Top Baseball Movies: Three Of The Very Best

Top Baseball Movies: Field Of Dreams

The first movie on our list is the classic Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, and Amy Madigan. It first aired in 1989 and became an instant classic. The plot follows Ray Kinsella (Costner) as he hears a voice from the cornfield on his farm in Iowa. The voice utters the unforgettable line, “If you build it, he will come." Kinsella envisions a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield, and builds a diamond right there, complete with bleachers.

As the story develops, Sox legend Shoeless Joe Jackson, along with other former great players, show up to play games on the diamond. Ray becomes part of the scene, interacting with the players. In the face of harsh skeptics, Kinsella persists in keeping the dream alive, even in the face of impending bankruptcy. Ultimately, all the skeptics come around to his way of seeing when the players appear to them. The final piece of drama comes when Kinsella and his father “have a catch" on the field. This fulfills his dream of playing catch with his dad. Field of Dreams is a true crowd-pleaser and never gets old.

Another Classic: The Sandlot

The Sandlot is a movie about kids that appeals to fans of all ages. What it has in common is the appearance of James Earl Jones in a starring role. Jones plays a reclusive old-time baseball fan who owns a house adjacent to the ramshackle lot the neighborhood kids use as a baseball field. The plot revolves around the vicious dog owned by Jones"s character who protects the house against kids chasing home run balls. The plot thickens when the new kid on the block brings his step-father"s baseball, autographed by Babe Ruth, to the field, and it promptly disappears over the fence.

The boys spend the rest of the movie essentially plotting to retrieve the baseball before his step-father discovers it is missing. There are plenty of laughs along the way, as each attempt fails. Yet, in the end, the boys outwit the killer dog and encounter Jones"s character. While the babe Ruth ball is damaged beyond repair by the dog, the long-time baseball fan replaces it with others, therefore saving the boy from a terrible scenario. Through toil and trouble, all"s well that ends well. And that"s how some of the best baseball movies end.

The Most Powerful Story: 42

Jackie Robinson is unquestionably the bravest baseball player who ever lived. As anybody who knows anything about baseball can tell you, he was a pioneer in the truest sense of the word. Since MLB began, up until 1947, MLB was segregated, and African-Americans were banned from playing. They were forced into their own leagues, the most common of which was the Negro League. MLB fiercely resisted integration with all they had.

As the movie portrays, Dodgers owner Branch Rickey was bound and determined to be the owner to break the color character. He approached Jackie Robinson (played by the late Chadwick Boseman), in an effort to achieve his goal. The movie takes the viewer from Jackie"s first encounter with Rickey through his debut and ultimate acceptance by most of his teammates and baseball fans everywhere. This is one movie where, even though we knew the ending, it succeeded in entertaining us.

Great Baseball Movies: Just An Opinion

These three movies are just three of many great baseball movies. You may have your own list. You may think that these three don"t compare to your personal favorites. The beautiful thing about rating movies, or most things for that matter, is that it all comes down to personal taste. However, who can argue with such classic lines as: “Is this Heaven? No, it"s Iowa." Raise your hand if you have not once, heard, or said, “You"re killing me smalls." Or when a teammate says to Jackie, “Maybe tomorrow, we"ll all wear 42." How can you not love those lines?

In any event, these are three great baseball movies. Yes, there are many more, and we invite you to come up with your own list of great baseball movies. They may be far different from our favorite three, but that"s okay. After all, we are talking about the great game of baseball here, and isn"t that what matters? The best part of it is that we have so many great baseball movies to choose from in making our lists. How can you go wrong?

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