We got this movie on videotape for the kids, but it just blew me away. Here we are in 2009, and Lou Pinella, Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr. -- all of whom are in this movie -- are still part of the game. That's just luck, but the dialog in this film is outstanding. It is far more than a kids' movie. Sure, there are scenes where a so-called ''adult'' film would have relied on profanity (Jerry Johnson letting his 12-year-old manager know that he didn't like being cut, no matter how much the kid liked his baseball card) but the message is clear.
When the kid asks pitcher Mike McGreevy how much a free agent who can't throw strikes is worth, or when he puts down his hot-headed reliever by asking if he thinks the team doesn't have anybody else who can get people out, it's priceless. Or how's this from his bench coach, about Johnson's slump: "Kid, don't you think there's a problem when you get that excited over a seeing-eye single?" or (from the angry reliever): "I've been looking over some film, and you were right about my mechanics, so I ... guess you're not a rat boy.''
Despite what might seem like an absurd premise, I have never seen a more realistic baseball movie, and I am a member of SABR and a baseball fan of more than 50 years. The Twins are still wearing the uniforms in this film, and until today (10/11/09) were still playing in the same stadium.
It pays homage to the franchise's history by calling the team's GM "Goslin'' -- a Hall of Famer from the Twins' days as the Senators.
Get this movie. Even the music is good. You will not regret it.
When the kid asks pitcher Mike McGreevy how much a free agent who can't throw strikes is worth, or when he puts down his hot-headed reliever by asking if he thinks the team doesn't have anybody else who can get people out, it's priceless. Or how's this from his bench coach, about Johnson's slump: "Kid, don't you think there's a problem when you get that excited over a seeing-eye single?" or (from the angry reliever): "I've been looking over some film, and you were right about my mechanics, so I ... guess you're not a rat boy.''
Despite what might seem like an absurd premise, I have never seen a more realistic baseball movie, and I am a member of SABR and a baseball fan of more than 50 years. The Twins are still wearing the uniforms in this film, and until today (10/11/09) were still playing in the same stadium.
It pays homage to the franchise's history by calling the team's GM "Goslin'' -- a Hall of Famer from the Twins' days as the Senators.
Get this movie. Even the music is good. You will not regret it.