Baseball movies are some of the most popular and recognizable films ever made. Whether it’s about an underdog team that overcomes adversity or a young kid finding true belonging, these movies capture the essence of baseball and the friendships built around the sport.
There are plenty of great baseball movies, but there are also many that don’t do a very good job of portraying the sport itself. We’ve rounded up five of the best to help get you in the baseball spirit!
The Sandlot (1993)
The Sandlot is a 1993 coming-of-age story about a group of baseball-loving children that spends their summer playing on a makeshift field. Directed by David Mickey Evans and based on a sports book of the same name, the film quickly became a classic. It won a Best Picture Academy Award and remains a classic that resonates with kids to this day.
The film begins when a young boy named Scotty Smalls moves into his new neighborhood and struggles to find friends. He meets a group of boys playing in the sandlot and is invited to join their team by Benny Rodriguez, their best player. The group helps him learn to play the game of baseball and shields him from the ridicule he receives from his peers.
While the film is mostly about baseball, it also explores friendship and growing up. Benny, the leader of the group, takes Scotty into his circle and introduces him to his father Bill (Denis Leary) as well. The two develop a bond, and Benny gives Scotty advice about how to play the game of baseball.
As the summer progresses, Scotty learns to play the game better than his teammates, which makes him more popular. He also learns to respect his stepfather and is accepted into the family.
He also learns to deal with a ferocious ball-eating dog that guards the homerun fence at the sandlot. The group eventually loses the baseball they were using, and they decide to retire until a replacement can be found.
Aside from Scotty, the other members of the Sandlot include Timmy and Tommy Timmons, Squints, Ham, Bertram, and The Generic Guy. Each of these characters is unique in his own way, but they each share the same love for the game of baseball.
One of the most notable actors to be cast in The Sandlot was Mike Vitar, who played the film’s leader Benny Rodriguez. He began acting at a young age and had several other roles in the 1990s. In addition to Sandlot, he appeared in the final two Mighty Ducks films and a 1997 episode of Chicago Hope.
The Natural (1993)
The Natural is one of those movies that you have to watch on a snooze worthy Saturday morning. It is a tad shaky to get a straight answer, but it is worth the effort. Featuring the likes of Robert Downey Jr, James Belushi and Bruce Lee as well as an ensemble cast of up and comers from coast to coast, this trippy flick churned out about 200 million pops on tap over the course of its eighteen month run time.
Pelotero (1998)
Pelotero is a baseball movie that takes you behind the scenes of Major League Baseball. It tells the story of Dominican teenagers who try to make it in the big leagues, and sheds light on corruption in that part of Latin America.
The film is directed by Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin and Jon Paley, and is based on the novel of the same name. Unlike other sports films, it isn’t sentimental or about the “thrill of victory, agony of defeat.” It’s about the clash between youthful dreams and a corrupt adult cartel that has taken over Major League Baseball.
It’s also a very funny and charming film that makes you laugh and cry at the same time. The characters are believable, and the screenplay is well-written.
Juan de La Rosa is a man who is basically a Little League coach, but he has a Dominican twist to it. He coaches a group of kids from Villa Mella, a poor neighborhood in the Dominican Republic.
He is a father figure to many of the kids that he coaches, including Starling Marte, a young boy who dreams of playing in the big leagues one day. He teaches them baseball and also how to be good people.
This is a very well written film that doesn’t have too much action in it, but it does contain some nice sequences that make you want to keep watching. The ending is a bit predictable, but the whole film is worth watching.
There is a lot of talk about the “domino” in the title, and that’s because it’s a metaphor for a system that has taken advantage of children to create a better life for themselves. It’s a theme that is explored in the film, and it’s one that can be a difficult topic to discuss.
The Bad News Bears (1970)
The Bad News Bears was one of the most successful baseball movies of all time, and it has a lot to say about youth sports. The film’s satirical and uncompromising approach to Little League portrayed the sport in a way that was shocking and resonant at the time.
Director Michael Ritchie was a master of organizing his material, and the screenplay by Bill Lancaster, son of Burt Lancaster, is witty, well-structured, and full of first-rate performances. The film’s plot follows the classic underdog baseball storyline, but it’s set in 1970s suburbia and the characters are believable and real.
After his team loses its first game, Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) recruits a sharp-tongued pitcher, Amanda Wurlitzer (Tatum O’Neal), and the 11-year-old daughter of one of his ex-girlfriends, Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley). It’s not long before Buttermaker’s team begins to improve; but they still don’t have any wins.
But Buttermaker’s determination to win back the team’s trust is bolstered by his friendship with Amanda, and she helps the Bears to start winning again. Then, when the Bears take on a tough Yankees team, they learn that if they work together, they can beat the best team in the league.
The Bad News Bears is a fun, funny, and uncompromising film that skewers the taboo-testing world of Little League baseball. It’s a bittersweet tale of the power of friendship, family, and believing in yourself.
As a result, The Bad News Bears is a comedy classic that will remain relevant for years to come. It’s also a refreshing antidote to the sentimentality that has increasingly pervaded sports movies in recent years.
Another thing that makes The Bad News Bears stand out is the fact that it’s a great drinking movie. The film’s star character, Buttermaker, drinks a lot of beer throughout the film. He’s seen drinking a variety of different kinds, including Budweiser, Mickey’s malt liquor, Miller High Life, Schlitz, Coors, and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
The film was directed by Michael Ritchie, who also helmed The Natural and Downhill Racer. He was a talented and disciplined filmmaker, and The Bad News Bears is one of his most enjoyable works.
