Quote of the day
April 11, 2025
OK, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it’s called “two in a row”. And if we win again tomorrow, it’s called a “winning streak”… It has happened before!
~Lou Brown, Major League II
Tag: movies
Fun facts about ‘The Sandlot’
July 26, 2024
Here’s a video from Fun Fact Films featuring fifteen behind-the-scenes facts about one of my favorite baseball movies, The Sandlot. I do sympathize with Tom Guiry having to hear the line, “You’re killing me, Smalls!” every day for the rest of his life. Perhaps this is what led to him bashing the windshield of a Jeep with a dumbbell?
3 Ninjas Kick Back
January 12, 2024
3 Ninjas Kick Back is a 1994 American martial arts film that also happens to include a good dose of baseball. It is a kids’ movie, a sequel to the film 3 Ninjas, which my younger brother and I watched repeatedly when we were kids. Sequentially, 3 Ninjas Kick Back is the third series in the franchise, the second movie being 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up.
These movies revolve around three brothers: Rocky, Colt, and Tum-Tum. Like the other two movies in the series, 3 Ninjas Kick Back starts at the cabin of the boys’ grandfather, Mori, who is also their ninja instructor. Mori plans a trip for the four of them to Japan, in order to take the boys to a martial arts tournament of which he was the champion fifty years ago. He explains that he hopes to return a dagger awarded to him at the tournament when he defeated a boy named Koga, so that it may be presented to the new winner. Additionally, Mori sees the trip as the logical next step to the boys’ ninja training, as they will be exposed to an even greater level of martial arts expertise.
Before they can embark on the trip, however, the boys are to play in a championship baseball game. The game goes terribly wrong, however, when Rocky seems too focused on a cute girl to pitch properly, Tum-Tum constantly leaves the field to get snacks, and Colt’s temper causes a fight to break out with the opposing team. Appalled by the bench-clearing brawl, the umpire calls off the game until the following week. Not wanting to miss out on the chance to win the championship, the boys vote to stay and play baseball rather than go to Japan.
Meanwhile, the boy whom Mori defeated in his youth, Koga, is determined to steal the dagger from his old nemesis. The dagger, we learn, is one of the keys, along with a samurai sword, to opening a cave of gold — at least, according to legend. In Japan, Mori gets rear ended by a trio of thugs sent by Koga, and the thugs take off with Mori’s bag while Mori ends up in the hospital. From the hospital bed, Mori calls his grandsons to let them know what is going on, only to have the boys inform him that he accidentally took Tum-Tum’s bag to Japan by mistake, and the boys actually have Mori’s bag and the dagger.
Deciding that their grandfather is more important than baseball, the boys head to Japan. There they meet a girl, Miya, whose ninja abilities far surpass theirs. Miya also happens to enjoy baseball, though she struggles with catching the ball. The boys offer to train Miya to become a better baseball player if she agrees to train them to become better ninjas.
During their trip, Koga attempts to trap the boys to take the dagger, and Mori is kidnapped in the hospital. After facing off against a number of bad guys, the boys, Miya, Mori, and Koga all end up at the location of the cave of gold. Now in possession of both the dagger and the sword, Koga is able to open the entrance to the cave, and Mori is astonished to learn that the legend is true. When Koga pulls a gun on the group, Colt throws a ninja ball (a small ball bearing) into the muzzle of the gun, causing it to backfire and start a cave-in. The group flees the cave, and Koga, now realizing the price of his greed, apologizes and leaves the group unharmed. Rocky realizes that since Japan is a day ahead of America, they can still make it home by the championship game.
At the game, we learn that Miyo has accompanied the boys on their trip back to the States and has joined their baseball team. Rocky, Colt, and Tum-Tum find themselves more capable to staying focused on the game, employing their newly-learned ninja skills on their way to victory.
As mentioned, I’ve been a 3 Ninjas fan ever since the movies first came out while I was a kid. As an adult, I realize now just how silly, cheesy, and ridiculous these movies are, but I still enjoy them. They make for good, comedic family films, and in this installment, I love the depiction on how skills in martial arts can translate in a beneficial way to baseball, and vice versa.
The Final Season
December 17, 2023
The opening scenes of The Final Season immediately made me think of Field of Dreams, which makes sense given that both movies take place in Iowa. Despite this, and even though both are baseball movies, the two films are really quite different.
The Final Season is a 2007 movie based on the true story of the Norway High School baseball team in Iowa. The story takes place primarily during the 1991 season, and Norway High School is on the verge of being merged into a larger school district. The town is devastated and angry at the idea of losing the high school’s legendary baseball program, which has won nineteen state championships. While the town battles the state to try to prevent the merger, the school’s principal, who favors the merger, tries to facilitate a losing season for the baseball team in order to show the merger would be worthwhile.
The baseball team’s legendary baseball coach, Jim Van Scoyoc (played by Powers Boothe), is forced to sit out what is expected to be the team’s final season. In his place, the principal appoints Kent Stock (played by Sean Astin), who previously coached girls volleyball. The principal believes that this move will cause the baseball program to fail, not realizing that Stock had been a star player for his Division III college baseball team.
At first, the players are resistant to playing for Stock, not believing he can fill Van Scoyoc’s shoes, but Stock manages to win them over. While his style is unsurprisingly different from the former coach, Stock finds ways to motivate the team amidst the ongoing battle over the merger.
In May 1991, Norway does win its 20th state championship, but the victory is bittersweet as it proves to be the team’s last-ever season.
I enjoyed this movie, and I like how it is based on a true story. I really enjoyed how the town of Norway embraced its baseball team. High school baseball, in particular, hardly ever gets noticed in general, but for Norway, high school baseball was literally part of their way of life. The townspeople even attended the team’s practices, because it meant so much to them. School districts merging is a phenomenon that happens all the time, and this film shows that such moves always have repercussions that go beyond just the schools themselves.
Quote of the day
November 14, 2023
OK, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it’s called “two in a row”. And if we win again tomorrow, it’s called a “winning streak”… It has happened before!
~Lou Brown, Major League II
The Rookie (2002)
August 3, 2023
Not to be confused with the television series bearing the same name, The Rookie is a film that had been on my to-watch list for a while. It is a story based on the real-life story of Jim Morris who made his Major League debut at age 35.
The movie begins when Jim Morris is a teenager. Jim’s father serves in the Navy and he moves the family throughout the country, all the while disapproving of his son’s dream of playing Major League Baseball. When the family moves to Big Lake, Texas, Jim is crushed to learn that the town cares nothing for baseball, preferring football instead, and he thus loses out on the opportunity to play high school ball.
Jim does get a chance to continue playing ball when he is drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers. However, a shoulder injury put an end to his dream of making it to the big leagues.
Fast forward a number of years later, and Jim is married with three young children. He still lives in Big Lake, teaching high school science and coaching the high school baseball team, the Owls (a team that, I imagine, he started up himself). The Owls aren’t having a great season, however, largely due to in part to the team’s low morale resulting from little support from the community.
One day after practice, the team catcher offers to play catch with Jim. The catcher is stunned to discover that Jim can still fire an impressive fastball, and it is not long before the rest of the team is let in on the secret. The Owls believe that Jim could possibly pitch in the major leagues and offer him a deal: if the Owls can win district and make the state playoffs, Jim will try out again. Desperate to motivate the team into winning, Jim accepts the deal.
The Owls do end up winning district, and holding up his end of the bargain, Jim shows up to a tryout with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The scouts discover that Jim is able to consistently throw a baseball at 98 mph, and Jim is told that he could be signed to a minor league deal. After much deliberation and discussion with his wife, Jim decides to go, and he is assigned to the minor league Class AA Orlando Rays.
Jim moves through the minors quickly, first getting moved to the Class AAA Durham Bulls, and then finally, he is called up to the majors with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Coincidentally, the Devil Rays are in Arlington, Texas to play the Rangers at the time Jim gets the call, and he calls his family to let them know the good news. Not only does Jim’s family show up for the game, but the players of the high school Owls team rally much of the town to attend the game, as well. Late in the game, with Tampa Bay losing badly, Jim is called in to pitch to Royce Clayton and end the inning. Jim gets a strikeout against Clayton on three straight fastballs. During postgame interviews, Jim notices his father had also come to the game. Jim’s father admits how special it was to be able to see his son play in the majors and apologizes for not supporting Jim before.
I really enjoyed this film. I love that it is based on a true story (I feel a need to do more reading up on Jim Morris now), and I love how it portrays the conflict between pursuing your dreams and trying to be a responsible adult. Definitely a worthwhile family film.
Major League II
July 16, 2023
I seem to be on a Major League kick lately, though this viewing was prompted by coming across Major League II available for free on YouTube. Released in 1994, this flick serves as sequel to the original Major League. Many of the original cast returned for this installment of the series, including Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, and Corbin Bernsen. However, Omar Epps replaced Wesley Snipes in playing Willie Mays Hayes, and a number of new cast members also appear in this film.
In this installment, the Indians have become complacent and arrogant after their success in the previous season/movie and they start losing games due to their poor performance and attitude. For example, Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn is so caught up in trying to impress the media and his new girlfriend that he has lost his fastball and his edge. Instead, he begins to rely on ineffective breaking balls, for which he has given nicknames such as “Eliminator” and “Humiliator.” Former voodoo practitioner Pedro Cerrano has converted to Buddhism, which has made him so peaceful and passive that he’s lost his power as a hitter. Willie Mays Hayes has become a movie star and has injured his knee, making him unable to run fast or hit well, and he therefore now fancies himself a power hitter.
Meanwhile, Roger Dorn, the former third baseman, has bought the team from Rachel Phelps, the former owner who wanted them to lose, but he doesn’t have the funds to pay the players or improve the facilities. Additionally, at the end of spring training, manager Lou Brown informs catcher Jake Taylor that he is keeping him on as a coach rather than a player. Jake is upset and rejects the offer at first, but then reluctantly accepts the position.
The team also faces challenges from the newer members of its roster. Jack Parkman is a selfish and arrogant catcher who joins the Indians, but later leaves for their rivals, the Chicago White Sox. Isuro “Kamikaze” Tanaka is a Japanese outfielder who clashes with Cerrano over their cultural differences. Rube Baker is a rookie catcher who has trouble throwing the ball back to the pitcher because he gets nervous.
Faced with no other options, Dorn sells the Indians back to Rachel Phelps. With the Indians positioned in last place, Phelps decides this is the perfect opportunity to revive her dream to try to move the team to Florida. The team continues on in a chaotic, disunified vein that culminates in an all-team on-field brawl that leads to their ejection.
In the end, the Indians manage to overcome their difficulties and take off on a hot streak that allows them to make it to the playoffs, where they face the White Sox in a decisive game. The players have regained their old spark and end the film with a World Series berth.
All in all, I can’t say I enjoyed this film as much as the original. It has its moments, for sure, but it is not the original Major League. It largely mirrors the plot of just about every other sports sequel — a team growing complacent and losing its spark. As someone who enjoys baseball movies in general, I can’t honestly discourage anyone from watching this movie, because a part of me did still enjoy it. Just don’t go in with any expectations that it will match its predecessor.
Little Big League
June 26, 2023
I never watched Little Big League while I was growing up, and this weekend, I decided it was time to rectify this. Little Big League is a 1994 film that tells the story of Billy Heywood, a twelve-year-old baseball fan who inherits the Minnesota Twins from his grandfather, Thomas Heywood. Thomas’s will states that Billy is the sole owner of the team and that the team executives are to help him until he is old enough to run the team by himself. Billy loves baseball and knows a lot about the game and the players, but he soon realizes that being an owner is not as straightforward as he thought it might be. He clashes with the team manager, George O’Farrell, who tells Billy off, refusing to take orders from a kid. Billy fires O’Farrell, but he can’t find any other manager who is willing to work for someone so young. Seeing no other options, he appoints himself as the new manager, with the approval of his mother and the Commissioner of Baseball.
Unsurprisingly, things are not easy for Billy, especially in the beginning. He has to deal with the skepticism and resentment of the players, the media, and the fans. After a rough first week, Billy finds his stride and encourages the Twins players to have fun, which results in the team starting to win some ballgames. The excitement wears off as the season drags on, however.
Throughout the season, Billy finds himself facing tough decisions, such as trading or releasing players, setting lineups and strategies, and handling conflicts and injuries. He also has to balance his personal life, including his schoolwork and his friends, and he is more troubled than he is willing to admit by his mother’s romance with star first baseman, Lou Collins, who is also his idol and mentor. Billy feels jealous and betrayed by Lou, and he benches him for a minor batting slump. The team, feeling the effects of Billy’s moods, start to lose games and fall behind in the division race.
As things start to fall apart, Billy becomes increasingly agitated, resentful, and anxious. After some heart-to-heart talks with his mother, Billy realizes that he can’t do everything by himself and that he needs to trust and respect his players and coaches. He also realizes that he can’t control his mother’s love life and he decides instead to be happy for her and Lou. He reconciles with Lou and reinstates him as a starter. He also apologizes to his friends for neglecting them and invites them to join him in the dugout for the final game of the season.
The final game is against the Seattle Mariners, who are led by Ken Griffey Jr. (played by himself). The game is very close and exciting, with both teams scoring runs and making great plays. In extra innings, with two outs and two runners on base, Lou comes up to bat against Randy Johnson (also played by himself). Lou hits a deep fly ball to center field, where Griffey makes a spectacular catch at the wall, robbing Lou of a home run and ending the game. The Twins lose 6-5 and miss the playoffs by one game.
Billy is disappointed but proud of his team’s performance. He thanks his players and coaches for their hard work and dedication, but he also announces that he is quitting as manager after the season and that pitching coach Mac MacNally will take his place. He says that he wants to enjoy being a kid again and that he hopes to see them all again someday. The film ends with Billy getting called back out to the field by an appreciative crowd.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film. The plot was enjoyable, and Luke Edwards, who plays Billy, did an impressive job in the role. Even though the film as a whole is, of course, on the cheesy, sentimental side (it is a kids movie, after all), it also does a good job of showing how the pressures of adulthood can mount on a kid, especially a kid who takes on the responsibilities of running a Major League Baseball team. Definitely a worthwhile family movie.
Major League: Back to the Minors
May 1, 2023
Released in 1998, Major League: Back to the Minors is the third installment of the Major League series, and last night, I sat down to take in the show. I haven’t yet seen Major League II, so that’s on the list for future viewing, but Back to the Minors is a standalone installment, so it didn’t impact my understanding of things to skip to this one.
The movie stars Scott Bakula as Gus Cantrell, a veteran pitcher for a minor league team, the Fort Myers Miracle. After Gus gets ejected from a game for pulling the “frozen ball trick,” Roger Dorn, the owner of the Minnesota Twins, recruits Gus to be the manager of the Buzz, the Twins’ AAA minor league affiliate.
Much like the Cleveland Indians of Major League, the minor league Buzz is a team filled with dysfunctional players, including Lance “The Dance” Pere (a ballet dancer turned ballplayer), pitcher Hog Ellis, and pitcher Carlton “Doc” Windgate, a medical school graduate who throws a fastball so slow, it doesn’t even register on the radar gun. Even Pedro Cerrano, of Major League fame, now plays for the Buzz. The star of the team is home run hitter Billy “Downtown” Anderson, who suffers from supreme arrogance due to his success at the plate. Gus makes it his mission to help Downtown become a more well-rounded, and humbler, ballplayer.
Gus also has a rivalry with Leonard Huff, the arrogant manager of the Minnesota Twins. Huff challenges Gus to a game between the Buzz and the Twins, which ends in a tie after Huff turns off the stadium lights to prevent potential embarrassment. Huff then invites Downtown Anderson to play with the major league team, but Downtown fails against major league pitching and returns to the Buzz, admitting to Gus that he should’ve listened to him more.
Gus leads the Buzz to a division title and challenges Huff again, this time with his job on the line. The Buzz manage to defeat the Twins, and Gus is offered the opportunity to become manager of the Twins. Gus declines, however, opting to stay with the Buzz.
All in all, I enjoyed this flick. It’s not as good as the original Major League, but no sequel is ever as good as the original. It’s definitely not high art, but I didn’t expect it to be, and it makes for an amusing and relaxing evening.
Moneyball (the movie)
February 19, 2023
I re-watched Moneyball this weekend, the movie based on the book by Michael Lewis with the same title. Moneyball tells the story of Billy Beane and Peter Brand during the 2002 season, and how they used a sabermetric approach to build a winning team on a limited budget.
Following the 2001 season, the Oakland A’s lost Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Jason Isringhausen to free agency, and general manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, finds himself needing to replace them. During a scouting trip to Cleveland, Beane meets Peter Brand (played by Jonah Hill), a Yale economics graduate who impresses Beane with his statistical analyses of ballplayers.
With Brand’s help, Beane built a low-budget team by focusing on players’ stats, such as on-base percentage. The start of the season was predictably rough, with the A’s finding themselves ten games back. Beane convinces team owner Stephen Schott to stick with the plan, and Beane then trades Giambi to the Phillies for John Mabry and Carlos Peña to the Tigers, leaving manager Art Howe no choice but to use the team Beane and Brand have designed. Three weeks later, the Athletics are only four games behind first.
The A’s launch into a winning streak that culminates in a dramatic victory over the Kansas City Royals, in which the A’s achieve a then record-breaking 20th consecutive win. The team falls short in the playoffs, however, when they lose to the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS.
Recognizing that sabermetrics is the future of baseball, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry first hires Bill James to the organization, then offers Billy Beane a $12.5 million salary to join Boston as well. Peter Brand tries to persuade Beane that he is worth the offer, however, not wanting to leave his daughter behind, Beane ultimately turns it down to stay with Oakland.
As a movie, I enjoy Moneyball. It’s dramatic, emotional, and there’s lots and lots of baseball. It sheds light on the idea behind sabermetrics. Critics argue that the movie is not an entirely accurate depiction of real-life events, excluding key players and portraying various relationships in a slanted light. It seems to me that the transition from real-life-story-to-movie presents the same challenges as book-to-movie situations: there’s just no way to be 100% true to the original without creating an hours-long film. As with any movie based on real life (or on a book), it’s worth doing your own research on the side in addition to enjoying the cinematic experience.