This particular topic always varies per fan, but I am going to give you my top ten baseball movies and reasons why. A little fun piece I’ve thought about over the years long before I ever became an actual writer. I usually say this part at the end, but I want to say it now in real hopes readers will read till the end. I’ll give a hint to my top few right off the bat (like that pun). I enjoy the biographical type the most, don’t get me wrong, I like the drama and comedy ones as well. Please, let us know what you think or show us your list in the comments below.

I am a little biased to this selection as my #1 favorite baseball movie, and the one I think is the best is: Pride of the Yankees, the Lou Gehrig story. We go back to the days of black-and-white movies here. Pride of the Yankees was released in 1942. This movie was shown to me very young, as my late father was a huge Yankees fan, and he got me to sit down on the couch with him. I may have been 7 years old, maybe 8. He told me about how the Yankees are the best team ever and had all the best players and the most championships. My dad told me, “Get over here and sit with your old man, watch this movie with me.” I grabbed a cushion, moved it over beside my dad, and said, “What is this about?” He told me it’s about the greatest Yankee of all, even better than Babe Ruth. I still had no idea who he was either at this time. I was very curious to find out who they both were. Just before it started, I said, “Is Lou your favorite?” He said Mickey Mantle was, confusing me even more lol, but he said, “Lou was like no other. Now get your feet off the table; you’re going to knock over my beer.” Let’s just say later in life I have watched it several more times since I knew who Lou Gehrig was now. Pride of the Yankees starred Gary Cooper, who lots of people at that time said resembled Gehrig a lot. The story shows Gehrig at Columbia University right up to his last day as a Yankee. Lou Gehrig went on to play 2,130 games and was nicknamed the “Iron Horse.” He contracted ALS, which they later named Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It was an excellent biopic. I highly recommend it if you have never seen it.

(I promise you the rest of these won’t be so long. This one has a special place in my heart due to the reasons I wrote about. Love you, Dad, in heaven.) 

2.  I really like the movie Eight Men Out. This movie should definitely be in everyone’s top 5. I like this movie for the story as it plays out. It shows the all-star cast portraying 8 players from the 1919 Chicago White Sox, who were all acquitted of throwing the World Series. New commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis bans all eight men for life. The Cincinnati Reds won the best-of-nine series 5-3. This was later called the Black Sox Scandal. The really sad part of this movie, unlike the above movie, is that nobody died, but so many players were now outcasts of the game and even rejected from being inducted into the Hall of Fame, mainly superstar Shoeless Joe Jackson.

3. *61 is definitely in my top 5 movies all time and not just baseball-related movies. I love the way the movie has the M&M Boys Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris go head to head and battle each other all season to try and pass Babe Ruth’s record of 60 HR. Roger Maris did beat out Mantle, who was injured and struggled with alcoholism and womanizing too much. Maris beat Ruth and did hit 61 home runs, but Babe Ruth hit 60 in 154 games. The new schedule had teams playing 162 games, this is why 61 comes with an asterisk attached. A must-see for all baseball fans, especially Yankee fans. 

4. The Natural – This movie stars Robert Redford, released in 1984. This movie, unlike the three previous picks, is purely fiction but a classic. Roy Hobbs, 19 at the time, went to Chicago with dreams of being a star baseball player. Hobbs, at a carnival, meets a young lady whose intentions, at the time unknown to Hobbs, stuck up conversation. They hit it off later back at a hotel. This mysterious lady emerges from the shadows, and she pulls a gun on Roy and shoots him in the stomach. Fast-forward 16 years later, Hobbs arrives in New York to play for a losing NY Knights team who needs help. The manager doesn’t think this old man, who is now 35, can help the club. He was surprised when Hobbs took batting practice with his homemade bat labelled “Wonderboy,” which Roy made from a tree struck by lightning when he was a boy. This movie is a touching drama that should be viewed at least once by every baseball fan.

5. Major League – released in 1989, this comedy has a star-studded cast of Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Wesley Snipes, and many more. Cleveland Indians owner Rachel Phelps inherited the team from her deceased husband. She hates Cleveland and wants to move the team to Miami , but for this to happen, the team needs to finish last. She devises a plan to make the team so sh*tty they will be the worst team in baseball, but much to her chagrin, the team of misfits she put together hears of this plan and plays their hearts out. Three-quarters of the way through the season, they are a .500 club . The Indians at the end do end up making the post-season. This movie is a must-see for some laughs and good overall fun. 

6. The Bronx is Burning (mini-series) – This “movie” should and has made it higher up my list since the original article. I’ve watched this one several times (just binged the 8-part series again yesterday, actually). It’s hard putting it 6th. I want it to be in my top 3. Regardless, this is a MUST-SEE for all baseball fans; again, especially Yankee fans. This mini-series debuted on ESPN in 2007, focusing on the NY Yankees’ 1977 season. Owner George Steinbrenner, fairly new to the game, only having owned the team for 3 years to this point, was hungry for a title, being it was 15 years since their last World Series in 1962. George, hell-bent on bringing a title back to NY, hires manager Billy Martin and decides to sign superstar free agent Reggie Jackson against Martin’s wishes. The feuds between Martin and Jackson were countless in this movie and in real life. The movie also featured clips of the horrors NY faced with the Son of Sam killer on the loose during this period, frightening citizens of New York nightly till his eventual capture in July of ’77. The season progresses with ups and downs on and off the field, with the Yankees eventually winning the 1977 World Series with Reggie Jackson being the hero and MVP, being named Mr. October. A longer movie/series with each episode being between 42-45 mins in length, 8 episodes in total, a definite must-watch for all baseball fans.

7. 42 – The Jackie Robinson Story. This amazing film came out in 2013. I remember this one vividly. I wanted to see this one so badly that I went to the theater to see it by myself, pigged out on popcorn, and enjoyed this one immensely. Jackie Robinson faced so many obstacles on and off the field, dealing with racism and segregation. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball when post-World War II Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey set out to sign the first black baseball player. His sights were set on Robinson to come to Brooklyn and change baseball forever, and that he did. The movie is an amazing depiction of the life and times of Jackie Robinson and how he changed the game and “some” people’s view on black people in baseball. The coming together of shortstop Pee Wee Reese and Robinson in a game in Cincinnati to calm Jackie down, Pee Wee puts his arm around Jackie in front of a crowd and says, “Maybe tomorrow we’ll all wear 42, so nobody could tell us apart.” This quote is symbolic for various reasons. One is its symbolizing equality, and secondly, on April 15th, it is now called Jackie Robinson Day, and all of MLB wears 42 to show that we are all equal and racism has no place in society. Obviously, a must-see movie for all. 

8. Moneyball – 2011 release starring Brad Pitt as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane. The movie shows how teams with less salaries can and definitely do compete in Major League Baseball against the big money teams. Billy Beane successfully built a contender using analytics to field a team of players with lower salaries that I quote from the movie: 

“It’s all about getting on base.” “You get on base, we win. You don’t, we lose. And I hate losing, I hate it. I hate losing more than I even want to win.” 

This reminds me of one of my pastimes, fantasy baseball. It’s not all about one stat; it’s about multiple stats and fielding a competitive balance. If you have not seen this movie and like baseball, it’s a movie to watch for sure. 

9. A League of Their Own – Speaking earlier about equality, I can’t leave out the girls, maybe not on everyone’s list at all, but A League of Their Own stars Tom Hanks, Madonna, Geena Davis, and Rosie O’Donnell. During WWII, an all-girls team is formed. The movie pits two sisters going up against each other. Definitely not on most people’s list , but in all fairness, it had its comedic, climatic, and touching moments. I recommend a one-time watch just for laughs. 

10. The Bad News Bears – Yes, there were sequels to this movie and a remake with Billy Bob Thornton. But in 1976, I was only 1 year old, so I didn’t see this till much later, but the movie is fun for all ages. The ’76 original movie starred Walter Matthau and Tatum O’Neal. Former minor league pitcher turned coach of a little league team with a bunch of unskilled kids just looking to have fun, the group of misfits stumble all season but improve to make the playoffs against the Yankees, which they do lose, but overall this movie was fun to watch with lots of laughs, a definite must-watch for baseball fans. 

*Honorable mention* “Baseball” a Ken Burns Documentary this could be in the top ten of a lot of fans’ lists, but I feel this is an extremely lengthy of a film it is 9 parts each disc is called an inning actually. There is also a tenth inning that is broken into two parts, 4 hours. This “movie” should be watched over days or weeks. Very well done documentary and informative for the serious baseball fan. This documentary should be watched by every baseball fan at some point in your lives.

Feel free to follow me on ‘X’ @HENDO19750, or add me and chat on Facebook: Facebook