“Major League” (1989).  What “Slap Shot” was to hockey, this movie is to baseball.  Centering on a fictional version of the Cleveland Indians, with a visually impaired pitcher nicknamed “Wild Thing” (Charlie Sheen) who has a tendency to hit batters with his wild pitches.  Filled with some laugh-out-loud moments, “Major League” is genial fun.

“Field of Dreams” (1989).  “If you build it, they will come.”  And have they ever!  Audiences have been coming back to this movie about a Iowa farmer (Kevin Costner) who plows under his corn field to build a baseball field, because a voice tells him to, so that the ghosts of the disgraced players from the White Sox scandal can play there.  More than baseball, this is a movie about family, faith and fathers and sons.  No wonder, over thirty years later, it’s still beloved.

“A League of Their Own” (1992).  A great comedy about an unsung moment in baseball history, Director Penny Marshall’s film shines a spotlight on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was put into effect during World War II.  An amazing cast - Gene Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O’Donell, Jon Lovitz, Garry Marshall and, of course, Tom Hanks - shines throughout.  As if all of that isn’t enough, the film includes the now iconic line: “There’s no crying in baseball!”

“The Sandlot” (1993).  Few films capture summers as a kid better than this one.  And what’s more part of summer than a neighborhood baseball game, which becomes the center of this film...along with the “terror” of hitting the ball into the unknown realm of the neighbor’s backyard.  Filled with the innocence of childhood and the strong bond of friendship, “The Sandlot,” which was not initially a hit, has deservedly developed quite the following through the years.

“Moneyball” (2011).  An absolutely fascinating adaptation of Michael Lewis’ book, which relays the story of the Oakland A’s 2002 season and how general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) utilized some non-traditional methods to assemble a winning team.  Gripping from beginning to end, particularly as it’s based on true-life events, “Moneyball” also has a lot to say about the value of talent and team dynamics.

So until that day - which WILL come- when we can all gather in a baseball stadium, or at a friend’s house to enjoy a beer and watch the game, or listen to it on the radio in the backyard on a sun-dappled afternoon, we will have to settle for these memories of baseball seasons past that Hollywood provides us.

And while we do that, let’s all continue to put to use a perfect baseball analogy and stay...safe at home.

Sources:

Wikipedia