Q. What beloved
baseball movie introduced an actor-couple who were later banned from
participating in Hall of Fame activities honoring that very movie?
Hint: The movie
was written and directed by a career minor leaguer.
Hint: The movie
was filmed on location after the baseball season, which is why the grass had to
be touched up with green paint and why the breath of the actors can be seen in
many of the night scenes.
- Susan Sarandon &
Tim Robbins met on the set
of “Bull Durham”. Their outspoken political stances caused the 2003
cancellation of a 15th anniversary Cooperstown celebration of the
movie by Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey.
NOTE: The actual Crash Davis
played parts of 3 seasons in he majors.
His first hit was a triple of future MVP Spud Chandler. In only one of his ten minor league seasons,
1948, did he play for the Durham Bulls.
FCR - Tim Luca, San Mateo, California
Incorrect guesses:
TUESDAY
Q. What
fictional movie features a non-fictional former Terrapin who played under Mugsy?
Hint: The shooting
schedule was too limited to wait for real grass to mature, so experts on sod in
California were hired to create the film’s playing field.
Hint: The most
memorable lines in the movie were spoken in a whisper.
- The film Field of Dreams pays tribute to the brief major league career
of Archibald W. “Moonlight” Graham, a University of Maryland alum. Graham played briefly on
defense on 30-Jun-1905 for NYG, managed by John “Mugsy” McGraw.
- The sod pros worked at Dodger Stadium and the
Rose Bowl.
- Among other lines, a disembodied voice
taunted, “If you build it, he will come,” which was central to the plot.
FCR - Vince Guerrieri, Elyria, Ohio
Incorrect guesses: Citizen Kane, Chief Bender, The Horse Whisperer, Archibald “Moonlight” Graham, The Pride of the Yankees, Bang the Drum Slowly, The Natural,
WEDNESDAY
Q. What recent biopic had its title reduced
to a couple of digits?
Hint: The actor playing the main character
recently did another biopic of an important historical figure.
Hint: The first time this player’s story was told
on the ‘big screen’, the subject, not an actor, played himself.
Hint: It has a Tomatometer rating of 79%, but an
Audience Score of 85%.
- Actor Chadwick Boseman also played Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in the 2017 film Marshall. [Yes,
yes, he had *another* movie come out this year!]
FCR - Daniel Blumenthal, Falls Church, Virginia
Incorrect
guesses: 61*, Chadwick Boseman, Jackie, the interminable jackie
robinson story”, Jackie Robinson, The
Jackie Robinson Story.
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. What movie introduced us to a villainous
owner, who, in the original script, was to be the guiding force behind a team’s
success.
Hint: The major league team in the movie is
threatened with moving to a city that today HAS a major league team.
Hint: The cast includes a former World Series
MVP, a former Cy Young Award winner and a character who would later portray a
military major, colonel and general, not to mention a judge and president of
multiple countries.
- Former Las Vegas showgirl Rachel Phelps (played by Margaret Whitton) inherits the
Cleveland Indians baseball team from her deceased husband,. Screening audiences preferred her as the “bad
guy”.
- The team is portrayed as the Cleveland Indians
and the target city to move to is Miami.
- WS MVP Steve Yeager appears as Duke Temple and CYA winner Pete Vukovich plays Clu Haywood. First
baseman Pedro Cerano is played by Dennis Haysbert. Haysbert has become an actor with many major roles not the least of which
is as the face and voice of
credibility
for Allstate Insurance. Also played Nelson Mandela and U.S. President David Palmer.
FCR - Eric Savage, Short Hills, New Jersey
Incorrect
guesses: Eight Men Out, Damned Yankees,
The Natural,
THURSDAY
Q. What 1994 baseball movie was a
successful re-make of a successful 1951 movie?
Hint: The cast includes an honorary doctor, four
Oscar winners, a former professional boxer, a multiple Emmy winner, an American
League batting champ, an American League Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up, among
others.
Hint: The film features a playoff race that wasn’t
played out in real life.
- The 1994 version, referenced in this question,
had an impressively deep cast, including:
- Adrien Brody
as Danny Hemmerling (Angels Player)
- Brenda Fricker
as Maggie Nelson (Foster Mom)
- Ben Johnson as
Hank Murphy (Angels Owner)
-Matthew McConaughey as Ben Williams
(Angels Outfielder)
These 4 are Oscars
winners. They won in The Pianist, My Left Foot, The Last Picture
Show
& The Dallas Buyers
Club
respectively.
- Carney Lansford
as Kit "Hit or Die" Kesey Won the AL batting title for the Oakland
A’s in strike-shortened 1981, hitting .336
- Mitchell Page as
Abascal (Angels First Baseman) finished second behind only future Hall of Famer
Eddie Murray in the 1977 AL ROY voting
- Joseph
Gordon-Levitt as Roger Bomman – 29 major acting award nominations
- Danny Glover
as George Knox (Angels Manager) has won multiple Film and TV awards and holds
an honorary doctorate degree from Paine College.
- Christopher Lloyd as
Al "The Boss" Angel has won multiple Emmy Awards
In addition to:
Jay O. Sanders as Ranch Wilder
(Angels Broadcaster)
Milton Davis Jr. as J.P.
Taylor Negron as David Montagne
Tony Longo as Triscuitt Messmer
(Angels Catcher)
Neal McDonough as Whitt Bass (Angels
Pitcher)
Stoney Jackson as Ray Mitchell
(Angels Third Baseman)
Tim Conlon as Wally (Angels Color
Commentator)
Israel Juarbe as Jose Martinez
(Angels Second Baseman)
Albert Garcia as Pablo Garcia (Angels
Shortstop)
Dermot Mulroney as Mr. Bomman (Roger's
Dad)
Robert Clohessy as Frank Gates (Angels
Pitcher)
Danny Walcoff as Marvin
O.B. Babbs as Mapel (Angels
Player)
William Dear as Blue Jays Manager
Mark Cole as Norton (Angel
Outfielder)
Jeff Seaberg as Popcorn Vendor
- Among others!
- The film was released less than a month before
the 1994 MLB Baseball Players Strike. The playoffs and the World Series were never
played that year.
FCR - Leonard Epstein, Dallas
Incorrect
guesses: Cobb, The Babe Ruth Story,
FRIDAY
Q. Which 1990s baseball movie was a re-make
of a 1950s movie of a different name?
Hint: The contrivance of the plot varies little
from that of the original Spiderman.
Hint: John Candy makes an uncredited appearance.
Hint: Several major leaguers play themselves.
- The 1954 film was titled Roogie's
Bump and had appearance of Roy Campanella,
Carl Erskine, Billy Loes and Russ Meyer playing themselves.
- The parallel to Spiderman is that our hero has a
miraculous accident that gives him superhuman power.
- Appearing as their own fine selves are Barry
Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Pedro Guerrero.
FCR - Daniel Wilson, St. Paul
Incorrect
guesses: The Natural, For the Love of
the Game, Brewster’s
Millions,
END-OF-THE-WEEK BONUS
Q. What movie gave us baseball cinema’s
most often repeated, and incorrect, line?
Hint: The author of this line claimed that he had
been chastised by Rogers Hornsby.
Hint: The initial cut of the movie lasted nearly
four hours. The cinematic release was
just over two.
- Tom Hanks as Coach Dugan (Jimmie Foxx) screams
this line at his sensitive outfielder.
FCR - Sarah Grynpas, Toronto
Incorrect
guesses: Eight Men Out, Pride of the
Yankees, Field of Dreams,
SATURDAY
Q. What is the most successful movie that ever
focused on a major league General Manager?
Hint: The movie and its subject have both been
equally ambitious and equally successful… more or less.
Hint: The movie, after 5 months of production,
was almost scratched due to creative differences among the highest levels of
officers of the film’s studio.
Hint: Unlike most baseball movies, it received 6
Academy Award nominations, including Picture of the Year.
Hint: Some of the movie’s more memorable quotes are,
~ “I hate losing more than I even wanna win!”
~ “How can you not get romantic about baseball?”
~ “Cut the crap, Pete. Would you have drafted
me in the first round?”
~ “The problem we're trying to solve is that
there are rich teams and there are poor teams. Then there's fifty feet of crap,
and then there's us.”
- A’s GM Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, was ahead of his
time, using more and different metrics than other teams (or even some of his
own employees) thought useful. His
methods are now copies and extended to such a degree that the competitive edge
he had created has been significantly diluted.
- Oscar nominations: Best picture
Best Actor – Brad Pitt
Best Supporting Actor – Jonah Hill
Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay – Aaron
Sorkin, et al
Best Film Editing – Christopher Tellefsen
Best Sound Mixing - Ed Novick, Deb Adair, et al
FCR - Dave Goss, Wind Gap, Pennsylvania
Incorrect
guesses: 42, Billy Ball, Pride of the Yankees, Bang the Drum Slowly, Jerry Maguire, Little Big League,
SUNDAY
Q. What biopic gave hope to millions of
ex-baseball players?
Hint: It’s about a lefty pitcher who was drafted by
the Yankees and Brewers.
Hint: Jittery electronics play a pivotal part in
the show.
Hint: The Owls don’t win it all but end up putting
it in perspective.
- Jim Morris, a high school teacher
and baseball coach, makes it to MLB 17 years after first being drafted and ten
years since his last minor league game.
- Drafted by NYY in 1983 in the 18th
round & by MIL in the 1st round of the 1983 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase.
- Dennis Quaid, as Morris, tests his
throwing speed against a traffic speed indicator that takes so long to
register the correct speed that Morris turns away in disappointment.
FCR - Fernando Piñeres, Cartagena, Colombia
Incorrect
guesses: Brewster’s Millions, Rookie
of the Year, For the Love of the Game,
MOVIE WEEK FINALE
Q. What baseball movie features adults
playing against Little-League-aged teams?
Hint: The film’s only nomination was for The
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor for one of its lead actors.
Hint: They didn’t even take THAT one home!
Hint: The movie’s presence on this week’s list
and in this week’s theme is well-illustrated by the delta between its 11%
critics rating and 64% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes.
FCR - Jesse Asbury, Norman, Oklahoma
Incorrect
guesses: The Bad News Bears
WEEKLY THEME – The ten
highest-grossing baseball movies according to Box Office Mojo, as reported by the
Hall of Fame.
Total for the 10 =..................... $682,572,881
In 2015, Sporting News
asked its staffers to rank the greatest baseball movies ever made. Here, just for fun, are their top 15:
1.
Bull Durham
2.
Major League
3.
Field of Dreams
4.
A League of Their Own
5.
Eight Men Out
6.
The Natural
7.
The Sandlot
8.
Moneyball
9.
The Bad News Bears
10.
61*
11.
The Pride of the
Yankees
12.
Sugar
13.
42
14.
The Bingo Long
Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings
15.
For the Love of the
Game
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – David
Gordon, Chevy Chase (After Field of
Dreams)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Tuesday - Baseball
movies in which active or former MLB players appeared.
- Kevin
Costner baseball movies
- Oscar-nominated
baseball movies
- Baseball
movies with at least one Oscar nomination
- Baseball
movies, where the main actor has played the role of other athletes.
Wed - Movies
where White Sox outfielder turned movie consultant Ken Berry has a credit
- Baseball
Movies that Rod Dedeaux was the baseball advisor or technical
director
- Baseball
movies where a character plays a real person (or someone heavily inspired by a
real person), but the handedness is different
Thurs - Baseball
movies that feature real life players as characters or actors
Fri - Baseball movies that feature real life players as
characters or actors
Sat - In the first week of their release, they were
the number one movie
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