Pitchers and Catchers

If you’re a baseball fan, then the title of this post will speak to you. In an instant, you’ll know what time of year it is and what is going on. The official start of the baseball season is till a month away (March 18, in Japan. Don’t get me started), but baseball BEGINS today. No other sport has such an attachment to the “training camp” portion of the game. The NFL seems to determined to eliminate camp/preseason games. The NBA and NHL just glide through this phase as quickly as possible.

But baseball loves spring training.

Back in the days when most teams were in the cold and snowy north, it was a breath of warm Florida (and later Arizona) air and sunshine. Baseball was America’s game, with no serious challengers. One hundred years ago there was no NFL, no NBA, there was a tiny hockey league that wouldn’t add its first team in the U.S. till 1926. College football and golf were the next most popular sports in this country. But baseball was preparing to rocket into dominance. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series in 1925 (sigh), and a golden age was underway.

I love many sports, football, soccer, hockey. But baseball remains king for me. It’s fallen a lot in our national consciousness, but is the game of my youth. So, what better topic for this week than a list of my favorite baseball movies. I know I just did one a couple summers ago, but the list has changed!

As always, I note that I am not, let me emphasize that as NOT, offering these up as the Best/Greatest baseball movies of all time.  These are my favorites, the ones that bring something special to me.  Consequently, some great movies will not appear here.  Mostly because I haven’t seen them.  So feel free to pitch other movies for me to watch in the comments.  So, here’s my starting nine baseball movies (in no particular order):

42 – The story of baseball icon Jackie Robinson has to be included in this list.  First, because it’s a wonderful movie.  Second, because it’s a pivotal story for our nation and the game itself.  Robinson took on the unenviable task of breaking through America’s racism in the brightest spotlight possible.  He had to be not only a superlative person to deal with the abuse that came his way, he also had to be a great ballplayer. 

Pride of the Yankees – Here’s an old school baseball movie that holds up surprisingly well.  The Yankees hold a special place in the history of the Great American Game.  In a list of pinstripe superstars, there are only a few that can match the place of Lou Gehrig.  He rose from the literal streets of New York City to become one of the greatest players in the sport’s history.  Add in Gary Cooper in the lead role, and this is a baseball classic not to be missed.

Major League – From the sublime to the ridiculous.  This is one of three comedies about the game on this list.  While the team in question is the Cleveland Indians (precursor to today’s Guardians), the story of a sad sack team struggling along with a group of castoffs and oddballs hits close to home to Pirate fans after two 100 loss seasons.  I love everything about this movie except the rather awkward romantic sub-plot.  A movie for all of us who ever dreamed of making it to the show.

The Natural – Part of the legacy of baseball in America is a mystique.  It brought us the dream of an unknown rising from the distant fields to electrify the world.  Roy Hobbs is just that character.  There is a mystery in his past, and there is magic in his bat.  The home run scene (and if you’ve seen this movie before, you know EXACTLY which scene I’m talking about) is the most magical moment in a baseball movie ever.  Including the one just a couple of slots below this one.

Nine Men Out – As much I love the mythos of baseball, the historical game has a dark underbelly of greed and corruption as well.  Here is the story of the greatest scandal of the sport, the World Series fixing 1919 Chicago “Black Sox”.  Players took money to throw games, many of them thrown out of the game, and two great injustices, in my opinion.  The first is the permanent ban of Shoeless Joe Jackson (I’m unconvinced of his complicity), and the addition of the puritanical and dictatorial commissioner of baseball in Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis.  But if you want baseball drama, here’s everything you could want.

Field of Dreams – Time for a little more baseball mythology.  It is a family game.  Families often pass down their love of the baseball diamond and the action found there to the next generation.    Baseball is haunted by ghosts, and in a cornfield in Iowa some of those ghosts will save a family.  If I had to pick one of these as the only baseball movie ever to watch again, this is the one I’d choose.

A League of Their Own – A little more history of the game.  During World War II, to meet the needs of baseball fans, they created a new league.  This one starred female players in a time when the very idea was alien.  Once the war ended, the league wasn’t far behind it.  But in those years, they put on a show that is still worth watching.  A story of friends, family and fighting social expectations.

Bull Durham – Here’s our second baseball comedy.  For all the emphasis on “The Show” (a common reference for the major league level), there are multiple levels below that.  The minors are the dreams of most players die.  For every can’t miss prospect, there are a dozen more who will be stuck riding the bus.  This is a great story about the love of the game, both on and off the field.

The Sandlot – Here’s the new entry. Bad News Bears (the original) held this spot before. Last year I gave in to pressure of all the people raving about “The Sandlot” and was charmed by it. It’s a type for type swap, as the childhood wonder movie on the list. Both movies talk about baseball’s historic ability to bring together people from different backgrounds, and the strength of “team”. Add in the sense of the fantastic that children retain, and the movie is a winner. It’s a classic that lacks a “star” in the cast. It’s about all of us.

So, “Bad News Bears” slides just off the list with the original “Angels in the Outfield”.

Spending a couple days in Bradenton for Pirates Spring Training remains a bucket list item for me. Until that happens, I’ll catch the news, and the imagine the sun and warmth from afar. Plus, watch some of my favorite baseball movies.

Any movies you’d nominate? Let me know.

In the meantime, Play Ball!

Peace.