A Reel Opinion: The Top 10 Best Baseball Films

The precautions taken during the ongoing pandemic have robbed us of the things that we love; people have lost their bars and restaurants, cinephiles have lost their movie theatres, and sports fans have lost their ballgames. The absence of baseball, from the major leagues to the little leagues, has left a tough hole to fill…but thanks to cinema, we can still celebrate America’s favorite pastime. And with that, now comes to the plate Reel Speak’s Top 10 Best Baseball Films. 

As two of America’s oldest institutions, baseball and the movies have gone together like salt and pepper. The long history of the game, with its heroes, villains, successes and failures, make it perfect for big-screen storytelling. Baseball films have come in many shapes and sizes, but nearly every one of them have a common theme; the love of the game. The films that capitalize the best on that theme are the all-stars of the genre, with story, character, and cultural impact also coming into play. 

So, batter up…

10. THE BAD NEWS BEARS (1976)

The late great Walter Matthau plays a cranky former minor leaguer tasked with managing a group of misfits in a youth baseball league. The offensive nature of this film dates it badly, but for several decades it was thebaseball movie to watch. The film broke the rules of how a movie centered around children is supposed to conduct itself, while still keeping the game an important element. Matthau turns in a character that defined him, and to this day…misfit teams in baseball (or any sport), are dubbed Bad News Bears. 

9. 42 (2013)

Before Chadwick Boseman became the Black Panther, he put on the number 42 jersey of the great Jackie Robinson; the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. 42 takes us through the torment Robinson went through, and his perseverance and drive to play the game he loved drives the film as a personal and sports drama. A required film for any fan of the game. 

8. THE SANDLOT (1993)

Just as THE BAD NEWS BEARS had its own generation of fans, THE SANDLOT has its own as well. We are introduced to Scotty Smalls, a new kid in town who falls in with the neighborhood kids who live and breath the game of baseball, playing from dawn to dusk in a dusty, run-down field. Far from a kids’ film, fans of all ages can appreciate the down-to-earth, nostalgia-dripped story of youth and coming-of-age. Funny and emotional, it made a mark on pop culture with some classic characters such as The Great Bambino, along with often-quoted lines such as “FORE-EV-ER”, and of course, “you’re killing me Smalls”. 

7. MONEYBALL (2011)

Nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture, Bennett Miller’s baseball drama breaks the mold of the traditional ballpark-set film by taking the action off the field. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland A’s who uses unconventional methods to assemble his team…drawing ire from fans and the entrenched, baseball establishment. It’s a great look behind the curtain and works for fans of the game and for outsiders who don’t the know the difference between Billy Beane and a beanbag. 

6. THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1942)

The granddaddy of all baseball films, and perhaps of all sports movies. Gary Cooper plays legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who died at the age of 37 from ALS, which later became known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It’s a sports biography and a homage to the man, with the game of baseball clearly in his big heart. The end-scene of Gehrig’s famous speech to Yankee Stadium is an emotional weeper, and a final stamp on a film that has stood the test of time. 

5. BULL DURHAM (1988)

It can be argued that minor league baseball is the purest form of pro-ball, with players trying their best to get into The Show in earnest. Kevin Costner plays a long-time minor leaguer tasked with tutoring a dim-witted pitcher (Tim Robbins)…and the new duo spark a ton of laughs as they teach each other about baseball, life, and love. It’s a down-to-earth comedy with a fair balance of dramatic moments, and for many fans has stood the test of time as one of the best films about the game.  

4. FIELD OF DREAMS (1989)

Kevin Costner plays a farmer who mows down his vital crop to build a baseball field, because voices from the corn told him to do so. What could have been a silly concept turns into a mystery wrapped up in a ghost tale with an all-important father-son story. It explores an important, historical event in Major League Baseball while digging deep into its characters, all of whom have a deep love of the game. A Best Picture nominee, it is often quoted and has become a permanent stamp in American culture…and no one, absolutely no one with a soul can stop the tears from flowing in its emotional final scene of “wanna have a catch?”. 

3. A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992)

Based on the true story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was created to fill the hole left with major league players fighting in World War II. Tom Hanks plays a former player and drunk tasked with managing one of the new teams and turns in one of his most memorable performances…along with delivering one of the most iconic lines of all sports films; “there’s no crying in baseball!” As great as Hanks is, he is just a small part of a grand and emotional film about the game and the talented ladies who played it. The film has plenty of laughs, along with some heart-wrenching moments…and the ensemble cast of Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna, Anne Ramsay, Jon Lovitz, Garry Marshall, and David Strathairn are all excellent. 

2. MAJOR LEAGUE (1989)

Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, and Wesley Snipes lead the way as misfit players on a Cleveland Indians team which was set up to fail, so its greedy owner can move the team to Miami. As a sports comedy it soars, but it maintains a realism that keeps things from getting too ridiculous…and all fans know that the basic plot is something that actually could happen. Bob Uecker is at his best playing the Indians’ play-by-play announcer, delivering one zinger after another, and his “oh my god the Indians have won it!” is the emotional stuff that baseball was made for. 

1. THE NATURAL (1984)

Two outs in the bottom of the ninth, man on base, down by a run. Robert Redford’s character of Roy Hobbs limps up to the plate, takes two strikes, breaks his beloved bat…and then delivers the greatest home run ever seen in cinema, backed by Randy Newman’s magnificent score. It is a moment in cinema that has been endlessly compared to every 9^th inning, two-out home run in every baseball game on every level all across America. It’s a finale that viewers can get up and cheer for not just because of how well it is executed, but for the journey that Roy Hobbs has taken to get there. A young prodigy that had his bright career sidetracked, he returns nearly 20 years later to give it one last go…battling his own age and his own teammates just to play the game he loves the most. The supporting cast of Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barbara Hershey, Darren McGavin, and Michael Madsen are all excellent, and the direction of Barry Levinson provides more than one stirring moment. No other movie reminds us of how much we love baseball more than THE NATURAL. 

 REEL SPEAK'S TOP 10 BEST BASEBALL FILMS

1. THE NATURAL
2. MAJOR LEAGUE
3. A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
4. FIELD OF DREAMS
5. BULL DURHAM
6. THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES
7. MONEYBALL
8. THE SANDLOT
9. 42
10. THE BAD NEWS BEARS