List of baseball films

This is a list of films about baseball, featuring notable films where baseball plays a central role in the development of the plot.

Year Title Director Genre Summary 1898 Documentary Short film depicting an 1898 baseball game between Reading and Newark. 1911 Baseball and Bloomers Short An all-girl baseball team uses two Harvard boys in disguise. 1915 Right Off the Bat Drama A bio-pic of sorts starring professional baseball player Mike Donlin. 1916 Casey at the Bat Drama A lost five-reeler based on Ernest Thayer's poem and starring DeWolf Hopper. 1917 Somewhere in Georgia Drama Ty Cobb as a ball-playing bank clerk in a story by Grantland Rice. Baseball Madness Comedy A silent film starring Gloria Swanson. 1919 Comedy Small-town ballplayer gets a big head after joining the St. Paul Pink Sox. 1920 Headin' Home Biographical A silent film about young Babe Ruth, who stars as himself. 1924 Life's Greatest Game Drama Chicago Cubs pitcher Jack Donovan refuses to throw a game. , Ted Wilde ComedyA barber enlists the help of his father and his old professional baseball teammates to solve a problem. 1926 Comedy A pitcher and his manager clash over a Florida land purchase. 1927 Babe Comes Home Comedy Babe Ruth stars as a baseball player who falls for the laundry woman who cleans his uniform. Casey at the Bat Comedy Wallace Beery in slugger's fable based on Ernest Thayer poem. Slide, Kelly, Slide Comedy A cocky newcomer thinks he's the New York Yankees' new star. ComedyAn eccentric inventor is also the local team's star pitcher. 1928 Warming Up Romance New player competes with team's star for owner's daughter. 1929 Fast Company Comedy Elmer Kane (Jack Oakie) hopes the Yankees and an actress are interested in him. 1930Hot Curves Comedy Pittsburgh pitcher finds romance with manager's daughter. They Learned About Women , Sam Wood Musical Two pals play ball by day, perform in vaudeville by night. Up the River Comedy A prison baseball game prompts Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart to break into the pen.1932 Fireman, Save My Child ComedyJoe E. Brown as a small-town fireman who is also the town's star ballplayer. Slide, Babe, Slide Short Babe Ruth plays baseball with a group of kids who refuse to believe he is who he says he is. Perfect Control Short A schoolboy dreams that his classmates play a sandlot game with Babe Ruth. Over the Fence Short Babe Ruth convinces a schoolteacher to allow the class to play baseball instead of having their math lesson. Just Pals Short Babe Ruth umpires a baseball game at an orphanage. Fancy Curves Short Babe Ruth coaches a women's baseball team, and ends up in drag as one of the players.1933 Elmer, the Great DramaJoe E. Brown as an egotistical Chicago Cubs baseball star. Remake of 1929 film. 1934 Death on the Diamond Mystery Ballplayer (Robert Young) tries to find who's killing his fellow St. Louis Cardinals.1935 Alibi Ike ComedyJoe E. Brown as a pitcher with a million excuses. 1937 Girls Can Play Mystery A women's softball team owner murders a player (Rita Hayworth) by poisoning her catcher's mitt. Home Run on the Keys Short Musicians Zez Confrey and Byron Gay sit with Babe Ruth and write a song about baseball. 1942 Biographical The life and career of Lou Gehrig, with Gary Cooper as Gehrig and Babe Ruth as himself. It Happened in Flatbush Comedy Hard-hearted manager (Lloyd Nolan) falls for Brooklyn team's owner. 1943 Ladies' Day Comedy Sox pitcher Wacky Waters (Eddie Albert) is distracted by a hot Hollywood movie star, Pepita Zorita (Lupe Vélez). 1948 Biographical The life and career of Babe Ruth, starring William Bendix.1949 It Happens Every Spring ComedyRay Milland as a scientist whose secret formula turns him into a great pitcher. Biographical The career and fateful accident of pitcher Monty Stratton, starring James Stewart. Take Me Out to the Ball Game MusicalFrank Sinatra and Gene Kelly as singing, dancing ballplayers. DramaThe '48 World Series champion Cleveland Indians come to the aid of a young fan.1950 Kill the Umpire ComedyWilliam Bendix as a baseball fan who becomes an umpire. BiographicalBaseball pioneer Jackie Robinson as himself, with Ruby Dee as his wife.1951 Angels in the Outfield Comedy A Pittsburgh Pirates manager (Paul Douglas) gets some help from above. Rhubarb ComedyRay Milland in a cute tale about a cat who inherits a baseball team. 1952 Biographical Dan Dailey as the colorful pitcher Dizzy Dean. Biographical Based on pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, played by Ronald Reagan.1953 ComedyThe son of a peanut vendor (Dan Dailey) becomes the leader of a big-league team. Big Leaguer DramaHans Lobert (Edward G. Robinson) runs a training camp for baseball's New York Giants.1954Roogie's Bump ComedyA mysterious bump somehow gives a boy a big-league arm.1956 DramaA pitcher develops a friendship with a catcher who has a terminal disease. Broadcast on The United States Steel Hour. Based on the novel of the same name by Mark Harris. Comedy A man (Tom Ewell) decides to coach a Little League team, then regrets it. 1957 Fear Strikes Out Biographical The life and career of Jimmy Piersall, played by Anthony Perkins.1958 Damn Yankees and Stanley DonenMusical A man sells his soul to the devil on behalf of the Washington Senators.1962 Safe at Home! ComedyWith Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as themselves.1973Bang the Drum Slowly DramaRobert De Niro and Michael Moriarty star in Mark Harris's adaptation of his own novel about a pitcher who develops a friendship with a catcher who has a terminal disease.1974It's Good To Be Alive BiographicalTV movie about former Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella, whose career was cut short when he lost the use of his legs in an auto accident in January 1958.1976 ComedyWalter Matthau's bad Little League team gets help from a girl pitcher (Tatum O'Neal) and a motorcycle-riding slugger (Jackie Earle Haley). ComedyA barnstorming team of Negro leagues players, with James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor.1977Murder at the World Series DramaTV film starring Karen Valentine and Janet Leigh. ComedySequel to 1976 film, with William Devane as the team's coach. 1978 One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story Biographical TV film on the life and career of Ron LeFlore, starring LeVar Burton. Biographical TV film on Yankee immortal's marriage and tragedy, featuring Blythe Danner and Edward Herrmann. ComedySecond sequel to 1976 film, this time starring Tony Curtis.1979 ComedyMade-for-TV remake of the 1953 film, starring Gary Coleman.Aunt Mary DramaA disabled women sets up a baseball team of street kids to save them from juvenile delinquency.Squeeze Play! ComedySexy women form a softball team.1980 ComedyFormer minor leaguer (John Ritter) begins coaching underprivileged kids.1981Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige BiographicalTV film with Louis Gossett Jr. as Satchel Paige. Only The Ball Was White Documentary A tribute to the topflight players of the Negro leagues.1983Blue Skies Again ComedyDenver Devils' potential second baseman isn't a man, it's a young woman.Tiger Town ComedyEarly Disney Channel film about an aging Detroit Tigers (Roy Scheider).1984 DramaRobert Redford in a fable about an unlikely, unlucky hero, Roy Hobbs.1985Brewster's Millions ComedyRichard Pryor as a minor-leaguer with a chance to inherit 300 million dollars. RomanceAn Atlanta Braves player tries to break Roger Maris' record and make a marriage work.1986 Biographical A television film on one-armed pro ballplayer Pete Gray, played by Keith Carradine. 1987 Long Gone Comedy Early cable television film about a minor-league ballclub starring William Petersen.Trading Hearts ComedyHas-been player (Raúl Juliá) and his romance with a Florida single mom.Amazing Grace and Chuck DramaA Montana boy refuses to pitch Little League until the world bans nuclear weapons. With Gregory Peck as President of the United States. New York Yankees (The Movie) Documentary Interviews and footage covering the then-84 year history of the New York Yankees.1988 Bull Durham Rom-ComRon Shelton's screwball comedy of a woman's (Susan Sarandon) summer with two minor-leaguers (Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins). Eight Men Out Biographical Based on the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. Stealing Home and William Porter Drama Mark Harmon and Jodie Foster in a fictional tale of lost love. Comedy Someone's out to kill the Queen of England during a California Angels baseball game, and it's up to bumbling detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) to foil the plot. 1989 Field of Dreams Drama Voices tell an Iowa farmer (Kevin Costner) to build a baseball stadium in his cornfield.Major League ComedyFictional story of a team of misfit Cleveland Indians.Night Game Crime dramaA ballpark murder mystery starring Roy Scheider.1990Mr. Destiny ComedyA man (James Belushi) blames his misfortune on a long-ago baseball game.Taking Care of Business ComedyA man (James Belushi) escapes jail to see the Chicago Cubs play in a World Series.Pastime DramaA pair of minor leaguers, one 17, one 40, form a bond. DramaAndre Braugher in TV biopic of Robinson's court-martial in U.S. Army.1991Talent for the Game DramaA fictional Los Angeles Angels baseball scout (Edward James Olmos) finds a fantastic young pitcher. 1992 Biographical Based on the life and career of Babe Ruth, starring John Goodman. Comedy A television film about a manager (Joe Mantegna) asked to take over a Soviet ballclub. Comedy A fictionalized account of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League of the 1940s, starring Geena Davis and Tom Hanks.Mr. Baseball Rom-ComTom Selleck as a baseball star who ends up in Japan.1993Rookie of the Year ComedyA boy develops a magical right arm and becomes a big-league pitcher for the Cubs. Comedy A television film about a homeless man (Burt Reynolds) coaching a Little League team. ComedyA man reminisces about his childhood friends and the games they played.Cooperstown DramaA former pitcher is visited by the ghost of his catcher.1994Baseball Documentary Comprehensive history of the game, 18 hours-plus, as chronicled by Ken Burns. Angels in the Outfield Comedy Disney remake of the 1951 film of the same name. Cobb Biographical The career and last days of Ty Cobb, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Little Big League ComedyA child becomes owner of the Minnesota Twins. Major League II Comedy Second film in the Major League series about the Cleveland Indians. Comedy A New York Yankees scout (Albert Brooks) finds a phenomenal but psychologically troubled prospect. 1995 Baseball Girls Documentary A history of women's baseball. Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream DocumentaryAaron's pursuit of Babe Ruth's all-time homer record, directed by Michael Tollin. 1996 Dorf on the Diamond Comedy Direct-to-video short film in the Dorf series starring Tim Conway. Ed ComedyMatt LeBlanc befriends a baseball-playing chimpanzee. ThrillerA deranged San Francisco fan (Robert De Niro) kills a player, kidnaps another's son.Soul of the Game BiographicalStory of baseball trailblazers including Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson.1997Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way BiographicalPaul Sorvino as the former New York Yankees manager.1998 DocumentaryThe life and career of a former Detroit Tigers star and war hero.If the Sun Rises in the West DramaSouth Korean story of an umpire.Major League: Back to the Minors ComedyThird film in the Major League series.1999For Love of the Game DramaIn possibly his last start, a Detroit pitcher (Kevin Costner) goes after a perfect game.2000Perfect Game ComedyTelevision film starring Ed Asner.Angels in the Infield ComedyPatrick Warburton in second made-for-TV sequel to the 1994 film. 2001 61* Drama HBO film directed by Billy Crystal about the season of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle.Hardball DramaKeanu Reeves as a young man who takes charge of an inner-city team.Summer Catch RomanceFictional love story starring Freddie Prinze, Jr..2002Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch ComedyFourth entry in the Air Bud series. Biographical Based o