I’ve never, ever
liked baseball. I’ve sat through a few games, even gone to a few. Yep, I even
was excited when the Toronto Blue Jays won
the World Series…both times, but I’ve never been one to follow stats, have a
favourite player or care about October (sorry, October). Funny thing is I’ve
always loved baseball movies. Whether it’s heavy on the melodrama, the gritty
realism or the comedy, I’ve always found something about the baseball to be
intriguing. So what is it about baseball movies that can make even someone like
me shell out the bucks to reach the fictional ninth inning? It’s the mystique
of the American past-time (even if I’m Canadian)
1.) The Fairy Tale: The Natural / Field of Dreams
When you dig into
the mythology, there’s such an aura around guys like Shoeless Joe Jackson or Babe Ruth. They were
larger than life, in character and in deed. I’m not old enough to know what it
was like to watch them play but the players seem to transcend the sport itself.
They were symbols of not athletes but of an era when sports were more about
bringing families together (usually father and son) and making it into the
history books than it was about contracts and how much you could a home run
ball for on eBay. I don’t think any movie was better at capturing the symbolism
than The Natural
2.) The History: Eight Men Out / A League of Their Own/ Moneyball
Now the history of
baseball isn’t just about the characters but rather the time periods they
represented. In Eight Men Out, baseball was considered a morality play,
something to aspire to…until players fell off their public pedestals to accept
bribes to throw the 1919 World Series. In A League of Their Own, women fought
for equality and some respect in a society that demanded painted smiles and
stupid uniforms. And in Moneyball, Billy Beane ripped up tradition and the old
mythology with it to build a team from stats and math forging a new sports
legend. These movies weren’t about baseball, they just played there.
3.) Unlikely Heroes: Bad News Bears / Bull Durham
OK, I get it. Name
any sports movie that doesn’t involve a bunch of lovable losers that no one
expects to win, proving themselves and winning the big game. Can’t do it.
However, it’s hard to beat a baseball move for stories of the underdog (OK, Rudy is pretty great). Bad News Bears is a classic with
kids that are just brutal but you want them to win anyway. In Bull Durham,
probably one of the best baseball movies of all time, doesn’t spend as many
minutes on the diamond as you’d think. But, with Susan Sarandon, Kevin Costner and the role that made everyone really
notice Tim Robbins, you don’t really care. However it works out, you want it to
be good.
Baseball
movies are
very rarely ever about baseball. It’s probably why I’m always interested in the
next one. What’s your favourite baseball move?
Image credit: olivierl / 123RF Stock Photo
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