John Brumley/20th Century Fox
The approach of spring means baseball in Arizona and Florida. Not only diamonds, but also American entertainment is booming. It’s around this time that baseball movies start gaining popularity with streamers, as fans want to scratch every itch possible.
Baseball has always been the most cinematic of all sports. Beautiful scenery, sounds and smells that you can feel even in the living room. There’s a reason baseball is the sport with the most storytelling.
That’s why compiling a list of the top 10 baseball movies ever made is quite difficult. An indisputable burden that no one can bear. I spent hours watching every hit and pitch. Every monster over the fence was feared and every player past his prime was put to the test. One thing was clear to him in compiling this list. The 1980s was the production season for PRIME Baseball movies.
Welcome to our Top 10 ranking of the greatest baseball movies of all time.
10. THE BAD NEWS BEARS (1976) – HBOMAX
An absolute classic starring Walter Matthau and a group of kids learning how to play their favorite game. A reminder that it’s a game for kids after all.
9. For Love Of The Game (1999) – OWN OR RENT
Kevin Costner plays a baseball veteran in his final game while dealing with some decisions of his life.
8. 42 (2013) – HBOMAX
gave us a quote that resonates deeper than baseball, made during Jackie Robinson’s rookie season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. We don’t discriminate.”
7. League of the Own (1992) – Prime Video
“Don’t cry about baseball” started here in 1992. The story of the founding of the American Girls Pro Baseball League. An all-star cast featuring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and more.
6. Eight Men Out (1988) – OWN OR RENT
The story of the Black Sox, the worst scandal in baseball history.
5. Moneyball (2011) – AMC+
Get a glimpse inside the 2002 Oakland Athletics with Academy Award-nominated Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill’s stunning performance in “Moneyball.”
4. The Sandlot (1993) – STARZ
Any kid who plays baseball could play baseball in a place like this. Fireworks light up the sky that day and the game goes on a little longer. You will be crushed by the pool and of course the monsters on the other side of the fence will also be crushed. Summer has never been so pleasant.
3. Major League Baseball (1989) – owned or rented
“Well, there’s only one thing to do.” If you can finish that quote, you’ve either seen this movie multiple times or played on a team that had to beat the odds. We found some possible sources of motivation around a Major League Baseball team built to lose.
2. Field of Dreams (1989) – OWN OR RENT
The phrase “make it and it will come” has become a ubiquitous phrase around the world, and it started with a cornfield whisper in 1989. Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) follows her lead to her relationship with her father. A special moment that resonates beyond baseball.
1. Bull Durham (1988) – HBOMAX
The movie that started it all for Kevin Costner as a baseball king. Bull his Durham gave us a look at his life as a minor league baseball player.
“Bull Durham” has begun a move to brand the minor league baseball team as its own brand. The Durham Bulls’ growing popularity and identity spread across the country.
