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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 19:18:25 GMT -5
Rolling Stone released it's list of the top 30 sports movies of all time and it got me thinking about my favorite baseball movie.
Being from Cleveland, Major League was a big hit in the day but it was sooo campy. I liked Bull Durham a lot, but I think my favorite is The Sandlot... something about baseball at that age is so timeless.
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Post by Sean_RedsGM on Jan 5, 2017 19:49:54 GMT -5
Field of Dreams and Bull Durham are up there for me but my favorite is For Love of the Game.
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Post by Peter - Boston Red Sox on Jan 5, 2017 19:50:09 GMT -5
I was a big fan of Field of Dreams and Eight Men Out. Both were pretty good in my opinion.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 20:00:21 GMT -5
I was a big fan of Field of Dreams and Eight Men Out. Both were pretty good in my opinion. I'm changing my answer, I totally forgot about Eight Men Out. I was into historical sims at the time with 'Old Time Baseball' and was infatuated with the 1919 Sox scandal.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 20:01:11 GMT -5
Moneyball just because of the sabemetrics involved, however i enjoyed the book much much more and if you havent read it, i highly recommend it
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Post by Sean..Mariners GM on Jan 5, 2017 20:12:08 GMT -5
My favorite is The Natural with Major League coming in second.....so many quotable lines. My favorite....Are you tellin' me Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using proboards
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Post by Peter - Boston Red Sox on Jan 5, 2017 20:32:44 GMT -5
My favorite is The Natural with Major League coming in second.....so many quotable lines. My favorite....Are you tellin' me Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using proboards
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Post by Peter - Boston Red Sox on Jan 5, 2017 20:33:54 GMT -5
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Post by earlweaver on Jan 5, 2017 21:45:46 GMT -5
Baseball lends itself to movies so well. Being a self described movie buff....
1. Field of Dreams 2. The Natural 3. Major League 4. Bull Durham 5. Bang the Drum Slowly 6. Cobb
Honorable mention. The Babe, Moneyball, 42, Bad News Bears(originals), Trouble with the Curve.
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Post by sansterre - Milwaukee Brewers on Jan 6, 2017 8:05:55 GMT -5
Like I said, I've never been one for the . . . spiritual appreciation of baseball, so movies built on that premise never really did it for me. Major League is my movie by a mile. Great cast, great script, cliched as hell (of course), but abusively quotable. But my favorite part is when the Indians are going into that one-game playoff against the Yankees. You're watching, minding your own business, seeing the players mentally preparing for the game, when you suddenly get that aerial shot of the stadium and the intense music crescendoes. Forgive the bad sound quality: youtu.be/T5YlPVkFknk?t=1h9m14sAnd you realize, "holy crap, this movie that's been pretending to be a screwball comedy is secretly a character-driven drama and I've been sucked in." One of my favorite moments of watching any movie, ever. Or like when Tom Berenger is digging to make first for his bunt in the big game. The movie has, in half-a-dozen spots reminded you about how bad his knees and legs are. And he's digging for it and the whole thing slows down and the music slows as you see the effort and desperation on his face . . . chill moment every time for me. Too many great moments, like when Charlie Sheen is practicing control on a dummy, winds up, throws and knocks the dummy's head clean off. The funny part is how he looks around like "mmm, hope nobody saw that." Or pretty much everything with Eddie Harris. I could lose the entire Tom Berenger - Renee Russo plot arc, but the rest of the movie is solid gold to me. And you know. It's an interestingly fan-driven movie. One of the biggest characters is the Indian fanbase as a whole. The movie tracks many character arcs and there is one for the fanbase as well: from apathy to dismay to interest to passion. It's going into that final game with the full stadium cheering, the fans in the bars, when you appreciate that this bunch of screwballs putting a great team together has meant a lot to a lot of people. Major League is secretly a really well-done baseball character drama that pretends to be a comedy.
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Post by Derek _ Red Sox on Jan 6, 2017 8:21:23 GMT -5
A lot of great ones on this list, for me, I loved Major League. I can list about 10 others and everytime I think of one I'm reminded how much I liked it and I internally debate with myself if it should be rated higher but something about Major League League ....
FUCK YOU JOBU, I DO IT MYSELF!!
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Post by Ryan_NatsGM on Jan 6, 2017 22:28:06 GMT -5
I'll jump on the Major League bandwagon. Sure it's campy, but it's also endlessly quotable which is one of the hallmarks of a great comedy. Generally not a huge sports movie fan though. Probably because (for me) the scripted drama of a movie where the team you're emotionally invested in wins 95+% of the time doesn't compare to the real thing where you know damn well the ending can go either way.
Plus the best real world sports stories beat any movie script. Take this year's Cubs. Breaking a 108-year championship drought in a dramatic, extra inning Game 7 is story enough, but they did it with:
- A GM who uses newfangled stats to go against conventional wisdom. - An offbeat manager who likes to think outside the box. - A starter that overcame cancer, and who's dominant when throwing to the plate, but literally cannot for the life of him throw the ball to first base. - A starter who has the slowest fastball in the league, but uses his Ivy League education to help him get batters out, and outduels the best pitcher in the game to clinch the pennant. - Another starter who's a bearded, workout/health food fanatic. - A flamethrowing closer with a checkered past (who naturally blows the last save for karmic justice). - A crusty, journeyman catcher playing his last season who hits an unlikely home run off the other team's stud reliever in his last career AB. - A first baseman who also overcame cancer, and walks on walls and tarps and things to make highlight reel catches. - A second baseman who's basically a magician in the field. - An MVP third baseman. - An outfielder who blew out his knee at the beginning of the year, but against all odds takes a few days of BP, returns just in time for the World Series, and hits .400 (and steals a base for good measure).
And to top it off, after they blow the lead and head to extras they have a rain delay so the least among them can deliver an inspirational speech to rally the troops. Then the guy with the pop singer wife breaks the tie and they go on to win. If that was a script it would basically be Moneyball meets Major League on amphetamines.
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Post by Texas Rangers on Jan 7, 2017 3:46:38 GMT -5
The Bad News Bears, starring Walter Matthau, is the best baseball film. Honorable mention to Fear Strikes Out with bonus points for Anthony Perkins having a good baseball meltdown a few years before he started dressing as his mother. youtu.be/pWYkPG7-zNoMinus points for the curtsy Kevin Costner is doing on the cover of Field Of Dreams, bad form. Honorable mention to the rad scene from Hook where Peter Pan's son teaches the pirates how to play baseball. Minus points to the otherwise superb Moneyball for the scene where the Cleveland GM makes all of his decisions based on what Jonah Hill says and won't make any trades with Billy Beane but then five seconds later the Cleveland GM trades Jonah Hill to Billy Beane for a box of paper clips, even though Jonah Hill is almost certainly not a tradeable employee but that doesn't matter because we need to quickly introduce this character who is definitely NOT Paul DePodesta. Bonus points to Hey Batta Batta Sawing Batta from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and to Willie Mays Hayes, who was cooler and a better ballplayer than Ricky Vaughn.
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Post by sansterre - Milwaukee Brewers on Jan 7, 2017 8:00:07 GMT -5
Minus points to the otherwise superb Moneyball for the scene where the Cleveland GM makes all of his decisions based on what Jonah Hill says and won't make any trades with Billy Beane but then five seconds later the Cleveland GM trades Jonah Hill to Billy Beane for a box of paper clips, even though Jonah Hill is almost certainly not a tradeable employee but that doesn't matter because we need to quickly introduce this character who is definitely NOT Paul DePodesta. I do have to say, the Billy Beane / Mark Shapiro trade sit-down was the worst part of that movie. Like a GM is going to fly to another GMs office to sit there and get shat on by the other GM's entire staff. Talk about an anti-power play. I know it exists for a lot of plot reasons but still. Hard to sell Beane as a trade shark and have him do something bone-headed like that.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2017 23:09:31 GMT -5
I'll jump on the Major League bandwagon. Sure it's campy, but it's also endlessly quotable which is one of the hallmarks of a great comedy. Generally not a huge sports movie fan though. Probably because (for me) the scripted drama of a movie where the team you're emotionally invested in wins 95+% of the time doesn't compare to the real thing where you know damn well the ending can go either way. Plus the best real world sports stories beat any movie script. Take this year's Cubs. Breaking a 108-year championship drought in a dramatic, extra inning Game 7 is story enough, but they did it with: - A GM who uses newfangled stats to go against conventional wisdom. - An offbeat manager who likes to think outside the box. - A starter that overcame cancer, and who's dominant when throwing to the plate, but literally cannot for the life of him throw the ball to first base. - A starter who has the slowest fastball in the league, but uses his Ivy League education to help him get batters out, and outduels the best pitcher in the game to clinch the pennant. - Another starter who's a bearded, workout/health food fanatic. - A flamethrowing closer with a checkered past (who naturally blows the last save for karmic justice). - A crusty, journeyman catcher playing his last season who hits an unlikely home run off the other team's stud reliever in his last career AB. - A first baseman who also overcame cancer, and walks on walls and tarps and things to make highlight reel catches. - A second baseman who's basically a magician in the field. - An MVP third baseman. - An outfielder who blew out his knee at the beginning of the year, but against all odds takes a few days of BP, returns just in time for the World Series, and hits .400 (and steals a base for good measure). And to top it off, after they blow the lead and head to extras they have a rain delay so the least among them can deliver an inspirational speech to rally the troops. Then the guy with the pop singer wife breaks the tie and they go on to win. If that was a script it would basically be Moneyball meets Major League on amphetamines. Holy shit, how did i not realize the Cubs are the epitome of baseball movies?
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