Baseball is a game of traditions, but the movie business isn’t, especially when it comes to the national pastime.

Unlike football, basketball, and hockey — other sports that have produced their share of cinematic duds — baseball has been blessed with a deep bench of flicks about the game.

Some are funny (Major League), some are dramatic (Field of Dreams), and some are downright painful to watch (The Babe Ruth Story). All are worth the price of admission for fans of the game.

Best Baseball Movies

One of the most popular sports in the United States, baseball is also one of the most widely portrayed in films.

The following are some of the best baseball movies ever made.

Bull Durham (1988)

Yeah, I know. Bull Durham is not a baseball movie. It’s more of a love story with a little bit of baseball in it.

But the baseball scenes are so well done, and the cast of characters so memorable, that this film has become part of the game’s cinematic history.

That makes it worth watching if you’re interested in how baseball movies have evolved over the years.

A lot of people were surprised when Kevin Costner was cast as Crash Davis, but he does an excellent job as the washed-up catcher who gets summoned in late August to mentor upstart pitcher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh (Tim Robbins).

You also get Susan Sarandon and Annie Potts as the women in their lives.

The movie is hilarious at times, poignant at others — particularly when Crash talks about his father — and downright raunchy in a couple of scenes involving umpire Jim Brockmire (Robert Wuhl) and his prostitute girlfriend (Ally Sheedy).

There are plenty of funny lines — my favorite is when Crash refers to LaLoosh as “The Loosh”, which prompts LaLoosh to correct him: “LaLoosh.” And there’s a pretty good Joe Morgan joke as well.

Bull Durham [Blu-ray] by 20th Century Fox
  • Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins (Actors)
  • Ron Shelton (Director)

Pride of the Yankees (1942)

It is a story of the triumph of a great athlete over adversity, and it provides the audience with an opportunity to see the American Dream in action. The story is one of the most inspiring ever presented by Hollywood.

The film was produced during World War II, when America’s morale was at its lowest ebb. In some ways, it can be seen as a reaction to that war, as well as to the Great Depression that preceded it. The phenomenal success of this film provided much-needed relief from the gloom that had settled over the country.

   

It is also a sports story, and one that features a hero who represents traditional values and decency. However, its presentation of the world of professional sports is somewhat dated by present standards. The movie tries to place a positive spin on professional athletics, but it also acknowledges that some players are motivated by greed and fame.

The triumph of this movie is not so much in its presentation of professional baseball as in its portrayal of Lou Gehrig’s life and career. It is remarkable how effectively director Sam Wood captured Gehrig’s personality on film.

His portrayal has become something of an icon, both for its historical accuracy and for its ability to evoke strong feelings about this extraordinary person. It will always remain one of Hollywood’s greatest

The Pride of the Yankees
  • Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
  • Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth (Actors)
  • Sam Wood (Director) - Jo Swerling (Writer) - Samuel Goldwyn (Producer)
  • English (Playback Language)
  • English (Subtitle)

Field of Dreams (1989)

Field of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama sports film directed by Phil Alden Robinson, who also wrote the screenplay, adapting W. P. Kinsella’s novel Shoeless Joe. It was Kevin Costner’s first starring role, and although it was unsuccessful at the box office, it received critical acclaim and has become a classic since then.

The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. The plot revolves around an Iowa farmer who hears a voice telling him that if he builds a baseball field on his land, the Chicago Black Sox team from the 1919 World Series will come to play there.

He does so but is disappointed when he sees that no one comes. He meets a mysterious stranger who explains that “if you build it, he will come.”

The farmer interprets this literally and builds a baseball field on the edge of his cornfield. The stranger appears again and explains that this farmer is supposed to be building a baseball team, not a baseball field. In order to attract players to the field, he must build it in the middle of nowhere (Iowa).

Field Of Dreams [Blu-ray] [1989] [Region Free]
  • New Store Stock
  • Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones (Actors)
  • Polish, German, Polish (Subtitles)

 

Best Baseball Movies

What Are baseball movies?

When you think of baseball, you might think of the World Series or the Little League games your parents took you to when you were young. But when you think of baseball movies, you must realize that there is a lot more than just those two things.

There are many different kinds of movies about baseball and they are all interesting in their own way.

Bull Durham is one of the most popular movies about baseball. It is about a minor league team for the Durham Bulls. It was released in 1988 and stars Kevin Costner as Crash Davis, an aging catcher who has come to a new team in order to coach rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh (Tim Robbins).

Baseball’s funniest movie, Major League, was released in 1989. The story follows an underdog Cleveland Indians team that was coming off a losing season and was struggling with financial problems.

 

The Natural (1984)

The Natural is a 1984 American sports film based on Bernard Malamud’s 1952 novel of the same name, about Roy Hobbs, an individual who possesses natural baseball playing talent. The film was directed by Barry Levinson and stars Robert Redford and Robert Duvall, with supporting roles from Kim Basinger, Barbara Hershey and Wilford Brimley.

It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Brimley), Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall) and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Art Direction: Michael Riva; Set Decoration: Carol J. Jessop).

THe movie begins in 1928, with Roy Hobbs (Redford) as a promising young player who has his career cut short when he is involved in a suspicious accident that leaves his manager dead. The incident leads to a chain of events that results in the death of his true love, Iris Chapeau (Basinger), at the hands of gangster Max Mercy (Duvall).

Hobbs is then despondent, both physically and mentally broken from the guilt of having caused Iris’ death until he gets a second chance at life after meeting an old flame named Sarah Packard (Hershey). She convinces him to

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The Natural [Blu-ray]
  • Factory sealed DVD
  • Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close (Actors)
  • Barry Levinson (Director)
  • English, Portuguese, French, Spanish (Subtitles)
  • Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Mr. Baseball (1992)

Mr. Baseball (1992) is a baseball-themed romantic comedy film starring Tom Selleck, who also served as producer and director, as an American baseball player who is traded to the Chunichi Dragons in Nagoya, Japan. The film also stars Academy Award winner Miyoshi Umeki, Ken Takakura and Pat Morita.

Welcome to Mr. Baseball (1992), the story of Jack Parkman, a man who loves baseball so much he goes to Japan to play it. The only problem is that nobody seems to know he’s there, including his team.

The Chunichi Dragons general manager has promised his chairman a pennant by trading major league slugger “Wild Thing” Jack Parkman for pitcher Masato Yoshii.

But following the trade, Parkman remains in the States for six months while Yoshii arrives in Nagoya only hours before opening day. Needless to say, the Dragons are not happy with this situation and neither is Jack Parkman.

When he finally shows up in Japan, Parkman realizes that no one knows him or cares about him or even knows the game of baseball at all! He gets no respect from his teammates and even less from his manager because he’s not Japanese!

   

He reluctantly takes over as starting pitcher.

Mr. Baseball
  • Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
  • Tom Selleck, Ken Takakura, Aka Takanashi (Actors)
  • Fred Schepisi (Director) - Gary Ross (Writer) - Fred Schepisi (Producer)
  • English (Playback Language)
  • English (Subtitle)

The Rookie (2002)

A young woman has had a recurring dream since childhood–one that features herself and a handsome, mysterious man. She grows up and moves to New York City, but the dream follows her there. It is not until she is mugged one night that she meets the man of her dreams–literally.

Description:In The Rookie (2002), Joshua Jackson plays Fred, a guy who feels like he’s missed out on life. He’s 28 years old and lives at home with his parents.

His only friend is a talking squirrel. One day while waiting for his mother to pick him up in the car, he’s approached by an attractive young woman named Claire (Rachael Leigh Cook) who tells him that she has a dream about him every night. That night, Fred does as well. Thus begins their journey together.

Tone:Fred is your typical nice guy type of character who doesn’t know what to do with himself and lacks self-confidence and self-esteem. He’s somewhat awkward in the sense of lacking social skills, but not so much so that it gets really annoying.

He does things like impress women by cleaning his apartment for them or helping them fix their cars (like any other nice guy). But there are some things about Fred that make him.

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It Happens Every Spring (1949)

A farmer’s son falls in love with the city girl next door. Though they want to marry, the man’s father objects. If he goes against his father’s wishes he will lose his financial support and won’t be able to farm.

Description: It Happens Every Spring is a 1949 American drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Ray Milland, Loretta Young, and George Murphy. Written by John Lee Mahin, based on the story “The Goose” by Leo Birinski, it tells of a lawyer who invents a way for farmers to protect themselves from geese.

The film was released by Warner Bros. on February 2, 1949. Tone:It Happens Every Spring has received generally positive reviews from critics upon release and is often considered as one of the best films of 1949.

A reviewer from Variety praised the film for its acting performances but criticized its screenplay as “too farcical”. Similarly, The New York Times wrote that “It Happens Every Spring” is a “syrupy fantasy” that lacks substance but contains good acting performances from its cast members.

Synopsis: It Happens Every Spring revolves around two people who want to be married but cannot because of their fathers’ disagreement. The story first introduces Philip Morgan (Ray

It Happens Every Spring
  • Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
  • Ray Milland, Jean Peters, Paul Douglas (Actors)
  • Lloyd Bacon (Director) - Valentine Davies (Writer) - William Perlberg (Producer)
  • English (Playback Language)
  • English (Subtitle)

Rookie of the Year (1993)

Rookie of the Year is a 1993 comedy film about a young boy who makes it to the major leagues. The film starred Daniel Stern, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Gaby Hoffmann and was directed by Daniel Stern.

It was nominated for two MTV Movie Awards: one for Best On-Screen Duo (Stern and Gordon-Levitt) and one for Best Villain (Lane Smith). The story begins with an adult Adam Murtaugh (Gordon-Levitt) remembering his minor league baseball days. He was a pitcher who had trouble keeping batters out of the strike zone and therefore always walked a lot of them.

He played in the minor leagues for the Waterbury Spirit when they had their best year ever, finally making it to the championship game against the Tulsa Oilers. They lost 3–2, despite Adam’s no hitter through eight innings.

Adam also struck out his arch-rival Buddy Biancalana (Marty York), but as he watched his teammates’ spirits dampen, it took almost all of his self control not to give up on baseball altogether. After this defeat, however, Buddy went up to him and told him he would make it to the majors someday if he kept practicing hard. Later that season, after having another unsuccessful season.

What Baseball Movies Were Nominated For Best Picture?

There have been a lot of baseball movies over the years and not all of them were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

In fact, some of them weren’t even nominated for anything, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t worth watching.

The baseball movie has become something of a staple in Hollywood.

It’s almost an institution to have a story about America’s favorite pastime and the people who played it on the big screen. Some of these films have become classics and have been favorites for decades.

Others are remembered for the performances or the plot twists that made them so interesting to watch.

Let’s look at some of the best baseball movies nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars throughout history.