“Love is the most important thing in the world,” Yogi Berra once said, “but baseball is pretty good, too.”
And sure enough, it is. While baseball might not be the draw it once was, it’s still considered America’s pastime. And when you look at our language, even people who’ve never picked up a bat still use its lingo. When a prospective dating partner turns us down, we strike out. When we write a dynamite proposal, we hit a home run. A business rival might “play hardball.” A not-quite-correct answer might at least be “in the ballpark.” Some may even argue that baseball can teach us quite a bit about life.
And even if you think the sport itself misses the strike zone, some baseball movies knock it out of the park.
‘Course, not all great baseball movies are great for the whole family. Fans of Bull Durham and Field of Dreams and even Angels in the Outfield may want to know why those movies were kept out of our lineup. Those films have content or spiritual issues that are the equivalent of a brush-back pitch. And even the films we’ve included don’t always bat a thousand (check out the Plugged In review where applicable to make sure they’re right for your family).
But these films feature a nice blend of great messaging and competent storytelling. And we begin with …
42 (2013, PG-13)
This biopic of baseball legend Jackie Robinson doesn’t mince words. Indeed, it’s the film’s language that helps ding it with that PG-13 rating. The n-word in particular, according to our reviewer Adam Holz, strikes with the “stinging crack of a verbal whip, a wince-inducing reminder of racism’s harsh history in our country.” But that, in part, is the point. The film 42 tells us about the man who broke baseball’s racial barrier and did so with class, grace and cool. A bonus: he and his manager, Branch Rickey, are Christians, and they talk about their faith often.
Another biopic—this one about the legendary Lou Gehrig—this classic baseball flick starring Hollywood legend Gary Cooper was released long before Plugged In was a thing. But in a 2009 blog, Bob Smithouser heaped praise on this very clean movie. “More than an inspirational film about a courageous man, it’s a glimpse at baseball’s golden age, with Babe Ruth and Bill Dickey appearing as themselves,” Smithouser wrote. “Don’t be surprised if you get choked up during Gehrig’s ‘luckiest man on the face of the earth’ speech.”
So far, we’ve seen movies centered around a couple of baseball superstars. The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid, zeroes in on a player who almost never was. Jimmy Morris had been a promising baseball player before a shoulder injury derailed his career. By 1999, Morris is teaching science and coaching baseball at a Texas high school. But when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays hold open tryouts, his students encourage him to give the Majors one more shot. And so he does. While our reviewer Bob Smithouser said that the film’s alcohol use and mild profanities push it past its G rating, he says that the film is “terrific,” celebrating a ton of strong values including hard work, perseverance and unconditional love. And it’s a pretty great film to boot.
Like Jimmy Morris, Luke Brooks’ baseball career was unexpectedly derailed—in his case, by a rare heart condition. Like Morris, he turns to coaching his local high school team to scratch his baseball itch. And after earning nine state championships, most people say that Brooks is pretty good. But when he kneels at home plate to say a prayer in honor of his dearly departed brother, he quickly runs afoul of the district’s superintendent. And that one little prayer might cost Brooks his job. Reviewer Adam Holz acknowledged that this Christian film can feel a little too pat and melodramatic at times. And again, we see some alcohol use and a bit of physical violence. But Holz says the movie reminds us that “no one is beyond God’s redemptive reach, and that failure and loss never have to have the last word if willing to entrust those difficult things to Jesus.”
Baseball is often a family passion: Parents pass their love of the game onto their children, who in turn take their own kids to the ballpark. But when relationships grow strained, can baseball itself bring families closer together? We dive into such a story of reconciliation with Trouble With the Curve, where longtime baseball scout Gus Lobel teams up with his estranged daughter, Mickey, to see if a young hotshot hitter is all he’s cracked up to be. Once again, alcohol and language prove to be this film’s biggest issues. But Holz writes that this pic features “an outfield piled high with appeal.” The fact that it stars Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams only adds to this movie’s luster.
We’ve spent a lot of time in the Majors on this list. But you don’t need a multi-million-dollar contract to play the game, of course. And in You Gotta Believe, we’re swept into the Texas Little League, where a sad-sack team gets an opportunity to play in the playoffs—with an opportunity to go to the Little League World Series. Why? Because no one else in the Texas league wants to face the competition. You Gotta Believe—the title pulled from the rallying cry by cancer-ridden coach Bobby Ratliff—is a sweet, inspiring and true story, one that reviewer Kennedy Unthank says might jerk a tear or two. “You might have to blame the tears in your eyes on the dust from the baseball field,” he writes. Language again lands in foul territory, and some adults might catch a sexual innuendo or two. But overall, this film still feels like a solid hit.
There you go—a handful of films that just might circle the bases and head for your home. And if you have any other suggestions, let us know below. Play ball!
