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Today my brother pointed out that there are only 78 days until the 2010 MLB season begins… woohoo! As we get ready for baseball, we wanted to share some “reviews” of baseball movies. Some our family favorites, some are new to us.
We got things going this week with the classic (new to us), Eight Men Out.
The Movie
Eight Men Out is the story of the eight players on the 1919 White Sox who allegedly threw the World Series; they were also known as the “Black Sox.” The movie was made in 1988 and is full of well-known actors in their earlier days, several of whom will appear in other baseball (or sports) movies such as Charlie Sheen, David Strathairn, Christopher Lloyd and D.B. Sweeney (if you count The Cutting Edge as a sports movie). This movie is a great one to view before watching Field of Dreams (more on that classic later) as it gives a little history of that tainted team, and specifically “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.
His Take
Perhaps the most interesting part of this movie is emphasis on the role that the whole team played in the scandal. Shoeless Joe Jackson is typically the the one associated with the scandal because he was the best player on the team. As a competitor, it’s difficult to believe that professional athletes actually took part in a scheme of this magnitude. The cast is great and the baseball scenes are believable, which is important for the credibility of this historical baseball film.
Her Take
John Cusack is one of my favorite actors, so right off the bat I knew I’d like this one. Seriously though, I liked the history lesson, and the interpretation on whether questionables like Buck Weaver and Shoeless Joe were really involved in the fix. The one thing I wonder is… what if MLB and the commissioner were as hard on “cheaters” now as they were 90 years ago? We’d be out a lot of superstars, that’s for sure.
Family Take
Put the kids to bed for this one. It’s a drama that would be over the heads of young ones, although an older kid who’s interested in the history of the game might like it. The language isn’t too bad, but be sure to consider ethical issues present like gambling and drinking during prohibition.
Yesterday my dad took Chiquita to the grocery store. Apparently, he asked her which “car cart” she wanted to drive/ride in. Her choices were red and blue. Now, let me point out that this is the girl that almost always responds with a confident “yellow!” when asked what color something is, regardless of what it really is. But not this time! without hesitation, she pointed to the blue cart and said, “Dodger Blue!” Atta, girl.
Now if only the Dodgers had a mascot she could love like she loves the Philly Phanatic (he’s one of the only green things she can correctly identify). At least one member of our household was glad to see the World Series played in Philly– she loves the Phanatic almost as much as she loves Manny (good thing for us, he’ll be back next year)!
Speaking of Dodger Blue, we got to go to a playoff game this year to root on the Blue. Unfortunately, we all know how the season ended but the game we went to, NLDS Game 2, was pretty darn exciting! Going to a playoff game was all David wanted for his birthday (well, aside from attending a World Series game, but alas, that was not an option this year). Click over to view the slide show if you are in a reader or your email inbox).
We’ll be thinking blue all off-season and are already looking forward to Spring Training ‘10!
The famous saying goes,”All good things must come to an end.” Unfortunately, this was true for our trip of a lifetime. Our final stop on this tour of America’s great ballparks brought us to Cincinnati and the Great American Ballpark. This home of the Reds is situated right up against the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati.
We made the trek across Ohio from Cleveland and arrived in downtown Cincinnati with plenty of time to spare. We even had time to make the quick jaunt across the river and add Kentucky to our list of states visited on this trip. While we didn’t have time to see much in our five-minute drive in the Bluegrass State, I am sure that there are tons of great things to do and see there (except for Major League Baseball, of course).
To take full advantage of the river view, we bought seats in the upper deck right behind home plate. Because the demand for Reds tickets is not exactly off the charts, we were able to score some handicap seats so we didn’t have to check Chiquita’s stroller. These seats not only afforded us a great view of the field, but they looked out over the river. Had it been sunny, the view would have been more spectacular.
As our luck would have it, we found ourselves in a rain delay after the first inning. However, the rain delay experience at the Great American Ballpark was unlike any other we had seen. We got to experience some of the hardest, densest rain we had ever seen. Fortunately, we made it into the covered concourse area in time to avoid the downpour and lightning. Paul Brown Stadium, where the Bengals attempt to field an NFL team in between jail terms, sits about a half mile west of the ballpark. On a sunny day it can easily be seen from the upper concourse. Not on this day. The silhouette disappeared as the rain fell in massive amounts.
After huddling in the upper concourse for a while, we made our way down to the field level and were very pleased to find a large wall full of flat screen TVs playing all the other games from around the league that night. Due to the rain delay, the area was packed with soaked fans, but the sight of seven simultaneous baseball games brought smiles to our faces. After at least an hour delay, the game against the Braves eventually resumed. Since we had a two-hour drive ahead of use, we had to call it quits in the fifth inning.
Leaving that last stadium was a bittersweet moment. We had begun to live the dream of seeing America’s pastime in all corners of the country. The teams, players, fans, conversations, bratwursts, rivalries, subway rides, stadiums, and baseball had taken us on a great journey. We have aspirations to visit the remaining ballparks in the next couple years (I think there are ten left). If the opportunity presents itself for this type of trip, there should be no hesitation. You never know what you will see in America’s ballparks.
Enjoy the slideshow of our great trip’s last game.
One of the things I love about the sport of baseball is the culture that goes along with it. The love of the game goes beyond the nine innings and the twenty-five man roster. It stretches towards books, movies, songs, and more. It is a culture that inspires road trips and pilgrimages and international camaraderie.
It is an almost romantic pastime, if we look at the Oxford definition of the word: inclined toward or suggestive of the feeling of the excitement and mystery of love. Doesn’t that describe the attitude of most serious baseball fans? There’s definitely an excitement and mystery in loving the game of baseball.
A simple search on Amazon for the word baseball brings up results in thirty categories, from DVDs to Jewelry to Gourmet Food– we’re talking thousands and thousands of results. In one sense the sport has possibly just become as commercialized as anything else in pop culture, but on the other hand, maybe this phenomenon is simply due to a sincere, widespread love of the game.
Stay tuned as we review and discuss our favorite items and aspects of Baseball Culture here on Round Ball, Round Bat.
Our second-to-last stop on this grand baseball trip was at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. We had purchased our tickets ahead of time from the Indians’ website because it was Major League Monday complete with a Rick Vaughn bobblehead giveaway. As it turns out, our good planning was unnecessary as there were plenty of good [...]
Our stop in Pittsburgh was short and sweet. We arrived just before first pitch and headed out of town after the game ended. Such is life for us hard-core road trippers, but we were able to (mostly) enjoy PNC Park and the game between the Detroit Tigers and the host Pirates.
This stop got off to [...]
We followed up our visit to New York with a trip to the home of the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. Yes, I do still harbor some hard feelings from last October when they ended the Dodgers’ playoff run, but we had to visit Citizens Bank Park since we were so close. I now [...]
Our next stop brought us to baseball’s hallowed ground in the Bronx. Well, we were next to what used to be hallowed ground. Of course I am referring to the New Yankee Stadium.
We timed our passage through New York perfectly as we caught the first installment of this season’s Subway Series – the first ever [...]
The 2009 season marked the opening of two brand new ballparks for the New York teams. Overshadowed by the publicity surrounding the “House that George Built” up in the Bronx, Citi Field can definitely hold its own as a first-class facility. This $850 million home of the Mets sits adjacent to the site [...]
Our visit to Baltimore’s beautiful ballpark marked the seventh stop on our trip and the second of eight consecutive games to finish our trip. Oriole Park at Camden Yards was the trend setter for all the new downtown stadiums that have popped up in the majors in the last couple decades. After visiting, we can [...]
The Movie
for the word baseball brings up results in thirty categories, from DVDs to Jewelry to Gourmet Food– we’re talking thousands and thousands of results. In one sense the sport has possibly just become as commercialized as anything else in pop culture, but on the other hand, maybe this phenomenon is simply due to a sincere, widespread love of the game.
