When cinema and sport mix, it sometimes gives a more than successful cocktail! And baseball was no exception and also had its movies! Some were hits, others were flops. We had comedies or dramas. In short, many stories can be told from baseball. And we at Coppel Cowboys Baseball wanted to recommend you three of the best movies with this sport as their main theme! And even for the most baseball neophyte, some of the movies can be very enjoyable.
#1 – Bull Durham (1988)
Impossible not to start this top with THE baseball movie par excellence. And even more than 30 years after its release, the film remains just as magnificent. Released in 1988, Bull Durham is based on the personal experiences of its director and screenwriter Ron Sheldon.
The film stars Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, among others, and tells the story of “Crash” Davis, a veteran of Minor League Baseball, who is recruited by the Durham Bulls team in North Carolina to mentor the team’s top prospect, Ebby Calvin Laloosh, who has the potential to be a great MLB player.
While the script may seem simplistic, it is terribly effective and it shows! The film is a huge success, both with audiences (over $50 million in revenue) and the trade press. The American Film Institute named it the fifth best sports film.
#2 – Field of Dreams (1990)
Only two years after Bull Durham, Kevin Costner was once again cast in the title role of a baseball movie. And once again, it turns out to be a huge success!
Field of Dreams was released in 1990 and tells the story of an Iowa farmer, played by Costner, who decides to build a baseball field in the middle of his cornfields after hearing a voice whisper to him, “If you build it, they will come.” “They” are the 1919 Chicago Black Sox, led by Shoeless Joe Jackson, played by Ray Liotta.
This mix of sports and fantasy universe works and allows the film to be nominated three times for the prestigious Oscars, including a nomination in the Best Picture category.
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#3 – Moneyball (2011)
Based on the 2003 book of the same name and written by Michael Lewis, Moneyball deserves its place in this top as it contributed to the popularity of baseball outside the United States.
Brad Pitt stars as Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, who tries to keep his team competitive in a highly competitive MLB with only a small budget at his disposal. Beane, with the help of his assistant Peter Brand, uses a statistical approach called sabermetrics to lead his team to the top of the league.
One of the strengths of this film is that it is for everyone and you don’t have to be a baseball fan to understand it. The film is very entertaining thanks to the acting performances of Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, who actually received Oscar nominations for this film.