Top 5 baseball movies??
 

1. 61*
2. The natural
3. Eight men out
4. A league of their own
5. The babe

What's yours?

Bang the Drum Slowly, 42 have to be in this list. IMO

In no particular order:

The Sandlot
Field of Dreams
61
Bang the Drum Slowly
The Fan :eek:

maybe this should be a top 10. I could easily name 5 more...

The Sandlot
Rookie of the Year
The Natural
Field Of Dreams
61*

Pride of the Yankees seems to be out of favor these days. And 61* appears to be on everyone's list, mine included. Maybe my all-time favorite.

List 2:

8 Men out
Hardball
Major League
A League of Their Own
The Rookie

List 3:
Angels in the Outfield
Pride of the Yankees
Bad News Bears (1976)
Fever Pitch
The Benchwarmers

Major League 1
Sandlot
Bull Durham
61
Sugar

My top 5, no particular order:

61
Sandlot
The Natural
Cobb (gross exaggeration but very entertaining)
Eight Men Out

*edit to add, just watched "42" for the first time the other night, very good movie, probably moved up into 6th place (just outside of my top 5).

no order except #1

#1 bull durham
original bad news bears
a league of their own
field of dreams
sandlot

Forgot about Major League :p

Didn't see Sugar, but I think I need to!

1) Bull Durham

2) The Natural

3) Field of Dreams

4) Pride of the Yankees

5) Major League

Honorable mention: 42, 8 Men Out, 61

Field of Dreams
The Sandlot
Bull Durham
Bad News Bears (Original)
A League of Their Own


Honorable Mention:

'Why Not?' The 1989 Baltimore Orioles VHS Yearbook. (I wore my copy out as a kid)

42 - Great CGI of Ebbetts, Polo Grounds and Forbes. It made you feel as if you were in the park.

61 - Very well done, captured the era and characters well.

The Sandlot - reminds of my childhood playing endless games of sandlot ball every day all summer long on a filed we made, without an adult in site.

Eight Men Out - Great story, Shoeless Joe and Cusack is wonderful in the movie

(Tie) Bull Durham, The Natural & Field of Dreams - It's too hard to choose. They're about the love of the game and hope.

This topic seems to come up every once in a while here....

My choices..

Costner makes my list 3 times, James Earl Jones twice...In order...

1)For Love of the Game
2)Major League(can't help it, I love my Tribe)
3)The Sandlot
4)Field of Dreams
5)Bull Durham

So damn close-The Natural and Fever Pitch(the movie is funny as hell, BUT it's direct tie to the '04 Red Sox season really gives this movie a little something extra that NO other sports movie will EVER be able to replicate). Haven't seen 42 yet. Probably will tonight though, I noticed it's on the HBO-OD :)

Can't believe I'm the only one with "The Fan" on my list :D

So bad but also so blatantly the Barry Bonds story.

Anybody see "Trouble with the Curve", with Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams? Not a top 5 by any means, but I found it entertaining.

"Moneyball" is another good film that deserves some praise.

Oh yeah, Moneyball.. Definitely in my revised top 5. I bump my #4 (Pride of the Yanks) simply because I can't bring myself to bump Major League. Too many good memories. I saw both Major League and Field of Dreams in my little league uniform directly following games.

Trouble with the Curve was really good.

Fear Strikes Out.

DeNiro was quite good actually, as was Wesley Snipes as Barry.

1. Bang The Drum Slowly
2. '61
3. Field of Dreams
4. Pride of the Yankees
5. The Stratton Story

HM: League Of Their Own; Fear Strikes Out; 42.

Realized that I forgot League of their own on my "so damn closes". Watched 42 earlier tonight. Beautiful film, near perfection, but not necessarily one that would get me pumped up for baseball season. It also makes my so damn close list..

Being in St. Louis a lot of people I know hate this movie for the very reason you love it. I love it for the same reason. I am (always have been) a baseball fan and don't have an allegiance to any logo or colors so much that I can't appreciate the history that took place that year. I like the fact that they had to edit the movie because the Red Sox won, which they did not expect to happen.

My list changes occasionally. And let me say that having to narrow it down to five is really, really hard, because I'm a real sucker for baseball movies. But here's where I'd have it right now:

1. The Natural
2. Moneyball
3. Eight Men Out
4. 61*
5. Field of Dreams

I loved 42, and at some point, I'm sure it will creep into this list. Right now, though, I just have no clue which movie I'd swap it for. This is like being asked "what's your favorite 5 Beatles albums?"

After Field of Dreams, 42, Cobb, Chasing 3,000, Trouble With the Curve and Fever Pitch would be my next five right now.

I kept an open mind going into "Fever", and ended up really liking it. I wasn't going to hate it, because I have a thing for Drew Barrymore. But I totally identified with Ben's Red Sox obsession (I'm the same way about my Milwaukee teams). I liked Trouble With the Curve a lot, too.

Let me say that I love how many great baseball films there are!

The timing of everything, and the fact that the results forced them to edit the ending of the movie is exactly what I was talking about..

Baseball Movies...
 

1. Major League
2. Eight Men Out
3. Sandlot
4. Field Of Dreams
5. The Natural

I could easily watch these movies over and over...it pained me to leave Bull Durham off the list, though.

nothing like the original Nick Hornby book about soccer :mad:

"Do you care now?!?" :D

The inaccuracies from a baseball standpoint were so numerous it makes me wonder if they were perhaps intentional. :confused:

Or the original movie. Again, back to what makes it special, is that the Red Sox weren't supposed to win. In real life, or the film. That was what was going to make this re-make different from the original, which is one of the reasons that they picked the Red Sox... But by divine fate, the Red Sox delivered the exact same ending as the original film, and book...

I think the filmmaker was European and had never been to a baseball game. Need to check imdb when I get home. I personally couldn't stand the movie, but did love it at the end when there's some sort of emotional reunion (was it Snipes and his son), and everyone's happy.. While their teammate Kruk is lying dead, face down in the mud while none of his teammates or even emergency personnel tend to him. So classic!!

I forgot about the movie "Cobb". It was pretty good as well.

My 5
 

Eight men out
Moneyball
Bad news bears
Major league
Benchwarmers

Bad news bears (1976)
Long Gone (HBO)
61*
Eight Men Out
Bingo longs traveling all stars

The Pride of the Yankees
The Natural
The Sandlot
Chasing 3000
Major League

(1) Field of Dreams - This movie transcended the game
(2) Bull Durham - "Women get wooly"
(3) *61
(4) Major League - Apparently you are in good hands with Jobu
(5) Bad News Bears

I almost put For Love of the Game on my list. It was a good one.

For me, the top 2 are way in front of the others

1. The Natural
2. 61*
3. 8 Men Out
4. Field of Dreams
5. 42

I would go:

Bull Durham
Field of Dreams
Bingo Long Traveling All Stars and Motor Kings
Original Bad News Bears
and probably Angels in the Outfield, though once you get past #4 there are a lot of movies I enjoy watching like Major League, 61*, 42, that would be in the running depending on my mood.

I am surprised Field of Dreams and Major League didn't make it higher on many lists.

I'm always surprised that 'Bull Durham' makes anyone's list, and that 'The Natural' isn't agreed-upon by everyone, as the best ever. Personal Opinion can be a weird, inexplicable thing.

Eight Men Out
Major League (turn you brain off and have fun movie)
Field of Dreams
Bull Durham (because I use to hang out in the same pub some of the AAA players who use to play here and saw a lot of the same off field things going on)
Bad News Bears

Not sure of a 5th one.

After reading The Natural I don't view the movie the same way.

my top 5 are:

bang the drum slowly
natural
angels in the outfield (original) & it happens every spring (both star Paul Douglas, one of my favorites)
stratton story

elsa jenssen is a bum but her husband, ludwig stossel, is ok

In particular order (1-5):

Bull Durham - and not only because I was an extra in it, sooo many quotable lines

Field of Dreams - ghosts, corn and baseball - what more could you ask

A League of Their Own - It's supposed to be hard! If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great!

The Sandlot

The Natural

No further discussion required

The Natural
Fever Pitch
Eight Men Out
Field of Dreams
Moneyball

Both are great, great movies that play on baseball mythology in different ways.

Both are certainly in my top 5. In regards to The Natural, and despite the differences from the novel, every boy who ever played baseball has at one time dreamed of being Roy Hobbs and the movie was brilliantly executed.

Bull Durham was so well written I find myself still enjoying it after dozens of viewings.

My top 5

Eight Men Out
Bull Durham
The Natural
Field of Dreams
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings

Full disclosure, my anti-Yankee bias precludes the inclusion of Pride of the Yankees, the Babe Ruth Store, Safe at Home, 61, or even Bang the Drum Slowly - all fine flicks.

Nice to see Bingo Long on several lists. It's a great movie loosely based on the Indianapolis Clowns.

I just watched Trouble with the Curve this weekend and it was OK, but not enough baseball in the movie to consider it a baseball movie. Their jobs are centered around it but most of the movie is off the field and has little to do with the game.

I'm watching A League of Their Own right now. I completely forgot about this line from Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz):

"Yeah, I'm just going home to grab a shower and shave, give the wife a little pickle tickle, and I'm on my way."

http://www.williamgregory.net/images/laughing.gif

http://www.thefancarpet.com/uploaded...155_Medium.jpg

Ok, here's a question...
 

Hey guys,

I'm wondering if anybody can answer this question for me. I'm in the process of upgrading my baseball movies from DVD to Blu Ray. Some are not yet available on Blu Ray, among them Eight Men Out, apparently.

Yet, I have it saved on my DVR, and it's in high def.

If it's not been released on Blu Ray, how was EPIX able to acquire a high definition copy of the movie to broadcast? I don't know if it's 1080p, but it's at least 720p.

As far as HD quality, I'd assume it's probably more of a digital upscale, than it is actual HD.. Simply playing the dvd in a bluray player or an upscaling dvd player, would probably net you the same results..

That makes sense, David, for home use. My Sony Blu Ray player does a phenomenal job of upconverting my DVDs. Would a premium channel like EPIX do that though?

Bumping this up for further discussion.

I've had a nice run adding to my baseball movie/documentary collection. My goal is to build an unrivaled baseball collection.

Since listing my five favorite baseball films, I've picked these up:

The Essential Games of the Milwaukee Brewers(not pictured)-a nice 4 disc collection including four of the most memorable games from our team's history. Game 5 of the 1982 ALCS, which gave Milwaukee its first pennant since the Milwaukee Braves won the National League in 1958. Game 4 of the 1982 World Series. The 2008 Wild Card clincher, which put us into the post seasons for the first time since 1982. And, game 5 of the 2011 NLDS, the first post season series we've won since the 1982 ALCS. Also included are a series of highlights from other games, including Ben Sheets' 18 strikeout performance, the game in Arizona where both Jeromy Burnitz and Richie Sexon hit three home runs in the same game, and the first of Ryan Braun's three home run games. It also has a nice retrospective of the 1982 Brewers, and a Hall of Fame profile of Robin Yount. Yes, I know, pretty slim pickings, but I still love my team, no matter how infrequently they win any meaningful games.

Legends in Pinstripes-From HBO films, three of their New York Yankee-related documentaries: Babe Ruth, Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio and The Definitive Story of Mickey Mantle. This is the Mantle one I've had sitting on my DVR for the last three years or so, narrated by Liev Schriber. So, at least I have it should the DVR die on me. I'd never seen the documentary on DiMaggio. Loved it. I've always been a fan of the Yankee Clipper. Hell, I've always been an admirer (though somewhat begrudgingly) of the Yankees. DiMaggio was the perfect ballplayer. The Yankees really couldn't have won any more World Series rings than they did with him already, but I shudder to think how invincible the Yankees might have been had Mantle and Whitey each been born about 5 years earlier. Take 1950, for example. They won 98 games. The lineup with Mantle would have been...frightening.

Eight Men Out, the Twentieth Anniversary Edition. I didn't have this in my collection already. I just had it saved on my DVR from when HD Net showed it. It was worth the $10 just to get the new documentaries that weren't on the first DVD release.

Warner Brothers 4 Film Favorites-Classic Baseball. This was a steal for me. $11.29 delivered for these great films:

Pride of the Yankees.
Fear Strikes Out
Bang The Drum Slowly
Cobb

I've seen Cobb, and have it, too, on the DVR after appearing on Cinemax. The others, interestingly enough, I have never seen. So, I will be watching them starting this weekend.

http://imageshack.com/a/img540/7707/PHlTH9.jpg

Abou $60 for all of these (the Brewer collection I did not include in this picture). I am a happy baseball fan!

I also have to say that I have very much enjoyed Million Dollar Arm. I wasn't sure what to think of it, but I gave it a chance, and liked it quite a lot, especially the second half. It won't crack my top five, but it's one I'll buy on Blu Ray for sure. It gets back to what baseball is all about, it my opinion.

Speaking of Blu Rays, I added Bull Durham, The Natural, A League of Their Own, 42, and the HBO doc When it Was a Game complete set. I am also going to add Moneyball and Trouble With the Curve, which I have been watching on Vudu since getting those for my father on Blu Ray, as well as Major League and Field of Dreams. I have already ordered Fever Pitch, too.

My baseball movie collection:
 

Well, I can't believe I never responded to this thread before. I guess I have more Baseball Movies than most. As far as which are my favorites - well, that has changed over time...I don't seem to appreciate Major League or The Natural as much as when they first came out, but that doesn't mean they're not good movies.

Feel free to ask me about any of these and I will give my honest opinion:

BULL DURHAM
EIGHT MEN OUT
FIELD OF DREAMS
FOR LOVE OF THE GAME
MAJOR LEAGUE (B-R)
MILLION DOLLAR ARM (B-R)
MR. BASEBALL
MONEYBALL (B-R)
PASTIME
42- THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY (B-R)
61*
SOUL OF THE GAME
SUMMER CATCH
TALENT FOR THE GAME
THE BINGO LONG TRAVELING ALL-STARS AND MOTOR KINGS
THE BRONX IS BURNING
THE NATURAL
THE PRIDE OF ST. LOUIS
THE ROOKIE
THE SANDLOT
THE SCOUT
THE WINNING TEAM
TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE (B-R)

Hey 'stache, Unless this hasn't been mentioned, and by some chance you are unaware of this firm, you ain't seen nothing yet until you tap into:

www.raresportsfilms.com

Owned and operated by long-time sports card collector Doak Ewing of Naperville, Illinois, his selection of baseball, football, auto racing, and a few etcs. is second to none. His web site is very easy to maneuver, and he provides the rundown on each of his titles. He'll do a bulk-purchase discount, too. His stuff isn't cheap, but this is truly an instance where quality does not come with a discount. I have a bunch of Doak's VHS tapes, and love them all. I believe all his offerings are now on DVD. ---Brian Powell

not the babe ruth movie with john goodman, finally watched it on the MLB network and it sucked.

Great resource there, I have purchased four of his DVDs, three of which were World Series from the 1960s.

Oh...my...God...Brian.

I hate you. I really hate you! :D Seriously. I wish you'd never shown me that site, haha. I have to forget about it, or I may go broke buying up every baseball game he has.

In all seriousness, thank you! I have bookmarked it, and when I calm down a little on my Blu Ray buying, I'm going to peruse his collection, and see what I'd like to get. Just a cursory glance at some of the items he has listed has my eyes popping out, and my heart fluttering like a 16 year old boy trying to unfasten a bra in the back seat of a car for the first time. http://www.williamgregory.net/images/laughing.gif

I saw an archive site maintained by NFL Films, but I think the films were very expensive, and I saw a lot of my "dream games" were missing. If this man has even a small portion of what I want, I might be going poor very soon, lol.

See, this one alone is giving me an excited twitch:

http://www.raresportsfilms.com/image...rld-series.jpg

Please note this image belongs to Rare Sports Films. Linking here for illustrative purposes only!

He has a 1972 Brewers-Angels game from County Stadium. Oh my...

Bill, I am relieved you don't actually hate me, but I do realize the sheer cost is enormous. You simply must read on his website what Doak actually does with his films that he purchases before he puts a given title on the market. I think you will be impressed and convinced that he does not offer any junk. He's very proud of what he does and rightly so.

The official World Series films, the films that were produced by a team sponsor and shown at civic groups, and other kinds of public relations venues, and the documentaries of various sports stars are staggering. One I have not purchased is an actual TV broadcast of Happy Felton's Knothole Gang, a Brooklyn-area kids show that was aired prior to a Dodgers game. Happy would have a Dodger player as a guest, and I vaguely recall that on one of the few episodes Doak offers the guest is Jackie Robinson. These are black 'n white kinescopes, so it's far removed from HD, but pretty much the same quality as what a little guy would see on his black 'n white TV back in 1955. I give this as an example, not that I know whether you're a Dodger fan, but to convey that Doak Ewing offers things that no one does. He comes up with some Dueseys. Let's just say, other than maybe the World Series films, you shan't find these at Wal-Mart.

As you have already come to know, these films complement our sports card collecting.:D

Cheers, bro. Have a swell day. ---Brian Powell

Bill- I have four DVDs from RareSportsFilms and they are wonderful. I will suggest, however, that you notice the length of each before purchasing.

I bought Summer of 1957 as it is 3 hours and 24 minutes long. Great Stuff !!

In no particular order:

61*
Field of Dreams
42
Fever Pitch
Bull Durham/A League of Their Own

I keep going back and forth on whether to put Bull Durham or ALoTO as the last one. My anti-Yankees tendencies are strong enough to keep Pride of the Yankees off there, but I will give it an honorable mention.

I winder if "they" will ever make a movie called ..."73*"

I have often windered that myself.

Does anyone know if any other baseball movies are being made?

Top 5

Major League
Sandlot
Bull Durham
61
Pelotero

Over rated list:
Field of dreams

Jim- While not a movie, Ken Burns has a documentary set for 2016 on Jackie Robinson.

Also from a selfish point, there is another documentary due in October; The First Boys of Spring" produced by 4 time Emmy winner Larry Foley on the birth of Spring Training in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

See, this thread is emblematic of why I love Net 54 so much. The discussion, and the knowledge, is incredible.

That's a huge compliment coming from someone whose own contributions and tireless research are without par on this forum.

Appreciate the compliment, Raymond. :)

I second Raymond's comment. Bill "James" Gregory posts some pretty awesome stuff. I thought I was a stat geek (used to memorize player stats and doodle them in class as a kid), but I've got nothing on Bill. It's fun because I always go straight to baseball reference after reading one of his breakdowns, usually learning something new or seeing something it from a new angle. Keep em coming Bill.

Speaking of which, I can't wait for baseball season!!

Thank you, Ian. :D I appreciate the kudos. I really do. It makes me feel good to know that my little baseball obsession will occasionally lead to something thought provoking, and interesting. I may draw conclusions that others don't agree with, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? I appreciate any opinion expressed here, especially when that opinion differs from my own, as it makes me rethink my position, and analyze things further. And like you, Ian, I was a stat geek, too, as a kid. I used to burn through pages of notebook paper, writing out baseball player statistics from memory.

What can I say? I have loved baseball since I was a little kid. I began playing organized baseball when I was ten years old. I was always the smallest player on my W.P.R. (Waukesha Park & Recreation) baseball team. I couldn't run very fast, nor could I throw the ball very far. And, I couldn't hit the ball very far, either, so I was always near the bottom of the order. I didn't strike out. I had a pretty good eye. I just didn't hit the ball all that hard.

http://imageshack.com/a/img910/6033/u1yZlc.png
The very little 11 year old guy holding the bat in the front row is me, circa summer 1983.

But one thing I could do, however, was catch anything hit within ten feet to my right or left. I became a darned good second baseman, and since I didn't have to throw very far, I found my home there. I was the Jimmy Gantner of the W.P.R. Braves. My dad, the tall, skinny drink of water in the white t shirt, saw my defensive genius, and coached me up. We spent a lot of time going to the batting cages, too. And I didn't stay in the bottom of the order for long. By age 15, my final year playing organized baseball, I'd hit a growth spurt. My father is 6'1", and my mom 5'8", so it was inevitable. I never got as tall as my father, but I did fill out. And the years of playing tennis, and the hand-eye coordination that came with it, finally paid off. I was a line drive machine. I hit third in the lineup, and I was driving people in left and right. But, a broken elbow that fall pretty much put an end to my baseball aspirations, and ever since then, I have watched the game enthusiastically. I have learned everything I could about the game's history. But I will always wonder how good a hitter I could have been. Not long before messing up my back, I made a trip out to Las Vegas to see my friend, Brett. And we went to a batting cage that was unique as far as I knew. It was a series of cages lined up next to each other, and the outfield walls were patterned after the walls of Major League stadiums. You had the Green Monster in left. You had the ivy of Wrigley Field. You had the short porch in right field like in Yankee Stadium. I got in the cages one last time, and I was hitting 80 mph pitching all over the field. I just missed clearing the Green Monster twice. I don't think it was full sized, but in my heart, I like to believe it was. :D

From one whose father was gone way too early, everyone who had or has one should cherish the times, both good and bad.

Good stuff...as usual, Bill...thank you.