Major League Movie Review

Major League (1989)

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Written by: David S. Ward
Directed by: David S. Ward
Starring: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, Dennis Haysbert, Bob Uecker
Rated: R
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Plot
The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. When the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.

Verdict
I've seen this before, and it's a fun baseball movie though it's not as good as I remember. Nostalgia is strong with this one. It's one of the better baseball comedies, but doesn't shine as bright ranked against movies at large. While the story feels basic, the characters and comedy definitely help. As a baseball fan, this is a must see. This movie knows baseball.
It depends.

Review
The slumping Cleveland team has gone a long time without a championship win. The owner wants the team to fail so she can move them to Miami for a new stadium. She puts together a roster of the worst players she can find. That sounds a lot like what has happened to the real life 2022 Oakland A's and owner John Fisher who had the lowest team salary and is moving the team to Las Vegas after spurning Oakland's offers to stay.

Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen play Jake Taylor, Ricky Vaughn

We get a variety of players the team has recruited, from over the hill veterans to unknown hopefuls. That includes a catcher with bad knees, Jake (Tom Berenger), a slugger that can't hit breaking balls, Pedro (Dennis Haysbert), a third baseman who can't take ground balls, Roger (Corbin Bernsen), a pitcher from the penal league with a lot of power and no control Ricky (Charlie Sheen), and a speedster who can't hit Willie Mays Hayes (Wesley Snipes).

Dennis Haysbert plays Pedro Cerrano

Their first game, as expected, doesn't go well. When the manager discovers the owner's plan he rallies the team to win just to spite her. When they start winning she takes away amenities to crush their morale.

Their play results in a one game playoff against the Yankees and their intimidating first baseman Heywood played by Pete Vuckovich who was a starting pitcher that won the Cy Young for the Brewers in 1982. I appreciate that the final game of the movie isn't the game that wins it all but a game just to get in the playoffs.

As ridiculous as this movie has seemed for years, it came true with Oakland. The stakes aren't very high in the movie, but it is realistic for this team. This is from people that understand baseball, many of these characters tap into baseball stereotypes. If you're not into baseball, there's just no way you would appreciate this movie for what it does.