JJ’s Five Favorite Baseball Movies

Every year, as baseball season kicks off, I am reminded that a sub genre of “Sports Movies” is the BASEBALL MOVIE.

Unlike a lot of sports, baseball movies feature the pros and the amateurs. The concept of a never ending summer and the smell of a ballpark hot dog make me yearn to watch some of these favorites.

Note – this has been my hardest list yet. Narrowing down to five was extremely difficult.

1. A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

World War 2, Tom Hanks, based on a true story and some of the best age makeup I have ever seen. A League of Their Own is a classic. The love of baseball is highlighted alongside the battle to have women’s sports taken seriously. From those first few games leading up to the sold out World Series. This movie also gave me one of the greatest radio debates ever. Does Dottie drop the ball on purpose or did Kit outplay her? Ask your friends, I bet that you find out there is passion on both sides.

2. THE SANDLOT

A lot of baseball movies are timeless. Set in the 50s, this time capsule for the era is as much about baseball as it is about friendship. I have been watching Benny pickle the beast for over 20 years and this one gets better and better. I even named one of my cars “The Great Hambino”

3. 61*

Being from Fargo, ND – Roger Maris is a sports legend. We feel a certain ownership and seeing his family watch Mark McGwire break Roger’s home run record was hard. Billy Crystal took his love of baseball and the New York Yankees and turned it into cinema gold. A fantastic story about two teammates and the history they created. It’s amazing. A love letter to the sport. Not ashamed to admit it, I still get choked up watching this one.

4. THE BAD NEWS BEARS (original)

It’s hilarious. Still. This is the movie that introduced a lot of kids to classical music and made some coaches take a hard look at how closely they resembled Walter Matthau…

5. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Full disclosure, this one snuck in because it features John Candy (my favorite actor) in the role of the Chicago Cubs (my favorite team) announcer. What kid didn’t dream of playing in the big leagues? Especially if they were the lovable loser. This movie taught me something special about appreciating my friends and reminded me that great players can be men or women. Plus, I think about the term “funky butt lovin” at least once a month. For no good reason at all.