Opening Day and Baseball Flicks

Sports fans, we are currently in the midst of one of the greatest stretches on the calendar. March Madness came to a close last night as Butler fell inches short of knocking off Duke for the National Championship. Instead Duke took home the crown and that is upsetting on so many levels. It came down to a half court prayer from Butler that came within an inch of going in. If that shot went in and Butler defeated the high and mighty Blue Devils, I think that game would go down as the most memorable championship game and would be an upset along the lines of the 1980 U.S. hockey upset of Russia. A case could be made. Despite the result of that game we have so much to be excited for as we look ahead on the calendar.

The Masters kicks off on Thursday and with the Tiger hooplah its going to be a circus but above all the media attention the fact remains it is still a "tradition unlike any other". Awaiting on the horizon are the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs and the NFL draft. But what I'm really fired up for is that baseball season is officially upon us. I'm a sucker for the crack of the bat, eating peanuts and cracker jacks and all the aesthical appeals of the game like a perfectly manicured playing surface. I'd pay good money to be able to take batting practice and grounders on a major league field. Sadly, I don't think thats going to happen any time soon.

I really don't think there was a better way to begin the season than to have the two biggest teams in the sport do battle at the most storied stadium in baseball. The Yankees and Red Sox renewed their great rivalry Sunday at Fenway Park and the game played out like a September matchup instead of the first of 162 games. The combination of the historic ball park, the excitement of a new season and nostalgic feelings our national pasttime brings made me think about some of the greatest baseball movies (not to mention a request from Sturgio)

If you are familiar with my previous movie lists you know that I have a few key categories that I use to rank the movies. They are rewatchability, quotability and defining scenes. While composing this list I came to this realization; it's amazing how many good to great baseball movies there are, way more than any other sport. So with that said heres my list......

Top 10 Baseball Movies

10. The Rookie- The true story of a high school coach who chases his dream to become an MLB pitcher despite being very old by baseball standards. It's got the whole based-on-a-true-story angle as well as the inspirational comeback story going for it. It ranks at 10 because its not as rewatchable as the rest of the movies on here but definitely a good baseball movie. It's got the whole Disney, "remember the titans" feel to it so naturally there are some very good chills moments, but there aren't any great quotes that stand out nor are there any defining scenes. Having said that, when Jimmy runs out of the bullpen for the first time is a terrific scene.

9. Rookie of the Year- A childhood favorite of mine about a 12 year who's broken arm heals funny and gives him the ability to throw 100mph fastballs. He is then signed by the Chicago Cubs and becomes a phenom. It's got solid comedic performances from John Candy and Daniel Stern (Marv from Home Alone) and who can forget the one and only Gary Busey as Chet "Rocket" Steadman. Let me tell you something, Chet Steadman can pitch on my team anyday, and if I were to assemble a movie pitching staff, Chet would be a great 5th starter (Costner's Billy Chapel would be my aging #1, "Icky" Nuke Laloosh would be my up and coming #2, pre-injury Roy Hobbes would be my sneaky good #3 guy, sly veteran Eddie Harris would be 4 and Chet would be my 5th. And I've got Henry Rowengardner and Denunez from the Sandlot in the farm system waiting to fill any retirments. That's a pretty solid staff) Anyways..."Pitcher's got a big butt" and "funky butt lovin" are a few of my favorite quotes from the movie. (not to mention a cameo from a pre-steroids Barry Bonds who looks as skinny as Megan Fox)

8. Little Big League- Another great childhood movie that is still enjoyable today. It follows the story of a 5th grader who inherits the Minnesota Twins when his grandfather passes away and makes him the owner of the team. He then names himself the team's manager and leads the Twins on a magical season. While at times its cheesy and a kids movie, it avoids some of the major cliches of sports movies. It's very funny and has some surprisingly good baseball moments that you wouldn't expect from a "kids movie". What I really like about this movie is that it reminds you baseball is a kids game and sometime professionals forget that. The clubhouse/dugout/team travel dynamics in this movie is perfectly depicted.

7. The Natural- Easily one of the best baseball movies I've ever seen. The story of Roy Hobbs, the mysterious player with the "wonderboy" bat. It's got at least 2 great "chills" scenes, when he knocks the cover off the ball and when he blows out the lights with a home run. I had this ranked as high as #2 on my list, but ultimately it is a little slow and not great on the rewatchability scale so it fell to 7. But defining scenes and memorable quotes are very high like  "I want them to say, 'there goes Roy Hobbes, the best there ever was". Robert Redford and Robert Duvall stand out in this one but you've also got a fantastic mustache appearance from Willford Brimley aka the Post Master General from Seinfeld.

6. For Love Of The Game- Stars my boy, and the king of baseball movies Kevin Costner as Billy Chapel, a future Hall of Famer pitching what could be his last game. I debated putting this higher on the list but didn't only because of Kelly Preston. I think if you substitute Charlize Theron into that role and all of a sudden its a great romantic storyline to go along with the great baseball story. Based solely on its baseball content, this could be the greatest of them all. But again, the Preston scenes are only just alright and while they're neccesary to the movie they at times take away from the baseball storyline. Regardless, it's got several great "chills" scenes, uses flashbacks as well as any sports movie I've seen and captures a lot of the feelings a pitcher experiences. (interesting side note-Costner actually threw every pitch in the movie, which only makes me like him and this movie even more)

Before we continue with the list I want you all to know that a case could be made for any of the following movies to be #1. True to form, I switched the rankings of these movies many times before going with this final list.....

5. A League of Their Own- Tom Hanks makes this movie a classic. Without one of his best performances, this movie is just good instead of a top 5 baseball movie. The story of the all girls baseball league that was created during World War II era while many of the men's players were off at war. In addition to Hanks terrific performance, you've got good roles from Geena Davis, Madonna and yes Rosie O'Donnel. It's very funny and endearing at the same time. Very quotable case and point being that I'm pretty sure everyone has heard "there's no crying in baseball" and my new favorite thing I love saying is that I just took a "jimmy dougan piss" during a night of drinking. Arguably the most underrated baseball movie of all time.

4. Field of Dreams- Another great Costner baseball movie follows Ray Kinsella who turns his Iowa cornfields into a baseball field because he is hearing a voice saying "if you build it, he will come". It has not only one of the greatest sports speeches, but one of the most memorable scenes/speeches in all of film. "It reminds us of all that was once good and could be again". If I was the commissioner of MLB, I would make it a rule that this speech must be played at every stadium on opening day before the first pitch. The chills factor is the greatest of all the movies on this list especially Ray playing catch with his father, and truly reminds us about everything that is great about the game of baseball.

3. The Sandlot- What an amazing movie, not just a great sports movie. Quotability is off the charts including one of my all time favorite quotes "You're killin' me Smalls". A classic tale of kids growing up who love to play the game of baseball turns into a gripping adventure to get back an autographed Babe Ruth baseball from a killer dog known as the "the beast". So many great moments like Squints pretending to drown so that the hot lifeguard Wendy Peffercorn will give him mouth to mouth. "Michael 'Squints' Palledorous walked a little taller that day". Or what about the Great Hambino talking smack behind the plate. It's so funny and iconic, yet strangely under the radar. "heroes get remembered, but legends never die"

2. Major League- Great blend of comedy and good baseball scenes about an owner trying to sabotage a season so she can relocate them to a new city. Charlie Sheen and Wesley Snipes are as good as ever as Wild Thing Rick Vaughn and Willy Mays Hayes respectively. Bob Uecker steals the movie as the hilariously sarcastic announcer. His quotes makes the movie like, "Juuuuust a bit outside"(Amazingly this clip is not anywhere on the internet, nor were any other relevant clips. Who's ever in charge of the internet, can you fix that?) This movie plays out like a standard comedy but just when you think it will continue to be slapstick, it creates a good baseball story

1. Bull Durham- Costner strikes again. I put this at number 1 because it captures every aspect of the game and shows a side of it that is rarely seen, the minors. The story follows Crash Davis, a career minor league catcher who is brought in to help groom a young pitcher into the majors. There aren't many chills scenes, if any, but there's some very funny parts and it perfectly demonstrates the bizarre and unique conversations that baseball players have. Its got a few iconic scenes like when Costner describes the show and we learn the one word you can't call an umpire when Crash argues a call. Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon are great in supporting roles and the romantic dynamic with Sarandon, as the groupie/guru, is perfect. Unlike Major League, this movie plays out like a drama/chick flick except when you think it is about to go cheesy, it comes through with some of the most accurate portrayals of baseball I've ever seen(The writer, Ron Shelton, actually played 5 years of minor league ball, which explains the dead on accuracy). It's the church of baseball in all its glory.