There are fantastic movies about pretty much every sport you can think of. But today, we are going to focus on baseball fans. The game as a whole is thrilling to watch and even though it was difficult to shoot one film based on it in Hollywood for a few decades before the 1950s, there are plenty of high-quality releases nowadays. Once they figured out the recipe everything was easy. Here are top 10 baseball-related films.
The Pride of the Yankees, 1942
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Lou Gehrig was one of the greatest players in the history of this sport. Unfortunately, he passed away early, and a few years ago, RKO Pictures released the movie called The Pride of the Yankees to honor the legend. Gehrig was portrayed by Gary Cooper.
The Bad News Bears, 1976
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Walter Matthau plays a minor league washout who starts coaching the worst team in Little League. These players are all heart with no skill, and it is fun to watch the chemistry between them.
The Natural, 1984
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The Natural is based on the novel from 1952. The main movie star is Robert Redford, who plays mythic baseball hero Roy Hobbs. This character couldn’t be more talented, but he is out of luck.
Eight Men Out, 1988
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This iconic movie follows the infamous 1919 World Series during which eight Chicago White Sox players helped gamblers score big. The film was not a box office hit, but its director and writer John Sayles got positive remarks and critiques for fairly portraying the disgust of players with team management.
Bull Durham, 1988
Source:medium.com
Kevin Costner stars in Bull Durham as “Crash” Davis, a catcher who helps pitcher “Nuke” LaLoosh prepare for the major league. Add Annie, a hot girl to the mix and a love triangle was formed, complicating things.
Field of Dreams, 1989
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Once again, Kevin Costner appears in a baseball movie. This time around, something pushes Costner to create a baseball field on his Iowa farm. The ghosts of the baseball past come here to play and the quote “If you build it, he will come” remains famous even today.
A League of Their Own
Source:variety.com
With so many men serving overseas during World War II, the women’s leagues became more and more popular. And that is what this movie is all about. Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madona, Lori Petty and Jon Lovitz star in A League of Their Own.
The Sandlot, 1993
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The Sandlot is truly a movie for all of the children who dream big and love baseball. It follows a boy who moves to a new town in the 1960s and finds a friend through their pickup games at the local sandlot. This film remains one of the most popular releases in this genre, but it never earned the high grades it definitely deserves.
Moneyball, 2011
Source:amazon.com
Moneyball follows Billy Beane, a former mediocre baseball player who tries to do a lot as the GM of the Oakland Athletics in 2002 with limited funds. The movie stars Brad Pitt, and it was nominated for six Oscars as it showed the struggle of various teams around the USA.
42, 2013
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The first African American who played in MLB is Jackie Robinson, and he remains the legend nowadays because of his superb talent and skills. Portrayed by Chadwick Boseman and with Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey, the GM of the Brooklyn Dodgers, this movie is a must-see.
Honorable Mentions
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Plenty of baseball films were made and here are some more that deserve to be included in our top ten: Bang the Drum Slowly, Major League and Sugar! Don’t forget to watch these as well!
What do you think of this list? Which baseball film is your favorite?
