Spring is a time of rebirth. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and for baseball fans, hope is in the air. Sure, the sting of last season’s heartbreak might still linger, but as our favorite teams take the field on Opening Day, we let ourselves believe again. This could be the year. Anything is possible. At least, that’s what we tell ourselves before reality sets in—our team didn’t make the right moves in the offseason, the same old problems are rearing their ugly heads, and that fresh optimism? Fading fast. But hey, the season is young. It’s spring. And where there’s baseball, there’s still hope.
That unwavering belief—that something magical is just around the corner—is at the heart of the best baseball movies. From The Pride of the Yankees to Moneyball, baseball films thrive on the idea that the impossible can happen. David can topple Goliath. The underdog can defy the odds. Unlike other sports, baseball has a natural cinematic rhythm. It’s a game of showdowns—one pitcher, one hitter, a moment frozen in time. No helmets hiding faces, no crowded chaos of a football field. Just you, your hero, and the crack of the bat that could change everything. And like a buzzer-beater in basketball, a single play can decide the entire story. It’s tense, dramatic, and exhilarating when that final swing connects, sending the ball (and the crowd) soaring.
Baseball is cinema. And because we at the Weekly Movie Throwdown love the game as much as we love movies, we’re dedicating April to some lesser-known baseball films—movies that might have been overshadowed by time or by all-time greats like The Natural and Field of Dreams. These picks celebrate ragtag teams, emotional comebacks, and the camaraderie that makes sports movies so great.
So grab your peanuts and Cracker Jack, and join us for four weeks of cinematic baseball magic. Here’s our lineup—watch along with us, and check out our Letterboxd list to track the season:
4/7: DOUBLE FEATURE: Bad News Bears (1976 and 2005, directed by Michael Richie and Richard Linklater)
4/14: The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976, directed by John Badham) 4/21: The Rookie (2002, directed by John Lee Hancock)
4/28: Major League (1989, directed by David S. Ward)
Play ball!