Baseball is one of the most popular sports games in the world. Bright, exciting confrontation on the field is not inferior to soccer battles, hockey battles and other popular and spectacular competitions.
About baseball shot a lot of movies, but many of them are very similar. We have tried to compile for you a selection of interesting, varied and best films exploring all facets of baseball, this wonderful team game that inspires people to real accomplishments.
Moneyball
- IMDB Rating – 7.6
- Genre: Biography, sports, drama
- USA production / 2011
- Budget: $50,000,000
- World Box Office: $110,206,216
- Director Bennett Miller
- Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, Robin Wright, Stephen Bishop, Reed Diamond, Brent Jennings, Ken Medlock, Tammy Blanchard
The story of victorious underdogs, based on real events, is a formula for success for a sports drama. It’s the kind of film that inspires hope, determination, and triumph. You’re looking at the unfictional events that changed baseball forever.
“The Oakland Athletics, by 2002, were one of the most hapless teams in the American League. The loss of key players, low funding, and the resulting decline in team morale lead to resounding defeats.
Manager Billy Beane hires a young economist, Peter Brand, who comes up with an unorthodox team-building scheme based on mathematical evaluation of players that no one, even Billy himself, believes in. But he has nothing to lose…
This film has six Oscar nominations, not counting other performances and awards.
42
- IMDB Rating – 7.5
- Genre: Sports, drama, biography
- USA production / 2013
- Budget: $40,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $97,470,701
- Directed by Brian Helgeland
- Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Bachary, Lucas Black, Andre Holland, Hamish Linklater, Ryan Merriman, Christopher Meloni, Alan Tudyk, T.R. Knight
This film takes the viewer on a journey through baseball history, telling the story of the first black athlete to enter the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. His name was Jackie Robinson and he was inducted into the game by the great Branch Rickey, who was posthumously added to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967.
In 1945, Rickey signed the talented Robinson, immediately alerting him to possible displeasure from associates and fans. Gradually this talented fellow earns the respect of his teammates and becomes a baseball star, destroying forever the vicious practice of segregation in the sport.
The filmmakers collaborated with Rachel Robinson, the widow of the famous baseball player, to describe his sports biography as accurately as possible.
Hardball
- IMDB Rating – 6.4
- Genre: Drama, comedy, sports
- Production Germany, USA / 2001
- Budget: $32,000,000
- World Box Office: $44,102,389
- Director Brian Robbins
- Starring: Keanu Reeves, Diane Lane, John Hawkes, Brian Hearn, Julian Griffith, Michael B. Jordan, A. Delon Ellis Jr.
A wonderful American-German sports story in which a haircutting Keanu Reeves acts as Conor O’Neill’s childhood baseball coach. The guy is a gambling-obsessed man entangled in debt because of betting.
To somehow survive, he takes a job coaching kids from a poor neighborhood, planning to quit his job as soon as he pays off his debts. Of course, he quickly becomes attached to the children, begins to feel his responsibility and becomes a real mentor and friend to them.
A mish-mash of a role, totally unsuitable for this great actor. Keanu Reeves was nominated for it for the Golden Raspberry.
A League of Their Own
- IMDB Rating – 7.3
- Genre: Family, sports, drama, comedy
- Produced by USA / 1992
- Budget: $40,000,000
- World Box Office: $132,440,069
- Director Penny Marshall
- Starring: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Laurie Petty, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, Bill Pullman, Rosie O’Donnell, Megan Cavanagh
An extraordinary tragicomedy about the creation of a women’s baseball team during World War II, when most Major League athletes have been mobilized.
Businessman Walter Harvey resists the decision to close the Major Leagues for lack of players, and decides to create a women’s baseball league. Bringing together talented female athletes, he appoints them to coach Jimmy Dugan (played by Tom Hanks in this film), who suffers from a long-standing injury, drinks heavily, and does not believe that women can seriously play baseball…
One of the few films featuring Madonna for which she was praised.
Trouble with the Curve
- IMDB Rating – 6.8
- Genre: Drama, sports
- US production / 2012
- Budget: $60,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $48,963,137
- Directed by Robert Lorenz
- Starring: Clint Eastwood, Justin Timberlake, Amy Adams, John Goodman, Bob Gunton, Matthew Lillard, Robert Patrick, Chelsea Ross, George Weiner, Ed Lauter
Clint Eastwood is not afraid to play an aging and frail man in this family drama about a father-daughter reconciliation in the world of Southern Minor League baseball. Eastwood plays Gus Lobel, the legendary scout who once discovered some big stars long ago.
Gus is losing his eyesight and suffering from senile illnesses. He doesn’t rely on statistics or computers, preferring to trust his intuition. And before his contract with the Atlanta Braves expires, he and his daughter embark on their latest professional journey, hoping for more discoveries.
The shots of a young Gus Lobel were taken from Eastwood’s 1982 film, Fox of Fire.
The Perfect Game
- IMDB Rating – 6.9
- Genre: Drama, comedy, family, sports
- Production: Canada, USA, Mexico / 2009
- Budget: $12,500,000
- World Box Office: $3,878,993
- Director William Deere
- Starring: Jake T. Austin, Jansen Panettieri, Moises Arias, Ryan Ochoa, Gabriel Morales, Carlos Padilla, Tony Revolori, Mario Revolori, Alfredo Rodriguez, Clifton Collins Jr.
Once in the history of baseball, a remarkable event occurred: Little League fans watched the only perfect game ever played by Angel Macias, a Mexican pitcher little known to anyone before that game.
Fired from St. Louis, Cesar Fatz moves to Monterrey and meets a team of young baseball players from the poorest families who train under a local priest. Cesar helps assemble the team, in which 12-year-old Angel plays an important role, and accomplishes with them the feat of making these boys a true sensation of children’s baseball.
Some of the black-and-white footage is from the 1960 documentary about the team, Los pequeños gigantes.
The Rookie
- IMDB Rating – 6.9
- Genre: Drama, Family, Sports
- Produced by USA / 2002
- Budget: $22,000,000
- World Box Office: $80,693,537
- Director John Lee Hancock
- Starring: Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, Jay Hernandez, Beth Grant, Angus T. Jones, Brian Cox, Riccardo Gonzalez, and Jeffrey Cole. Jones, Brian Cox, Rick Gonzalez, Chad Lindbergh, Angelo Spizzirri, Royce D. Applegate
It’s never too late to pursue your dreams, say the makers of “Rookie,” based on the true story of Jim Morris, who first took the field in Major League Baseball at age 35.
Jim is the son of a career military officer whose father disapproved of his son’s passion for baseball. To make matters worse, an injury prevented him from rising above the minor leagues. Jim resigned himself to the fact that his dream would never come true, had a family and became a simple schoolteacher. But one day he suddenly gets a chance to go back in time and try his hand at…
The film was shot almost entirely in Texas, and the game scenes were created at a baseball stadium in Arlington.
The Fan
- IMDB Rating – 5.9
- Genre: Action, thriller, drama, sports
- Produced by USA / 1996
- Budget: $55,000,000
- U.S. box office receipts: $18,626,419
- Director Tony Scott
- Starring: Robert De Niro, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin, John Leguizamo, Benicio Del Toro, Patti D’Arbanville, Chris Mulkey, Andrew J. Fairchland, Brandon Hammond, Charles Hallahan
Let’s dilute the uplifting sports dramas with a dark psychological thriller about obsessive fan Gil Reynard, played by Robert De Niro. Gil is a true baseball fan, and is especially attached to one player, young baseball player Bobby Rayburn.
Gil is convinced that this guy can grab all the stars and cups, and he follows his career with enthusiasm. But one day Bobby has a formidable rival, Juan Primo, and Gil decides it’s time for him to help his favorite star–like eliminating a rival…
Robert De Niro was nominated for this role at the MTV Awards for Best Villain.
Million Dollar Arm
- IMDB Rating – 7.0
- Genre: Sports, drama, story
- Produced by USA / 2014
- Budget: $25,000,000
- World Box Office: $38,483,455
- Director Craig Gillespie
- Starring: John Hamm, Pitobash Tripathi, Suraj Sharma, Madhur Mittal, Aasif Mandvi, Darshan Jariwala, Lake Bell, Alan Arkin, Bill Paxton, Gregory Alan Williams
Another picture based on a real event: the emergence of talented players from India on an American baseball team. At the center of the story is J.B. Bernstein, head of a sports agency, which is on the verge of bankruptcy because of stiff competition.
One day a desperate Bernstein gets a fresh idea – no need to chase already divided American talent. It is worth looking for them in another country, or even on another continent. For example, the untapped market of Indian youth – there is surely an impressive list of bright talents who would not refuse to become the stars of world baseball…
The first Indians in American baseball were Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel.
For Love of the Game
- IMDB Rating – 6.6
- Genre: Drama, melodrama, sports
- Production USA / 1999
- Budget: $80,000,000
- World Box Office: $46,112,640
- Director Sam Raimi
- Starring: Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly, Jenna Malone, Brian Cox, J.K. Simmons, Vin Scully, Steve Lyons, Carmine Giovinazzo, Bill E. Rogers
A very moving sports drama in which a baseball player who leads a perfect game reflects on important things and reminisces about the past. The events of his life are intertwined with the game in real time, creating an amazing picture of empathy combined with great sports spectacle.
Billy Chapel is a 40-year-old seasoned pitcher who takes the field to play his last game. Team managers may sell him to another club, but Billy doesn’t know if he should continue his career.
He recalls playing baseball with his father, how he got seriously injured in the offseason, how he met Jane, the woman he pushed away for his career. He talks to himself without looking at the scoreboard or noticing that he is creating a real sensation with his perfect game.
The film is based on a 1991 novel by American writer Michael Shaara.
Mr. 3000
- IMDB Rating – 5.6
- Genre: Drama, melodrama, comedy, sports
- Produced by USA / 2004
- Budget: $30,000,000
- World Box Office: $21,838,181
- Directed by Charles Stone III
- Starring: Bernie Mac, Angela Bassett, Michael Rispoli, Brian J. White, Ian Anthony Dale, Ewan Jones, Amory Nolasco, Dondre Whitfield, Paul Sorvino, Earl Billings.
This is a fictional, cautionary and hilarious story about a star baseball player. Stan Ross was almost a legend, a bright player on the field and the hope of his fellow players. However, right after Stan hit his record 3,000th base hit, he left the team immediately and went into business, taking full advantage of his high-profile title, “Mr. 3,000,” leaving his club without a key player mid-season and a falling out with his friends.
His self-centeredness came with a boomerang on his nose very soon. The league counted Stan’s shots and found out that he had only 2,997 and that three of them were counted as technical errors. He was forced to return to the team, where he ran into the young and arrogant Pennebaker, contemptuous of everything and so reminiscent of Ross himself in the past.
The film failed at the box office, collecting 10 million dollars less than it was spent.
Yagusonyeo
- IMDB Rating – 6.5
- Genre: Drama, Sports
- Korea South production / 2019
- Worldwide Box Office: $241,459
- Director Choi Yoon-tae
- Starring: Lee Joo-yeon, Lee Jun-hyuk, Yeom Hye-ran, Kwak Dong-yeon, Song Young-gyu, Chu Hae-un, Kim Jeong-soo, Lee Chae-un, Yoo Jae-myung, Lee Sang-hee
A South Korean drama about a girl yearning to make it to the major leagues of male-dominated baseball, a valuable addition to the canon of films about feminists and women’s struggle for their rights and dreams in different parts of the world.
High school senior Joo Soo-in dreams of devoting her life to baseball. Despite her diminutive size, she develops good speed and is capable of being a valuable player, which she constantly proves in her school team, where she is the only girl.
Zhu plans to audition for a professional baseball league, and at the same time tries to get rid of the pressure of her mother, who wishes her daughter an entirely different fate.
South Korean actress Lee Ju-young, who portrayed the main character, won an award at the Seoul Independent Film Festival.
Fever Pitch
- IMDB Rating – 6.2
- Genre: Drama, melodrama, comedy, sports
- Production USA, Germany / 2005
- Budget: $30,000,000
- World Box Office: $50,451,307
- Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
- Starring: Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, Jason Spivak, Jack Kehler, Scott Severance, Jessany Finet, Maureen Keiller, Lenny Clark, Aony Skye, KaDee Strickland
Can we touch on the subject of love on the baseball field? As a child, Ben Reitman fell in love with baseball when he attended a Red Sox game in Boston and became a devoted baseball fan. Twenty-plus years later, Ben is still passionate about the sport, works as a school teacher, and nearly all of his possessions bear the Red Sox logo.
And then one day he meets Linda, whom he dreams of seeing as his wife. One problem: the girl does not share his passion for baseball and it becomes a serious obstacle on the way to marital happiness of the main characters.
Real Boston Red Sox players appear in the film.
Sugar
- IMDB Rating – 7.2
- Genre: Drama, sports
- Production USA, Dominican Republic / 2008
- World box office receipts: $1,144,438
- Directed by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
- Starring: Algenis Perez Soto, Andre Holland, Michael Gaston, Rainiel Rufino, Carl Bari, Richard Bull, Jose Rijo, Valchi Cuevas, Santo Silvestre, Emmanuel Nanita Carvajal
A touching film about the fate of Miguel Santos, a fictional professional pitcher from the Dominican Republic who comes from the poorest social class and tries to lift his loved ones out of poverty and humiliation.
The talented guy, nicknamed “Sugar,” was spotted by baseball academy scouts and signed with the Iowa team while still a teenager. He flies home every weekend, starting to build a nice house for his parents on his first royalties.
But where he plays, Miguel continually faces neglect and isolation, and an injury nearly dashes his hopes for a normal future.
The writers said they studied many of the fates of immigrant, minor-league players in order to craft a compelling story and draw people’s attention to the problems of young foreign players.
Off the Black
- IMDB Rating – 6.5
- Genre: Drama
- USA production / 2006
- U.S. box office estimate: $24,425
- Director James Ponsoldt
- Starring: Trevor Morgan, Nick Nolte, Rosemary DeWitt, Thomas Schell, Paul Ursioli, Jonathan Tchaikovsky, Noah Fleiss, Sonia Feigelson, Timothy Hutton, James Ponsoldt
Two keen baseball adepts, old and young, form an unlikely friendship and pull each other out of the blackness of despair and loneliness. There isn’t much baseball in the film, but it creates an atmospheric narrative.
Ray Cook is an angry alcoholic baseball umpire, discouraged by his own life. Dave Tibbel is a promising young baseball player with an extremely dysfunctional family. Beginning with bickering, the two begin to sympathize with each other. Then one day Dave agrees to pretend to be Ray’s son at his 40-year-old reunion, which leads to a lot of funny and tragic mishaps.
This film is the feature debut of director James Ponsoldt.
The Scout
- IMDB Rating – 5.4
- Genre: Drama, comedy, sports
- Production USA, Mexico / 1994
- U.S. box office receipts: $2,694,234
- Director Michael Ritchie
- Starring: Albert Brooks, Brendan Fraser, Dianne Wiest, Ann Twomey, Lane Smith, Michael Rapaport, Barry Shebaka Henley, John Capodice, Garfield, Luis Giovannetti.
A wonderful humorous film starring Brendan Fraser and Albert Brooks as the extremely gifted athlete Steve Nebraska and baseball scout Al Percolo.
Al is punished and sent on a search for new players in the wilderness of Mexico, where he does not expect to find anything, discouraged by his situation. However, fate throws him a real nugget – a talented guy with perfect results on the court. Except that Steve has some problems that put his baseball career in jeopardy.
A lot of legendary athletes and near-sports personalities appear in this film, playing themselves.
Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch
- IMDB Rating – 4.4
- Genre: Drama, comedy, family, sports
- Production Canada, USA / 2002
- Director Robert Vince
- Starring: Jeffrey Ballard, Jay Brazeau, Jason Bryden, Patrick Cranchot, James Crescenzo, Heather Viney, Doug Funk, Molly Hagan, Nicholas Harrison, Jim Hewson.
A film about animals and sports, a fascinating family drama about baseball with touching content, the sequel to the 1997 film “King of the Air.” So Josh, the owner of Buddy the golden retriever, goes off to college and leaves the dog to his little sister Andrea. This stubborn girl, despite her clumsiness, aspires to be a baseball star and takes Buddy with her to practice.
Once again, Buddy shows a remarkable athletic talent, helping Andrea and even getting Major League scouts interested. Meanwhile, sneaky scientist Frankenfurter plans to kidnap Buddy and the pups, wanting to clone dogs with athletic talents.
This film is part of the extensive “King of the Air” family franchise, with each film focusing on the different adventures of Buddy the dog. The “Santa Claus” series also belongs to this franchise.
The Final Season
- IMDB Rating – 6.5
- Genre: Drama, Sports
- Production USA / 2007
- U.S. box office receipts: $1,159,691
- Director David M. Evans
- Starring: Sean Estin, Jesse Heneke, Powers Booth, Owen Patchen Eaves, Brett Claywell, Nick Livingston, Roscoe Myrick, Alexander Rouse, Jonathan Stoner, Christopher Sironek
“The Final Season” is a sports drama based on true events. The film tells the story of the successful Norwegian high school baseball team, the Tigers, a club that decides to close due to a merger with another district.
It is at this time that Ken Stock, a true baseball enthusiast, becomes the head coach of the Tigers. What he doesn’t know is that the director chose him just to ensure that the team would play poorly and somehow justify the elimination of the club. However, Stoke, having reversed his bad attitude, rekindles the fire of hope in his athletes and their fans.
Scenes depicting a Norwegian town were filmed in the American settlement of Schellsburg.
Beer League
- IMDB Rating – 5.9
- Genre: Comedy, Sports
- US production / 2006
- Budget: $2,000,000
- U.S. grossed: $472,185
- Director: Frank Sebastiano
- Starring: Artie Lang, Ralph Macchio, Anthony DeSando, Cara Buono, Jimmy Palumbo, Joe Lo Trullo, Jerry Minor, Seymour Cassel, Michael Digg, Laurie Metcalf
A funny American comedy about sports, love and second chances in life. Artie DeVanzo is a drunken slacker and slacker who sometimes plays softball with the same slacker men on the local bartender’s team.
One day he meets his old love Linda and spends the night with her. In the morning, the girl is bewildered by the senseless encounter, but Henri, on the other hand, is inspired and determined to win Linda back. And in order to do so, he must defeat a rival baseball team that is in no doubt at all about his victory.
The producer and screenwriter was comedian Artie Lange, who played the main role in the film.
Jigoku Kôshien
- IMDB Rating – 5.7
- Genre: Horror, action, comedy, sports
- Production Japan / 2003
- Director Yudai Yamaguchi
- Starring: Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Ito, Hideo Sakaki, Shoichiro Masumoto, Akiko Mishiro, Alex Revan, Kanae Watani
Shall we add some thrills to the baseball theme? The Japanese absurdist low-budget horror film Hell’s Baseball is a blend of martial arts, black comedy, mystery, violence and, of course, baseball, one of Japan’s most popular high school sports.
The principal of Seido High School, Mr. Kocho, is thrilled that his team finally gets a chance to compete in the legendary national baseball tournament at Koshien Stadium. But first the boys have to beat their hometown rivals.
To Kocho’s dismay, his team’s first game will be against the terrifying athletes of Gedo High, who are known for killing their opponents. But it’s too late to refuse.
The film is based on the manga of the same name, which is quite popular in Japan.
