Which actor and role do you think was the best portrayal of a baseball player in a movie. I’m talking about mechanically, who do you think did it best? I thought Sheen looked pretty good in Major League, but I’d probably have to give it to Costner for either Bull Durham or For The Love of The Game. He hit lefty in BD and actually looked pretty good.
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There can be no serious debate here. Kenny F’ing Powers! 
@DanJ posted:There can be no serious debate here. Kenny F’ing Powers!
While I loved the show, Danny McBride didn’t sell me on his actual ability to pitch. Might be the funniest show I’ve ever watched.
"Mr Baseball" with Tom Sellick. Five Southern California Pro scouts were hired as actors. During our Area Code tryouts I would introduce each to the parents. The story line had many "human interest", coaching strategy, team interaction and the romantic involvement of hero with the Japanese culture.
Bob
@Consultant posted:"Mr Baseball" with Tom Sellick. Five Southern California Pro scouts were hired as actors. During our Area Code tryouts I would introduce each to the parents. The story line had many "human interest", coaching strategy, team interaction and the romantic involvement of hero with the Japanese culture.
Bob
Good call! Forgot about that movie. Selleck definitely looked the part.
Tommy Lee Jones as Cobb. I left the theater (a place where movies used to be watched) cemented in the belief Cobb was a monumental a-hole.
A close second David Keith as Parkman in Major League 2.
Robert Redford in The Natural. His swing and throwing motion was real.
Geena Davis 
Too bad that Kurt Russell never landed a role in a baseball movie. He could actually play.
Check out " The Battered Bastards of Baseball" on Netflix.
I think Freddie Prinze Jr. did a bad movie about the Cape Cod League, and he could actually play.
Dennis Quaid in The Rookie was OK as well. He had stiffened a bit with age, but he did have a background as an actual player.
Some real players are role players or extras in Rookie of the Year as well.
Bernie Mac in Mr. 3000 wasn't a total hack.
But I think my vote has to go to Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions.
@Midlo Dad posted:I think Freddie Prinze Jr. did a bad movie about the Cape Cod League, and he could actually play.
Dennis Quaid in The Rookie was OK as well. He had stiffened a bit with age, but he did have a background as an actual player.
Some real players are role players or extras in Rookie of the Year as well.
Bernie Mac in Mr. 3000 wasn't a total hack.
But I think my vote has to go to Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions.
Summer Catch with FPjr could have been really good if he were as good an actor as he is a baseball player! I really liked the idea for the movie but the acting was terrible by just about everybody....except Jessica Biel, she is always good 
We should also talk about the worst portrayal!
I nominate Gary Cooper for Pride of the Yankees.
Though John Goodman's "The Babe" has to be mentioned. Note to JG: The Babe got bigger as his career moved along, but he didn't have a Santa Claus-like bowl full of jelly hanging over his belt for cryin' out loud. Especially not when he first started out.
Tim Robbins was pretty bad. I don't think he has an athletic bone in his body.
Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson in 42.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Which actor and role do you think was the best portrayal of a baseball player in a movie. I’m talking about mechanically, who do you think did it best? I thought Sheen looked pretty good in Major League, but I’d probably have to give it to Costner for either Bull Durham or For The Love of The Game. He hit lefty in BD and actually looked pretty good.
Costner is supposed to be a "pretty good" baseball player. I read he was a walk-on with CS Fullerton but didn't make it. You can tell he has ability by watching him throw. He previously donated many $$ to CSF baseball program.
I thought Matt LeBlanc was great in 'Ed'. The chimp was very good too.
leslie nielson as an upm in naked gun
@LBmom2021 posted:Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson in 42.
Just died from a battle with cancer. That really stinks. I enjoyed every one of his movie roles.
@Texas1836 posted:That is funny. Tommy is known as one too.
Which is really too bad, I think. I thought Jones crushed it in "No Country for Old Men" but I'm not from Texas, so what do I know.
And before anyone says there's no baseball in "NCFOM" please recall this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B_rRmkbA9I
the whole scene is amazing but "Call it" is sort of a baseball thing.
Be generous with me.
Also, a legit offering: Some of the guys in "Sugar"
Any excuse to see this again....
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Just died from a battle with cancer. That really stinks. I enjoyed every one of his movie roles.
It’s so very sad. He was a true talent.
Smoke- One of the best movies ever. There are a lot of Texas-related things in that movie.
Anton Chigurh seems modeled after Jimmy Chagra (google) Lotta history there. And, there have been two federal judges assassinated that I’m aware of. One of them was Joyce Vance’s father in Birmingham. The other was Judge John Wood who was killed In his driveway in San Antonio about 40 years ago by none other than Woody Harrelson’s father. It is widely believed that Jimmy hired Mr Harrelson to kill Judge Wood. And yes, Jimmy and Judge Wood had a history. And Harrelson was a bounty hunter in the movie.
I have digressed
But it was a GREAT digression. I didn't know all that. And I agree, a great film, largely because it was perfectly cast and so true to the book.
Costner has my vote, and if memory serves me right he was a switch hitter in BD. However, Tom Hanks played the best washed up baseball player. Quotes from "league of their own still" crack me up.
I watched Good Will Hunting the other night and I've got to say, Matt Damon looked pretty darn good throwing cage BP to Ben Affleck (about 5 minutes into the movie).
I watched Moneyball today. Brad Pitt was not very convincing
I watched Moneyball yesterday! Steven Bishop who played David Justice was good, but then he actually played some pro ball.
This is my favorite clip from Moneyball. "I'm just sayin', his girlfriend is a 6. At best"
I don't know if it's a realistic portrayal of baseball scouts, but I think there's some truth to it.
There is definitely correlation between elite athleticism and big dick energy, but I'm not sure scouts get the causation right. They assume that cocky kids become good athletes because they're cocky, but I believe some good athletes become cocky because they're good athletes.
It has to be either Costner or Redford, if we are going off the OP "mechanically" comment. If I have my facts right, Redford even hit a HR during a take of The Natural in front of quite a few fans.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Tim Robbins was pretty bad. I don't think he has an athletic bone in his body.
Nuke Laloosh is the obvious winner here!!! Staggeringly bad but a great character.
The look on the kid's face after he gets hit with the glove cracks me up every time !!!!
GOT HIM
Cosner. Supposedly at the time of Bull Durham, he had a low to mid 80's fastball...and he was in THE GREATEST Baseball movie of all of time, Field of Dreams.
@57special posted:Too bad that Kurt Russell never landed a role in a baseball movie. He could actually play.
Check out " The Battered Bastards of Baseball" on Netflix.
This is a really good documentary! Worth the time!
@ReluctantO'sFan posted:The look on the kid's face after he gets hit with the glove cracks me up every time !!!!
GOT HIM
I'm sad to say that today's hyper PC culture conditioned me to first think "that's child abuse. Hitting a defenseless kid with a glove when not looking. Nothing funny about that. Tom Hanks is a pig ".... Then I came to my senses and laughed my ass off.
Knownothing, I have said for years that is EXACTLY how scouts talk.classic
@Dadbelly2023 talking about being politically incorrect
God that movie was funny or maybe I just have a weird sense of humor, lol
@ReluctantO'sFan posted:@Dadbelly2023 talking about being politically incorrect
God that movie was funny or maybe I just have a weird sense of humor, lol
It is very funny. Nothing weird about your sense of humor. I think one of the things I really like about the movie is you can watch it with teenagers and they'll still like it today.
Benny, "The Jet" Rodriguez
