Top 5 #9: Best Baseball Movies of All-Time

[Navel Lint]

The Oscars are on. I like movies, I'm sure you do too.
But let's face it, Baseball is my thing. It's probably your thing too or you wouldn't be reading this now.
So what better time to present the.............

Top 5 Baseball Movies of All-Time

5: League of their Own 1992 ....................
This is a fictionalized version of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Tom Hanks and Geena Davis star.
This past summer I went to the Baseball HOF for the first time. I went with my wife and three daughters. Although they enjoyed walking through most of the exhibits, my three girls really lit up when we got to the Women in Baseball exhibit, that alone made the trip worthwhile for me and them.

4: Major League 1989 .........................
"Just a bit outside"
I don't think this movie makes the top 10, let alone top 5 without Harry Doyle's (Bob Uecker) play-by-play.

3: Eight Men Out 1988 ...............
Say it ain't so........The story of the Chicago White Sox.
8 players that threw the 1919 World Series for cash.

2: Field of Dreams 1989 ...................
An Iowa farmer builds a field and brings back Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Who among you in the snow belt hasn't looked out of your window in the dead of winter and hoped to see a baseball game instead of a foot of snow.

1: Bull Durham 1988 ........................
Crash Davis: "Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days".

[DOUGHBOYS]

4 words....
'Pride of the Yankees'

[Walla Walla]

Two I would add to the list are The Natural and Bang the Drum slowly.

[Cocktails and Dreams]

You pretty much nailed my list other than the order a bit. Would replace A League of Their Own with the Natural probably in the 5 spot. I would also have Major League first and 8 Men Out 2nd. Great Memories of Major League. When I ran the legion program for a few years during college, I would have the kids gather somewhere before we took off for districts and watch that movie and relax a bit to try to loosen them up before the important games. Coaching legion ball with a close friend were some of the best memories of my life. Always a pleasure when I bump into one of my former players. So while not the best movie of all time, it is easily the number one baseball film on my list.

[Deadheadz]

.

I agree with this top 5 list and also enjoyed the others mentioned, in regard to pro ball.

If we're talking any baseball movies I would think Bad News Bears would be a top 5 contender too.



"Those Yankees are real turds."
Tanner Boyle



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[Navel Lint]

Those are some great movies already mentioned by you guys.
I did have one more movie that I really had a hard time cutting from my Top 5, it's probably 5a, but I'll hold off on naming it right now to see if it's in anyone else's top5.

[Glenneration X]

Russ, my favorite list of yours so far.

Any top 5 list of my personal fave baseball movies would have to include the Natural in it.

Also, not sure it would really be considered a movie, but any inning of Ken Burn's epic "Baseball" would go right to the top of the list for me.

[DOUGHBOYS]

I just saw one of the worst baseball movies of all time....for the fourth or fifth time.
I keep telling my family there is no such thing as a bad baseball movie.
'Safe At Home' with Mantle and Maris.
Worst possibly, is 'The Babe' and 'The Babe Ruth Story'.

I really liked 'For the Love of the Game' too.

I also agree with Glenn about Ken Burns, 'Baseball'

[Navel Lint]

Russ, my favorite list of yours so far.

Any top 5 list of my personal fave baseball movies would have to include the Natural in it.

Also, not sure it would really be considered a movie, but any inning of Ken Burn's epic "Baseball" would go right to the top of the list for me.

Thanks.

I remember sooooo looking forward to Baseball when Burn's announced it coming off the success of The Civil War. I was greatly disappointed when it aired, and I still am now as they showed it 10,000 times on MLBNetwork over the winter. It's too slow and contains too many errors.

[Navel Lint]

I really liked 'For the Love of the Game' too.

Good movie.
Costner is very believable as a baseball player. And sort of like Major League, the play-by-play of the game done by Vin Scully really adds to the movie.

There is another movie that I like, but not easily seen because HBO owns it is, The Curious Case of Curt Flood.
It's a documentary detailing Flood's lawsuit against MLB's use of the Reserve Clause.

[DOUGHBOYS]

It wasn't a movie, but a song.
And a list can be done on top 5 baseball songs as well.
But 'Paradise By the Dashboard Light' sung by former NFBC'er Meatloaf, penned by Jim Steinman, with the play by play by Phil Rizzuto was awesome as well....

[rkulaski]

I really liked 'For the Love of the Game' too.

Good movie.
Costner is very believable as a baseball player. And sort of like Major League, the play-by-play of the game done by Vin Scully really adds to the movie.

There is another movie that I like, but not easily seen because HBO owns it is, The Curious Case of Curt Flood.
It's a documentary detailing Flood's lawsuit against MLB's use of the Reserve Clause.

Scully is great in that movie. Immediately after the final out is recorded, doesn't Scully say something like "and today the Yankees' cathedral belongs to Chapel!" A little corny but man what a movie.

The Natural has to be top 5.

Love A League of Their Own too. Great story, Russell, of the girls in your family enjoying the women's section of the HOF.

I'll never forget when I was struggling with a class in college and wanted to quit. I told my professor that the class was just too hard. My professor, who used to play minor league baseball himself, asked me if I had ever seen A League Of Their Own.
He then proceeded to tell me, "It's supposed to be hard. The hard is what makes it good. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it." I could picture Tom Hanks and Geena Davis in that moment. Needless to say, that inspired me to work my tail off and pass that class.

Sorry to digress. Great list, Russell.

[Donnie Baseball]

I think "61" makes top 10 and agree on "Pride of the Yankees"

[Navel Lint]

I think "61" makes top 10 and agree on "Pride of the Yankees"

61*

This was my 5a movie. I really couldn't leave out any of the ones that I had on the list, but if I did, I would have put this movie in.......

[Cocktails and Dreams]

Worst movies I may or may not have seen. Rookie of the Year, Ed(haven't seen it but a chimpanzee playing baseball cannot possibly be good), The Babe, The Scout(If a guy strikes out 27 guys in a row on 81 pitches, it cannot be good).

[ToddZ]

For me Bull Durham is #1 and the rest are tied for second.

I dug Sandlot a lot, maybe not a baseball movie in the traditional sense, but I could relate to it much more than the others.

[Roy's Outlaws]

All great baseball movies, but I also like Fever Pitch , at least until the end! the Red Sox should never win the World Series. Painful for a Yankee fan. LOL

[EA Sports]

Good List! "The Natural" has to be in there though.

[Edwards Kings]

Yeah, a kid's movie or it brings out the kid in me..."Angels in the Outfield". I cannot say Top 5 (though I agree with "The Natural" being in the top five especially as I cannot watch "League of Their Own" and enjoy it like I used to due to Rosie Crazybigmouth), but you have to admit you learn something from that movie. Who knew the National Anthem was really "Jose can you see"?

[Glenneration X]

Some really enjoyable movies mentioned by all here. Makes me want to take the day off and instead just watch these flicks all day. One thing I think we can all agree on, top 5 isn't nearly long enough for a great baseball movie list.

Keep up the good work Russ, enjoying your series.

[Navel Lint]

I'll have to admit, it's been quite a long time since I've seen The Natural. I didn't really care for it that much when it first came out, and it didn't get any better for me in subsequent viewings, but with a lot of you guys mentioning it here I may have to give it another chance and watch it again this week.

Another movie I would like to watch again is 42. I saw it when it was released, but I haven't seen it again. From my limited memory of the movie, I don't think it would be top5, but I'll have to see it again to really get a feel for it.

[Redgta91]

It may not be a top 5 movie but the documentary Ballplayer: Pelotero was very interesting to watch different parts of the process of getting signed for those in the Dominican Republic.

[Attie]

Maybe I'm showing my age, but any of you young baseball fans who haven't seen "Bang the Drum Slowly" from 1973.........Robert De Niro is terrific as a dim-witted catcher, and for my money it is the best baseball movie of all time.......and for laughs, pretty tough to beat Walter Matthau in "The Bad News Bears"..........also, Pride of the Yankees is a great old movie........

[DOUGHBOYS]

I'm a little surprised that 'Fear Strikes Out' has not been even mentioned.
Anthony Perkins was great as Jimmy Piersall, even though it was obvious that he, himself, was not very athletic.

'42' and 'Trouble with the Curve', hardly mentioned too, were a little disappointing to me.

[Attie]

Great call on "Fear Strikes Out" an excellent movie.........and the book was even better...........