The others contain no Susan Sarandon.

reading to a restrained Tim Robbins.

I love your signature line.

I may change mine to that Gandhi quote.

but Major League and Bull Durham are right up there.

I can't pick just one.

...Lou Gehrig, as played by Gary Cooper...makes me cry every time...

but i think there are some old ones that are better.

I voted for Moneyball; but "61" was, IMO, a truly great movie.

The two little-known actors, Barry Pepper & Thomas Jane,
as Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle respectively, were absolutely awesome in their roles.

I've probably seen "61" at least a dozen times.

"The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings" (including me) why not replace it with "The Natural"? That's my vote anyway

It is a pretty good movie and it is about a black baseball team that travels and plays against the local white teams. I think there are enough movies about the white teams and white players on the list.

And yet, it still garnered zero votes when I posted. So, why not go for the titles people know?

Or, post a poll of your own of nothing but unknowns, so people have to go and watch them all before they can vote

memories. As for posting my own poll I lack the status for that activity.

I will agree that The Natural is a great movie but I do think there is room on the original list for Bingo Long. i would bump Major League. it is a total POS movie.

Populism is anathema to culture.

... which is too bad, especially since it would mean they don't even have cinematic knowledge of the way baseball was really played for most of its history.

Of course, it's an old movie. Probably came out before half the people at DU were born.

-- Mal

I love that cheesy movie. Washed up American ball player finds new life in the Japan league.

I'll have to check it out; I love cheesy movies.

Isn't Bob Uecker called "Mr. Baseball"?
(He was hit in the head by a ball during batting practice last Monday, and suffered a mild concussion)

Uecker, a former big league catcher, once said:
"The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up."

He also said:
"I knew when my baseball career was over..In 1965 my baseball card came out with no picture."

It comes off more like a TV movie than a theatrical release. Despite that, I still enjoy seeing the cultural differences in how the game is played in two different countries.

On second thought, I don't think I want to see it then. n/t

where a 12 year old became the manager of the Twins. I first watched it when I was about 7 or 8, and I liked it a lot. That movie also was a big reason why I started liking the Twins early on (before I started seriously following the A's). I liked the Metrodome, and I liked the Twins' logo and home jerseys.

but I'll check it out.

BTW, I've been an Oakland A's fan since 1972.
They're playing very well right now.

You'll probably get a kick out of it. It's one of the most memorable movies I ever saw.
As for the A's, I just wish Beane wasn't so quick to trade away their best players so that there would be some form of continuity, and that their bullpen was better (no lead is ever safe with this team this season).

I think the only one on the list that I did see was "Field of Dreams."

I had to pull either "61" or "Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings"
both of which got only one vote.

There was no way I was going to pull "61"...
it's just too good a movie; and the acting was superb.

So, "bye bye Bingo Long" (as much as I loved Richard Pryor)

however, "there's no crying in baseball" has become a family motto.

And surely The Natural belonged in the poll ahead of some of the other selections.

As a huge Robert Redford fan, how could I have forgotten that great baseball movie with RR in it?

To me, it showed the 'human' side of the people. It got into the "Why" as much as the "Who" of the story. Even my wife liked it. To me, a really great movie. Pride Of The Yankees is deservedly on the list.

I can't believe that Major League is so far down, while League Of Their Own, is so far ahead. But I despise Madonna, maybe it's just me. The reference for sore belly from laughing sports movie, bar none. How many one-liners from that movie can we all recognize?

I mean, it's supposed to be one of de Niro's best early roles and all.

-- Mal

I remember seeing it in the theater several times.

Last edited Sat Jun 20, 2015, 10:53 AM - Edit history (1)

... considering Matthau was nominated for a BAFTA and the screenplay won a Writer's Guild of America award.

(That's for the 1976 film -- I understand it was remade in 2005)

I suppose the question is ultimately one of vintage and memory, since neither "Damn Yankees" nor "Fear Strikes Out" made the list, either.

-- Mal

that "The Natural" wasn't on the list of options; so, I removed "Bad News Bears" to make room for "The Natural"

I loved every Walter Matthau movie I ever saw, especially "The Odd Couple"
and "Charlie Varrick" ...(Matthau won a BAFTA award for Best Actor in that one)

As far as "Damn Yankees", "Fear Strikes Out". and "Bang The Drum Slowly",
like I wrote in the OP, DU only allows 10 poll options, so I wasn't able to list every baseball movie ever made (I wish I could have)

I read the book and it was way darker, so I have mixed feelings about the movie.

It was a small independent film that won several awards on the film festival circuit in 1990, including the audience award at Sundance. You can get a used DVD on Amazon for a few bucks. Like Bull Durham, it's set in the world of minor league baseball, but it's about an older white player mentoring a young black player.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00008978L?me=&ref=olp_product_details

It sounds like a good one...I'll check it out.

about major league pitcher Monty Stratton who lost a leg in a hunting accident but just would not be defeated. He returned to baseball and managed to find success in the minor leagues for several seasons, playing with a prosthetic leg. It's a very uplifting movie and one of my favorites as a little kid in the 1950s.

Thx for the reminder.

I'll have to check out "The Stratton Story"..it sounds like a good one!

I wish they allowed more than 10 slots for poll options

I've seen the others but not one can beat 42.

it's option # 10 now.

with Janet Leigh and Paul Douglas.

Kevin should just make baseball movies.