With San Diego hosting the All-Star Game at Petco Park, the Cinema Junkie recommends her top 10 baseball movies to help you get in the mood for the big game on Tuesday:
“Pride of the Yankees” (1942)
You can’t beat all-American Gary Cooper playing ball and fighting against a debilitating disease in this sentimental favorite.
“Eight Men Out” (1988)
John Sayles’ film looks to the Black Sox Scandal of 1919. But there’s more love for the beauty of the game in a few shots of players warming up than in hours of other features.
“Damn Yankees” (1958)
A frustrated fan makes a deal with the Devil to help his losing team win the pennant. A gorgeous Tab Hunter, sexy Gwen Verdon and wicked Ray Walston make this a delightful tribute to America’s favorite pastime.
“The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings” (1976)
An all-star cast headed by Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor and James Earl Jones take us back to the Negro League of the 1930s for a comedy with serious overtones about race in America.
“The Bad News Bears” (1976)
No baseball list would be complete without at least one film that undercut the game with some serious satire about the lack of good sportsmanship and fair play in Little League. Walter Matthau is the boozy coach, and Tatum O’Neal is his ace player.
“A League of Their Own” (1992)
A look at the first female professional baseball league with Geena Davis and Madonna.
“Bull Durham” (1988)
Who thought baseball could be this sexy? OK, a curve ball and a triple play are pretty sexy, but that’s nothing compared to Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon as a player and fan whose passion for the game brings them together. Provides a minor league look at the game from the point of view of an aging player.
“The Natural” (1984)
The film has none of the darkness of Bernard Malamud’s novel and instead delivers a loving tribute to the game with Robert Redford bathed in a constant sunset glow.
"Bang the Drum Slowly” (1973)
A story of a savvy pitcher and a not-so-bright catcher as they struggle with the latter’s terminal disease. Noteworthy for Robert DeNiro before Martin Scorsese put him to work.
“Sugar” (2008)
Looks to a Dominican baseball star trying to make it in the U.S. It’s an acknowledgement to the passion for the sport in countries outside the U.S.
