Some of my most wholesome memories involve baseball in some way or another. As kids, my neighbors and I would play ball during the summer in a massive field that, in the olden days, used to be covered in sugar cane. Rookie of the Year (thoughts below) was one of the very first movies I saw in a theater. For the sophisticates out there, nothing beats a cold beer and a hot dog on opening day.
In other words, it’s baseball season, and what better way to get into the spirit of America’s pastime than by ranking the best baseball movies? Since summer break is almost here, and to make this list more interesting, I decided to focus on the ones targeted exclusively at kids. Without further ado…
The Bad News Bears (1976)—Available on Pluto TV or to rent, 1h 42m.
The Bad News Bears is like a 70-year-old uncle who curses and says inappropriate things at the Thanksgiving table but is still loved by everyone because he’s genuinely delightful and funny. The story follows an alcoholic ex-baseball pitcher (Walter Matthau) as he coaches a youth baseball team made up of misfits.
Although it’ll soon turn 50, this is still a highly enjoyable, genuinely humorous, and honest look at a bygone era of sports when kids tumbled around, got dirty, and competed not to build an impressive extracurricular portfolio but merely to have fun.
Little Big League (1994)—Available to rent, 2h.
If you asked kids of a certain era what they’d want most in the whole world, the answers might range from owning a firetruck to riding a dinosaur. However, the more realistic ones might wish to manage a baseball team. That’s the premise of Little Big League. In a twist of fate, a 12-year-old boy (Luke Edwards) becomes the owner and then manager of the Minnesota Twins.
Obviously, the movie doesn’t bother with logic or plausibility. It’s pure fantasy that both young and adult audiences can enjoy. It holds a special place in my heart because it was the movie my best friend and I watched during my first sleepover.
Rookie of the Year (1993)—Available on Disney+, 1h 43m.
Speaking of childhood wish-fulfillment, what’s better than owning a baseball team? Actually playing on one. And not just playing, but being really good at it. After breaking his arm playing ball, Henry (Thomas Ian Nicholas), an unskilled 12-year-old boy, develops a powerful and accurate arm and becomes the new pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
The movie’s release coincided with me breaking my right arm. Wearing a cast to school made me, in a kind of ironic way that only works with kids, somewhat popular. The movie spoke to me on a personal level because, like Henry, I climbed out of obscurity, even if only for a moment, due to an injury.
The Perfect Game (2009)—Available on multiple streaming platforms, 1h 58m.
Sports movies don’t need to strive for unpredictability or surprises. We know where they’re headed; they’re like a pair of old, comfortable shoes. What matters are the larger-than-life personalities of the players and the journey of the proverbial underdog. The Perfect Game embraces this notion.
Based on the book of the same name by W. William Winokur, the film tells the true story of the first team from outside the United States to win the 1957 Little League World Series. It centers on Mexican pitcher Ángel Macías, who threw the first perfect game in championship history. It’s fun for the whole family.
The Sandlot (1993)—Available on Disney+, 1h 42m.
Of all the movies on this list, The Sandlot is probably the only one that perfectly captures the essence of playing ball recreationally as a kid: it was less about skill and more about making new friends. In the summer of 1962, a rowdy group of young baseball players takes the new kid in town (Tom Guiry) under their wing.
The film doesn’t break any new ground or offer any thrills, but it doesn’t need to. It runs entirely on pure nostalgia and the charm and charisma of its talented cast.
What a great read. Glad I found your newsletter, Joe. Baseball movies are so comforting. I genuinely can’t wait to rewatch all of these for review. What’s your fav non-baseball sports movie?
Am sharing this with the little mobsters (grandkids). Somehow, to their granddads horror, the baseball bug didn’t visit them.
Still trying. This helps. 👌🏼🙏