OOTP's Best Baseball Movies
by kq7619 | created - 25 Aug 2022 | updated - 29 Aug 2022 | Publichttps://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=339863
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1. Major League (1989)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Sport
The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.
Director: David S. Ward | Stars: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton
Votes: 76,500 | Gross: $49.80M
love this!
2. For Love of the Game (1999)
PG-13 | 137 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
After 19 years of playing the game he's loved his whole life, Detroit Tigers pitcher Billy Chapel has to decide if he's going to risk everything and put everything out there.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly, Jena Malone
Votes: 37,480 | Gross: $35.17M
love this, but some people hate it
3. A League of Their Own (1992)
PG | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amid their own growing rivalry.
Director: Penny Marshall | Stars: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna
Votes: 121,152 | Gross: $107.53M
under-appreciated!
4. Eight Men Out (1988)
PG | 119 min | Drama, History, Sport
A dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: John Cusack, Clifton James, Jace Alexander, Gordon Clapp
Votes: 22,102 | Gross: $5.68M
love this, but it's sad
5. Bull Durham (1988)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
A fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.
Director: Ron Shelton | Stars: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson
Votes: 59,434 | Gross: $50.89M
like this!
6. The Bad News Bears (1976)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten
Votes: 25,047 | Gross: $42.35M
need to rewatch this, love Walter Matthau
7. Mr. Baseball (1992)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
Jack Elliot, once a great baseball player, is forced to play in Japan where his brash, egotistical ways cause friction with his new teammates and friends.
Director: Fred Schepisi | Stars: Tom Selleck, Ken Takakura, Aya Takanashi, Dennis Haysbert
Votes: 12,189 | Gross: $20.88M
I like this far more than I probably should
8. 42 (2013)
PG-13 | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie
Votes: 102,779 | Gross: $95.00M
extremely good!
9. The Natural (1984)
PG | 138 min | Drama, Sport
A middle-aged unknown comes seemingly out of nowhere to become a legendary baseball player with almost supernatural talent.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger
Votes: 52,485 | Gross: $47.95M
eh, it's okay
10. Fear Strikes Out (1957)
Approved | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
True story of the life of Jimmy Piersall, who battled mental illness to achieve stardom in major league baseball.
Director: Robert Mulligan | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Karl Malden, Norma Moore, Adam Williams
Votes: 2,160
I'm pretty sure I've seen this, but I should watch it again
11. The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Sport
In the late 1930s during racial segregation, a star of the Negro League Baseball, Bingo Long, leaves his team and convinces other stars of the league to join him as free agent players touring the towns of the Midwest.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones, Richard Pryor, Rico Dawson
Votes: 2,166
I keeping meaning to watch this!
12. The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Approved | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The story of the life and career of famed baseball player Lou Gehrig.
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan
Votes: 12,005
a must watch!
13. The Stratton Story (1949)
Passed | 106 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Star major league pitcher Monty Stratton loses a leg in a hunting accident, but becomes determined to leave the game on his own terms.
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 3,343
I think I've watched this, but I forget
14. 61* (2001 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 129 min | Biography, Drama, History
Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record.
Director: Billy Crystal | Stars: Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane, Anthony Michael Hall, Richard Masur
Votes: 17,651
surprisingly good
15. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
PG-13 | 85 min | Comedy, Crime
Incompetent police Detective Frank Drebin must foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.
Director: David Zucker | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, Ricardo Montalban
Votes: 185,163 | Gross: $78.76M
not much about baseball, but you gotta love Leslie Nielsen in that scene!
16. Moneyball (2011)
PG-13 | 133 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.
Director: Bennett Miller | Stars: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 464,984 | Gross: $75.61M
eh, it has good aspects and bad
17. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 128,223 | Gross: $64.43M
don't like this, but for some it's their favourite
18. Angels in the Outfield (1951)
Passed | 99 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
The Pittsburgh Pirates' brash and abusive manager receives the help of an angel to win games and become a better person in the process.
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Paul Douglas, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, Donna Corcoran
Votes: 2,993
have I seen this?
19. The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)
80 min | Documentary, Sport
In 1973, Hollywood actor Bing Russell starts an independent minor league baseball team in Portland consisting of outcasts and misfits, and turns them into unlikely overnight success.
Directors: Chapman Way, Maclain Way | Stars: Lou Russell, Kurt Russell, Ken Wheeler, Todd Field
Votes: 4,587
I'm sure I've seen this, but I forget it
20. Damn Yankees (1958)
Approved | 111 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A frustrated fan of the hopeless Washington Senators makes a pact with the Devil to help the baseball team win the league pennant.
Directors: George Abbott, Stanley Donen | Stars: Tab Hunter, Gwen Verdon, Ray Walston, Russ Brown
Votes: 3,449
need to rewatch this
21. Little Big League (1994)
PG | 119 min | Comedy, Family, Sport
A young boy is bequeathed the ownership of a professional baseball team.
Director: Andrew Scheinman | Stars: Luke Edwards, Timothy Busfield, John Ashton, Ashley Crow
Votes: 11,563 | Gross: $12.21M
I don't think I've seen this
22. Million Dollar Arm (2014)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama, Family
A sports agent stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball.
Director: Craig Gillespie | Stars: Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Alan Arkin, Suraj Sharma
Votes: 47,860 | Gross: $36.45M
I don't think I've seen this
23. The Rookie (2002)
G | 127 min | Drama, Family, Sport
A Texas baseball coach makes the major league after agreeing to try out if his high school team made the playoffs.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Dennis Quaid, JD Evermore, Rachel Griffiths, Jay Hernandez
Votes: 37,199 | Gross: $75.60M
have I seen this?
24. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
Approved | 93 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Two turn-of-the-century baseball players, who work in vaudeville during the off-season, run into trouble with their team's new female owner and a gambler who doesn't want them to win the pennant.
Director: Busby Berkeley | Stars: Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly, Betty Garrett
Votes: 4,077
need to watch this
25. Trouble with the Curve (2012)
PG-13 | 111 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
A daughter tries to remedy her dysfunctional relationship with her ailing father, a decorated baseball scout, by helping him in a recruiting trip which could be his last.
Director: Robert Lorenz | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, John Goodman, Justin Timberlake
Votes: 68,567 | Gross: $35.76M
very good
26. Undrafted (2016)
Unrated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
When twelve ragtag teammates set out to play what should be a meaningless summer intramural baseball game, it ends up becoming the most important game of their lives.
Director: Joseph Mazzello | Stars: Tyler Hoechlin, Chace Crawford, Joseph Mazzello, Duke Davis Roberts
Votes: 1,558
need to watch this
27. Summer Catch (2001)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A rich girl whose family summers on Cape Cod has a romance with a local poor boy who hopes to become a major league baseball player.
Director: Michael Tollin | Stars: Freddie Prinze Jr., Jessica Biel, Fred Ward, Matthew Lillard
Votes: 16,658 | Gross: $19.69M
uhh...?
28. The Babe (1992)
PG | 115 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Babe Ruth becomes a baseball legend but is unheroic to those who know him.
Director: Arthur Hiller | Stars: John Goodman, Kelly McGillis, Trini Alvarado, Bruce Boxleitner
Votes: 11,522 | Gross: $17.53M
I seem to remember not thinking too highly of this, but John Goodman!
29. Mr. 3000 (2004)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Aging baseball star who goes by the nickname, Mr. 3000, finds out many years after retirement that he didn't quite reach 3,000 hits. Now at age 47 he's back to try and reach that goal.
Director: Charles Stone III | Stars: Bernie Mac, Angela Bassett, Michael Rispoli, Brian White
Votes: 15,129 | Gross: $21.80M
never seen it
30. The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Family, Sport
A troubled, rebellious teen drives his rambunctious baseball team out to Houston where they play an exhibition game and the boy meets his estranged father, and hires him as the teams coach.
Director: Michael Pressman | Stars: William Devane, Jackie Earle Haley, Clifton James, Jimmy Baio
Votes: 3,690 | Gross: $19.10M
no Matthau?
31. Long Gone (1987 TV Movie)
110 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Story of the Tampico Stogies, a low minor-league baseball team, and its star player and manager, Stud' Cantrell, as they battle for the league championship amidst the corruption and racism of the American south.
Director: Martin Davidson | Stars: William Petersen, Virginia Madsen, Dermot Mulroney, Larry Riley
Votes: 1,201
need to see this
32. Rookie of the Year (1993)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
When an accident miraculously gives a boy an incredibly powerful pitching arm, he becomes a major league pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
Director: Daniel Stern | Stars: Thomas Ian Nicholas, Gary Busey, Albert Hall, Amy Morton
Votes: 30,988 | Gross: $53.58M
I don't think I've seen this
33. The Sandlot (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
In the summer of 1962, a new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his rowdy team, resulting in many adventures.
Director: David Mickey Evans | Stars: Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Art LaFleur, Patrick Renna
Votes: 102,468 | Gross: $32.42M
I don't think I've seen this
34. Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
R | 117 min | Comedy
In 1980, a group of college baseball players navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Blake Jenner, Tyler Hoechlin, Ryan Guzman, Zoey Deutch
Votes: 58,694 | Gross: $3.37M
?
35. Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)
PG | 96 min | Drama, Sport
The story of the friendship between a worldly-wise star pitcher and a half-wit catcher as they cope with the catcher's terminal illness through a baseball season.
Director: John D. Hancock | Stars: Michael Moriarty, Robert De Niro, Vincent Gardenia, Phil Foster
Votes: 6,244 | Gross: $0.35M
De Niro!
36. Angels in the Outfield (1994)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
When a boy prays for a chance to have a family if the California Angels win the pennant, angels are assigned to make that possible.
Director: William Dear | Stars: Danny Glover, Brenda Fricker, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd
Votes: 34,474 | Gross: $50.24M
haven't seen this
37. Cobb (1994)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A reporter hired to write the 'official' biography of Ty Cobb discovers just how dark the baseball legend's real story is.
Director: Ron Shelton | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Wuhl, Lolita Davidovich, Ned Bellamy
Votes: 8,155 | Gross: $1.01M
Tommy Lee Jones as Cobb? Wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley!
38. The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1998)
PG | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
The life and career of Hank Greenberg, the first major Jewish baseball star in the Major Leagues.
Director: Aviva Kempner | Stars: Reeve Brenner, Hank Greenberg, Walter Matthau, Alan Dershowitz
Votes: 818 | Gross: $1.70M
?
39. Up for Grabs (2004)
90 min | Comedy, Documentary
The absurd true story of the legal battle over the "Million-Dollar Baseball." Barry Bonds' record setting 73rd home run ball sparks a melee in the stands at Pac Bell Park in San Francisco. ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Wranovics | Stars: Marty Appel, Barry Bonds, Patrick Hayashi, Kevin M. McCarthy
Votes: 251 | Gross: $0.00M
intriguing if you don't detest Bonds I guess
40. The Phenom (2016)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, Sport
A rookie pitcher undergoes psychotherapy to overcome the yips.
Director: Noah Buschel | Stars: Johnny Simmons, Ethan Hawke, Paul Giamatti, Sophie Kennedy Clark
Votes: 2,394
have I seen this?
41. Major League: Back to the Minors (1998)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Sport
A lousy minor league baseball team full of many different personalities gets a new manager, an aging minor league pitcher.
Director: John Warren | Stars: Scott Bakula, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert, Takaaki Ishibashi
Votes: 8,136 | Gross: $3.55M
watch the first 2!
42. Ballplayer: Pelotero (2011)
Not Rated | 77 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
Two top baseball prospects in the Dominican Republic face fierce competition and corruption as they chase their big league dreams.
Directors: Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin, Jon Paley | Stars: Jean Carlos Batista, Miguel Angel Sano, John Leguizamo
Votes: 507 | Gross: $0.04M
?
43. It Happens Every Spring (1949)
Approved | 87 min | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
A scientist discovers a formula that makes a baseball which is repelled by wood. He promptly sets out to exploit his discovery.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Ray Milland, Jean Peters, Paul Douglas, Ed Begley
Votes: 1,898
I need to watch this!
44. Fever Pitch (2005)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Lindsay is stuck in the middle of her relationship with Ben and his passion for the Boston Red Sox.
Directors: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | Stars: Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, Jason Spevack, Jack Kehler
Votes: 47,782 | Gross: $42.07M
ugg, I can't stand either lead and I hate the Red Sox!
45. The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An insight into the turbulent lives and loves of a gay clique based in Los Angeles.
Director: Greg Berlanti | Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Dean Cain, Zach Braff, Ben Weber
Votes: 8,188 | Gross: $1.74M
uhh...
46. Sugar (I) (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Sport
Dominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos is recruited to play in the U.S. minor-leagues.
Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck | Stars: Algenis Perez Soto, Jose Rijo, Walki Cuevas, Santo Silvestre
Votes: 5,153 | Gross: $1.08M
have I seen this?
47. Major League II (1994)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Sport
The Indians are now a World Series contender. But last year's hunger is now replaced with complacency, and bad decisions by the new owner threaten to tear the team apart.
Director: David S. Ward | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert
Votes: 28,057 | Gross: $30.63M
not as good as the first, but better than the 3rd!
48. Baseball (1994–2010)
TV-PG | 104 min | Documentary, History, Sport
A documentary on the history of the sport with major topics including Afro-American players, player/team owner relations and the resilience of the game.
Stars: Daniel Okrent, George F. Will, John Chancellor, Doris Kearns Goodwin
Votes: 4,740
Ken Burns' Baseball is the best baseball documentary ever and will probably never be surpassed. A must watch if you love baseball.
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