Baseball Movies

Here's a novel thought! Let's give some commentary on movies about BASEBALL!!!Here are some starters:

The Pride of the Yankees
Major League
A League of Their Own
Field of Dreams
For the Love of the Game
Bull Durham

The last thing I want to do lately is watch movies about baseball, I'm trying to FORGET baseball by watching movies

Best baseball movie ever though is Bull Durham Haven't seen it in awhile, maybe I'll dig it out.

from Wikipedia:

The Pride of the Yankees is a 1942 biographical film directed by Sam Wood about the New York Yankees' star baseball player, first baseman Lou Gehrig, who had his Hall-of-Fame career cut short at 36 years of age when he was stricken with the fatal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, more commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). The movie was released one year after Gehrig's death.

It starred Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig and co-starred Teresa Wright as his wife Eleanor and Walter Brennan as a sportswriter friend. Real-life Yankee teammates Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel, Mark Koenig, and Bill Dickey played themselves, as did sportscaster Bill Stern.

The movie was adapted by Herman J. Mankiewicz, Jo Swerling, and an uncredited Casey Robinson from a story by Paul Gallico.

The Pride of the Yankees was critically and publicly acclaimed at the time of its release and is considered a classic.

The Pride of the Yankees won one Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: for Film Editing. In addition, it had 10 more nominations for:

Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gary Cooper)
Best Actress in a Leading Role (Teresa Wright)
Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Best Effects, Special Effects
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
Best Picture
Best Sound, Recording
Best Writing, Original Story
Best Writing, Screenplay
This film is widely known for the reenactment of Gehrig's farewell speech in Yankee stadium. The famous line "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" was voted #38 in the American Film Institute (AFI) list of the 100 greatest movie quotes of all time.

In another memorable scene, Gehrig visits a crippled boy named Billy (Gene Collins) in a hospital and promises to hit two home runs for him in a single World Series game; Gehrig fulfills his promise, and an older Billy (played by David Holt) attends Lou Gehrig Day and shows Gehrig that he can walk, having made a full recovery inspired by his hero's determination. This event, a takeoff on something that happened to Babe Ruth, was parodied on a 1995 episode of Seinfeld ("The Wink," in which the promise was made by Kramer on behalf of Paul O'Neill), in "The Babe Ruth Story" sketch of SCTV starring John Candy as Babe Ruth and in the movie BASEketball.

The American Film Institute ranked The Pride of the Yankees #22 in their list of the top 100 most inspiring movies in American cinema.


[edit] Gehrig's farewell speech
In Gehrig's actual speech on July 4, 1939, the line "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" was actually at the beginning of the speech but was moved to the end of the speech in the movie.

Here is the text of the actual speech given that day by Gehrig:

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for."

---

Here is the speech from the film:

"I have been walking onto ball fields for sixteen years, and I've never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. I have had the great honor to have played with these great veteran ballplayers on my left - Murderers Row, our championship team of 1927. I have had the further honor of living with and playing with these men on my right - the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees of today.

"I have been given fame and undeserved praise by the boys up there behind the wire in the press box, my friends, the sportswriters. I have worked under the two greatest mangers of all time, Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy.

"I have a mother and father who fought to give me health and a solid background in my youth. I have a wife, a companion for life, who has shown me more courage than I ever knew.

"People all say that I've had a bad break. But today...today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

SoulRat wrote:

The last thing I want to do lately is watch movies about baseball, I'm trying to FORGET baseball by watching movies

Best baseball movie ever though is Bull Durham Haven't seen it in awhile, maybe I'll dig it out.

I know, but it's something to do while we're waiting for them to shape up!

What I liked about Pride was that it was pretty true to life without it being too corny. I especially liked Teresa Wright's performance as his wife.

I want to see 61*, but only because I Barry Pepper

laprimamirala wrote:

What I liked about Pride was that it was pretty true to life without it being too corny. I especially liked Teresa Wright's performance as his wife.

I haven't seen that. Maybe if I ever like baseball again, I'll get it.

you will!

just think of your fishie!

I'm mad at him

no! what'd he do?

Bats better than he pitches No more coddling, I'm trying the tough love approach :haha:

No more until a win! Tigers for that matter too.

Between the 2 of them, I'm NOT liking baseball at the moment

well, the breeze will change again...hopefully sooner than later!

Oh I know, I'm just grumpy today.

laprimamirala wrote:

Right back at ya

I recently got Cobb on DVD....at Goodwill (I was looking for old video games - people told me to check there and I found some ) but I'm not watching it until the Tigers win 3 in a row - it's called a winning streak and it has happened before (that's a line from Major League - the best baseball movie ever ).

:haha: I Major League, my mom told me to go watch it tonight when she called during the game and my dad was cussing on her end and I was cussing on mine... poor mom

I kinda like A League of Their Own!

I have not seen Cobb, I will have to look for it!

I have always LOVED Major League!

We will have to see which Tiger players go closest with the characters in the Indian team in ML!

Aging catcher Jake Taylor - ?Pudge?
Pitcher Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn - ?D-Train?
Center Fielder Willie "Mays" Hayes - ?Grandy?
Pedro Cerrano - not sure yet
Pitcher Eddie Harris - ?Kenny?
High-priced prima donna 3rd baseman Roger Dorn - ?Inge? or ?Miggy?

As I read the MOVIE DESCRIPTION, it sure sounds like our Tigers this year!!!

I just want to know what we could use to motivate our players, like they did with the Nude (lady) owner poster being uncovered for each win, in the movie.... :haha:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

I just want to know what we could use to motivate our players, like they did with the Nude (lady) owner poster being uncovered for each win, in the movie.... :haha:

I don't think our owner nude would be much motivation. Maybe instead of undressing him add a bit of clothing for each win? Or perhaps he has some attractive daughters/granddaughters?

catbox_9 wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

I just want to know what we could use to motivate our players, like they did with the Nude (lady) owner poster being uncovered for each win, in the movie.... :haha:

I don't think our owner nude would be much motivation. Maybe instead of undressing him add a bit of clothing for each win? Or perhaps he has some attractive daughters/granddaughters?

True, maybe they could get one of Granderson's strip club girls to pose for a poster!

Only problem with that is there'd be nothing new beneath that clothing - they already saw it all

Mike Ilitch Nude? YIKES!

:puke2:

Not sure what will motivate them at this point? perhaps a salary reduction in the offing?

have u guys ever seen The Rookie?? great movie