Little Big League

Little Big League

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.

Quote of the day

Work hard. And have patience. Because no matter who you are, you’re going to get hurt in your career and you have to be patient to get through the injuries.

~Randy Johnson

Randy_Johnson 2008 - Wikipedia
Randy Johnson in 2008 (Wikipedia)

Randy Johnson, photographer

In case you missed it, Twitter blew up a bit yesterday with the news that former pitcher Randy Johnson now makes a living as a professional photographer.

A detail that makes this information even more fun is the logo for Randy Johnson Photography, clearly a tribute to that time that Johnson accidentally killed a bird with a fastball

Randy Johnson photography logo

If you’re interested in exploring further, you can check out some of Randy Johnson’s work at Randy Johnson Photography – Photography from Hall of Fame Pitcher Randy Johnson (rj51photos.com).

This day in baseball: The Big Unit’s perfect game

On May 18, 2004, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson threw a perfect game, beating the Atlanta Braves 2-0 at Turner Field in Atlanta before a crowd of 23,381. Johnson, at 40 years old, was the oldest pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game, surpassing Cy Young who was 37 when he threw his perfect game in 1904. The game was also Johnson’s second career no-hitter, the first taking place on June 2, 1990 against the Detroit Tigers when Johnson was pitching for the Seattle Mariners.

Randy_Johnson 2008 - Wikipedia
Randy Johnson in 2008 (Flickr/Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0))

2015 Hall of Fame Weekend

The Baseball Hall of Fame will be inducting four new members into its ranks later today: Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, and Pedro Martinez.  Looking at the pictures featuring these gentlemen, it sure is strange to see them all looking so young again.

Head and shoulders of Seattle Mariners Randy Johnson 1994 (Baseball HOF)
Head and shoulders of Seattle Mariners Randy Johnson 1994 (Baseball HOF)

Head and shoulders of Boston Red Sox Pedro Martinez, May 2, 1999 in Oakland (Baseball HOF)
Head and shoulders of Boston Red Sox Pedro Martinez, May 2, 1999 in Oakland (Baseball HOF)

Head and shoulders of Houston Astros Craig Biggio, 1991 (Baseball HOF)
Head and shoulders of Houston Astros Craig Biggio, 1991 (Baseball HOF)

John Smotlz of the Atlanta Braves 1994. (Baseball HOF)
John Smotlz of the Atlanta Braves 1994. (Baseball HOF)

Nevertheless, one can hardly argue that the initiation of each of these players into the Hall is well-deserved.  While the celebration has been going on all weekend for this ceremony, the formal induction ceremony and the delivery of speeches by these four men will be taking place today, beginning at 1:30 eastern time.  You can find complete details about the proceedings here.

This day in baseball: Blindsided bird

What’s it like to get hit by a 95-MPH fastball?  It’s bad news for a ballplayer, but even worse news if you’re a bird.  On March 24, 2001, in an exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson threw a fastball that hit a dove flying in front of home plate.  The bird died instantly, appearing to explode into a firework of feathers, never knowing what hit it.

This day in baseball: Nolan Ryan reaches 5,000

On August 22, 1989, Nolan Ryan threw a 96 mph fastball to strike out Rickey Henderson — the 5,000th strikeout of his career.  Over the course of the game, Ryan struck out 13 batters and gave up only five hits, but still ended up losing to Oakland 2-0.  To this day, Nolan Ryan remains the only pitcher in Major League Baseball history to strike out 5,000 batters (5714 total).  Coming in second is Randy Johnson, with 4,875 strikeouts.