The 3 Best Baseball Films of All Time

Baseball is life, and life, is baseball. America’s pastime has been thru its ups and downs, scandals and triumphs, but, unlike anything else in the world of sports, baseball is all American. From the sandlots of youth, to the major league stadiums, there’s something about the anticipation of the pitch, the crack of the bat, and the calculated sprints and near miss catches that keeps us coming back for more.

The only truly American sport may be waning in popularity these days, but its lure still draws us in, still fascinates us, young and old, athletic and intellectual. Baseball can never die, and these three films are a testament to that fact. Many movies have been made over the years about the sport, but none have been able to capture the true spirit of it as fully as these three.

So, grab a glove, grab a bat, grab eight of your best fiends and a box of Cracker Jacks, and settle in for the 3 best baseball films of all time.

3. A League of Their Own

It doesn’t matter if you’re a man, or a woman, baseball is for everyone. That’s the main point of this beloved 1992 classic. We can see a little bit of ourselves in Kit (Lori Petty) and Dottie (Geena Davis), no matter who we are, or where we’re from. The magic of the sport transcends all of that, and it’s captured so beautifully and eloquently here.

The true spirit of sportsmanship and willingness to be the best you can be, despite the consequences. This movie has it all and so much more. In a very real way it captures the true essence of the sport. A sport that will make you laugh and cry, a sport unlike any other ever played.

Jimmy Dugan’s (Tom Hanks) epic line: “There’s no crying in baseball!” is still recited on fields the world over to this day, only proving that this movie was able to successfully capture the spirit of the game in such a unique and timeless fashion.

2. 61* (2001)

The story of Roger Maris (Barry Pepper) and Mickey Mantle (Thomas Jane) slugging it out to beat The Babe’s home run record in the 1961 season is as compelling to watch as it was to experience.

This film, a passion project by Billy Crystal, shows us the men behind the legends, the humanness that went into each exhilarating home run hit. This is the all too human Maris and Mantle, the gods made flesh thru great story telling and superb acting. This movie shows us that despite everything, baseball will always be there to remind us that men can become gods while still remaining men.

1. The Sandlot (1993)

Out of any movie made on the sport of baseball, this is the movie. Nothing comes close to capturing the spirit of the game, the dirt, sweat, triumph, and magic, the thrill of it, the camaraderie of it. Baseball transcends life, baseball is bigger than life and The Sandlot shows us all of this, and more, in vivid Technicolor.

No other film quite captures the essence of the sport like this one. What more can you say? Oh, that’s right, “You’re killing me Smalls!”