Baseball Season Is Here! West Central Missouri’s Favorite Baseball Films
April 7th is Opening Day in baseball. The American Pastime. There is something about going to a game, enjoying a beer and a hot dog, perhaps some nachos, peanuts, and Cracker Jacks. For many of us, we grew up watching the game with our parents, or playing little league. Growing up in Illinois, I was raised on the Chicago Cubs. Since they were on in the daytime (Wrigley only had day games until 1988) and they were on WGN, I saw many games on TV. If you grew up in Missouri, Perhaps you heard Jack Buck, Harry Carey, Denny Matthews or Ryan Lefebvre. I was raised on Jack Brickhouse, Harry Carey, Steve Stone, Pat Hughes, and Ron Santo. Still love the game.
I asked you all a question a few days ago. I wanted to know what were your favorite movies that featured baseball. Lets examine some of your responses:
A League Of Their Own - Ginna Davis, Tom Hanks and a great supporting cast including Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell. A lot of the film was shot at Wrigley Field. A film about the first all female professional baseball league. Still a great watch and thank you to Tosha Clevenger, Debra Neville-Rios, Charlotte Jobe, and Megan Page for mentioning this great film. Directed by Penny Marshall.
Bull Durham - Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins. Minor league baseball at its finest. This film is funny, accurate, and was one of the best film about baseball ever done. Thank you to Justin Newell and Gary Ballard for this choice.
Moneyball - Brad Pitt was nominated for an Academy Award for this one. Oakland A's baseball, with a really low payroll, use analytics to change the way the game is played. This one I encourage you to watch if you haven't seen it. One of my favorites.
Major League - Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Wesley Snipes, and the great Bob Uecker as Harry Doyle. The Cleveland Indians have a winning team despite the owners trying to get them to lose. Thank you to Justin again for this one which I also approve of. By the way, the guy next to Bob in the booth, Skip Griparis, went to the same college I did.
The Sandlot - How many of us have gathered with a group of friends to play baseball just like these kids? Yes, I am raising my hand too. Nice ending too. Thank you to Colleen Hughson-Bishop and Jason Mullineaux for this suggestion.
Field Of Dreams - We all saw how MLB had the game at this ballpark in Iowa last year. Could not have been a more perfect event. A film about having a catch with your dad. Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones speech (People Will Come Ray) still give me chills in this movie. How do you not get a tear in your eye watching this film. Pam Reed and Heather Rogers mentioned this one, and it is in my Top 5 films of all time.
All of the above films are worthy of being on this list. Some others that I encourage you to watch again or check out for the first time:
The Bad News Bears, Rookie Of The Year, Little Big League, The Natural, Angels In The Outfield, 42, 61*, Eight Men Out, Trouble With The Curve, The Rookie, The Babe, and Mr. Baseball. And thank you for making your voices heard. Two of the greatest words in the English language - PLAY BALL!