By Jack Swiker
3:00 AM PDT, September 23, 2011
Walter Matthau stars as an aging, ex-minor league player who coaches a team of misfit kids. A young Tatum O'Neal co-stars as the team pitcher with a killer fastball. This film had a 2005 remake with Billy Bob Thornton starring as Matthau's character.
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Bad News Bears (1976)
Paramount Pictures
Walter Matthau stars as an aging, ex-minor league player who coaches a team of misfit kids. A young Tatum O'Neal co-stars as the team pitcher with a killer fastball. This film had a 2005 remake with Billy Bob Thornton starring as Matthau's character.
Angels In The Outfield (1994)
Walt Disney Pictures
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a boy who prays for the California Angels to win the pennant so that his family will come back together. Christopher Lloyd, Danny Glover and Tony Danza also star in this Disney film.
Rookie Of The Year (1993)
20th Century Fox
Thomas Ian Nicholas stars as a sub-par little league player whose arm becomes major league caliber after healing from an injury. Next stop? The starting pitching rotation of the Chicago Cubs. Gary Busey co-stars as an aging Cubs pitcher.
Major League (1989)
Paramount Pictures
The owner of the Cleveland Indians sets up a plan to assemble the worst team in league history so that she can move the team to Miami. All seems to go according to plan until Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Tom Berenger, Wesley Snipes and Dennis Haysbert lead the team to victory.
Field Of Dreams (1989)
Universal
Kevin Costner stars as Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who builds a baseball field in his corn fields after hearing a mysterious voice telling him, "If you build it, they will come." James Earl Jones co-stars with Costner.
Eight Men Out (1988)
Orion Pictures
This baseball film tells the story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox team that accepted bribes in order to lose the World Series on purpose and subsequently became known as the Black Sox for their involvement in the scandal. Charlie Sheen, John Cusack, Christopher Lloyd and David Strathairn star as members of the team.
Bull Durham (1988)
Orion Pictures
Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon star in this film about a fan (Sarandon) who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season (this year, Robbins) and the veteran catcher that is assigned to work with him (Costner).
The Natural (1984)
TriStar Pictures
Robert Redford stars as a man who appears out of nowhere to help a 1930s baseball team rise to the top of the league. He also uses a bat made from a lightning-struck tree. Glenn Close and Kim Basinger co-star.
The Sandlot (1993)
20th Century Fox
A story about a group of neighborhood kids who love baseball and deal with rival baseball teams, girls, and the baseball-eating dog called The Beast. Also known for the awesome quote, "You're killing me, Smalls!" James Earl Jones and Denis Leary co-star along with the cast of kids.
A League Of Their Own (1992)
Columbia Pictures
The story of an all-woman baseball league while the men are away fighting in World War II. Tom Hanks plays the manager of a team with co-stars Geena Davis, Rosie O'Donnell and Madonna. My favorite line has to be: "Are you crying? There's no crying in baseball!"
Moneyball (2011)
Columbia Pictures
Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill star in this film about Oakland Athletics manager Billy Beane's attempt to put together a successful team using computer generated statistics to choose which players to draft.
Baseball Movies
Universal
America's pastime has not only enthralled the millions of people who have filled baseball stadiums seats over the years, but those packed into theater seats, as the sport has been brought to the big screen numerous times.
So with the end of the regular season approaching, and the release of Moneyball in theaters today, let's take a look at some of the most famous films about baseball.
So with the end of the regular season approaching, and the release of Moneyball in theaters today, let's take a look at some of the most famous films about baseball.