The Best Baseball Movies of All Time

I know that I'm coming into the game late, but I've been really into podcasts lately.  Not surprisingly, all of the ones I follow regularly are either about baseball or drinking.  I was listening to an episode of the ESPN Baseball Tonight podcast a few weeks ago and there was a heated debate among the hosts and guests about what was the greatest baseball movie of all time.  It made me daydream all day at work how I would rank my movies, and it also made me realize that after over a decade of writing this blog, that this has somehow not been a topic yet.  And so, without further adieu, I bring you my Top 10 Baseball Movies of All Time (and be sure to check back in next week because I'm sure I will change this list).

Disclaimer: I am ashamed to admit that I have never seen Field of Dreams, Bad News Bears, Eight Men Out, Bang the Drum Slowly, or The Pride of the Yankees in their entirety.  Just in case you are wondering why those did not make the cut.  I am also excluding documentaries, so no Ken Burns.

10.  Little Big League
Probably one that doesn't make a lot of people's lists, but I can't help but have a soft spot for a movie shot in the old Metrodome.

9.  Bull Durham
I'm putting this on my list simply for name recognition, but to be honest I've only seen it a couple of times so I don't fully appreciate it yet as probably many others do.  A very popular movie among ballplayers for its accuracy in depicting the minor leagues.

8.  Moneyball
Who doesn't want to root for the A's and Billy Beane?

7.  42
I thought Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey was somewhat of a caricature, but it was enjoyable.

6.  Mr. Baseball
Easily one of the most underrated baseball movies.

5.  Major League 2
The plot is weak, but this makes the list just for Bob Uecker's performance alone.  He's even better in this one than the original.

4.  61*
Mickey Mantle has always fascinated me and is one of my favorite "old" players.

3.  The Natural
An excellent book as well.  Somehow over-the-top but believable at the same time.

2.  A League of Their Own
My top two movies are the ones that I will always watch whenever they are on TV, even if it's just 10 minutes.  Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan is probably my favorite baseball movie character of all time.

1.  Major League
Not even close.  I know this movie almost by heart and yet I still laugh every time.  The most quotable baseball movie of all time.

Just missed the cut:  The Sandlot
It was really hard to leave this off of the list, but in the end I've just never loved this movie as much as other people seem to.

Honorable Mention:  The Bronx is Burning
This is technically a mini-series based on a book that chronicles 1977 New York, so I did not include it in my movie list, but definitely worth a watch.

UPDATE:  Erik and I leave on our annual ball trip this week!  Stay tuned for reviews of our adventure.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.09:

Brewers 54-36, +1.5 (3 @ Marlins, 5 @ Pirates)

Reds 39-51, -15.0 (3 @ Indians, 3 @ Cardinals)

Twins 39-48, -9.5 (3 v. Royals, 4 v. Rays)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 4 (+11 worked)

Peter - 12

Return to Omaha...Again

All photos of 2018 College World Series available on Flickr.

My most recent work trip to Omaha just so happened to coincide with Game #8 of the College World Series, and I wasn't about to pass on that.  It was a nice opportunity to take our client out for a ballgame and relax a little bit.  We had seats down the right field line near the pole, about half way up on the field level, and got to see Oregon State come back and beat North Carolina en route to their title run which was completed last night.  This was the 3rd time I had been to a CWS game in my life, and all 3 times I ended up seeing the eventual NCAA champion (South Carolina in 2010, Coastal Carolina in 2016, and OSU this year).

This was also my 3rd overall visit to TD Ameritrade Park, and I certainly do not remember it being this poor of an operation on my previous visits.  I ended up missing a good chunk of the action in my combined two trips to the concession stand.  First of all, I practically needed a passport just to get a beer.  I understand using the wristband system at a festival, but at a ballpark it is just not necessary - and if you're going to do it, don't make me go to some separate folding table staffed by an old lady that is not marked in any way.  Just give me the damn wristband at the actual beer stand.  And after all of that, the prize options awaiting me were either Coors Light or Miller Lite.  Secondly, it took me over a half-hour just to receive a sandwich.  Granted I did order a specialty item (which was a pork tenderloin sandwich that was actually quite good), but I had to wait in a line to order and pay, and then go wait in a separate line to receive the food.  The worst part was the poor people behind the counter shouting out food order numbers to people who didn't even receive tickets with a number on it, so nobody knew what was going on.  I'm not sure if this is a staffing problem or if they just needed more concession stands, but there's no reason an event that the city has been hosting for 50+ years should have this many issues.  There were probably more people in line waiting for food at one point than there were total number of fans at the Creighton game a couple months ago.  The entire ordeal caused me to miss several innings and was enough for me to remember to smuggle my own food and beverage in next time I come, hearkening back to my younger pre-metal detector days at Miller Park.



Aside from my passion for timely concessions, I did actually enjoy the part of the game I did see.  We actually left in the 8th inning because it started to rain, and the Tarheels were leading 6-3 when we left.  I got to my hotel just in time to catch the final out of the 11-6 Beaver win.  I missed 8 unanswered runs and once again fell victim to breaking my own sacred rule of never leaving a game early.  The star of the game and of the entire tournament was OSU catcher Adley Rutschman.  He went 3-5 with 4 RBI and hit nearly .400 in Omaha.  The general consensus is that, barring injury, he will be a top 3, if not top overall draft pick next year and is already drawing comparisons to Buster Posey.  OSU also featured two 2018 1st round picks - 2B Nick Madrigal and OF Trevor Larnach, who went to the White Sox and Twins respectively.  They combined for 4 hits and 3 runs on the night.  This game featured pretty poor pitching and had a lot of extra-base hits, two things that one is not accustomed to seeing at this ballpark.  Neither Luke Heimlich nor Cooper Criswell made it out of the 3rd inning.  Heimlich has been in the news a lot recently for his off-the-field troubles, namely pleading guilty for molesting his 6-year-old niece as a teenager.  He went undrafted because of this fact despite being named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year.  The Royals have been kicking the tires on perhaps signing him, much to the chagrin of pundits everywhere.

On that note, so concluded another eventful trip to Omaha for me.  TD Ameritrade Park recently announced that it will host a major league game to kickoff the 2019 CWS, so hopefully I will have another project in town by then. 

park rankings and statistics:
see original post from June 2016

starters - Cooper Criswell (UNC) v. Luke Heimlich (OSU)
opponent - North Carolina Tar Heels v. Oregon State Beavers

time of game - ??

attendance - 21568

score - 11-6 OSU

Brewers score that day - PPD

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.29:

Brewers 47-33, +2.5 (4 @ Reds, 3 v. Twins, 4 v. Braves)

Reds 34-47, -13.5 (4 v. Brewers, 3 v. White Sox, 3 @ Cubs)

Twins 35-42, -8.0 (3 @ Cubs, 3 @ Brewers, 4 v. Orioles)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 4 (+9 worked)

Peter - 10

First Father's Day in Eau Claire

All photos of Eau Claire and Carson Park available on Flickr.

As the title of this post indicates, I spent my first Father's Day as a father in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, of course to watch an Express game, which was shockingly my first Northwoods League game of the year.  Besides being a lot of fun for me, this trip was special for my wife as well.  She graduated from UW-Eau Claire in 2010 and has many fond memories of this city, and it is always fun when we get to go back there to visit friends or just drive around campus.  We haven't been in the area in a couple of years and Megan was quite surprised at how much had changed, but that might just have been because she is used to viewing the city through the lens of a stumbling party-goer.  Among the biggest of changes is the mini-renaissance native Justin Vernon has brought to the Chippewa Valley.  After rising to stardom with his band Bon Iver and subsequently founding the local Eaux Claires music festival in 2015, his latest endeavor is the boutique Oxbow Hotel, which embodies Vernon's spirit and civic pride like nothing else possibly could.  We stayed the night there on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed craft cocktails at The Lakely next door and learning how to use a record player in our hotel room before heading out to the game that evening.  I can't imagine ever staying anywhere else for any future visits to Eau Claire (I'm not going to lie - Ramone's Ice Cream Parlor across the street is also a factor).

I had not been to Carson Park in nearly 5 years, and Megan had not been since college, so in true Northwoods fashion we were both expecting substantial changes at the ballpark.  However, in thumbing through old photos and memories, it was nearly identical to our most recent visits.  Nothing had been noticeably updated, including the party decks.  That's not to say we didn’t have a great time - how can you go wrong with all-you-can-eat seats?!  On my only previous visit I sat in the grandstand, but this time we shelled out the money the right field party area and it was well worth it.  For $28 you get 4 beers and all of the burgers, brats, and dogs you can stuff down.  The downside to the area is the small amount of relief we got from the 90+ degree heat.  The lowly peasants must have been laughing at all of us from their covered grandstand seats that faced away from the sun.  We resorted to standing under one of the party decks for the first half of the game, trying to keep cool by the exhaust of the beer trailer.  Our daughter Molly was in tow and was a champ for the entire evening.  In not even 6 months of life this was already her 5th ballgame and 2nd ballpark!  She is already shattering my pace.

Perhaps it is unfair, but I will admit that no visible upgrades push this stadium down in my rankings a little bit.  It's still one of my favorites in the circuit, but between the newly renovated Athletic Park we visited last year and the continual updates of Warner Park and Simmons Field, the Express are falling a little bit behind.  Again, I'm not complaining - being in an old WPA ballpark is always a treat and an atmosphere you could never recreate today.  The wooded setting in the park, the concession stands below the grandstand, the stone façade, the old-fashioned dot matrix scoreboard - all of the little touches that make this park unique were still there and still things I appreciated on this visit.  Unfortunately for the game itself, the last place Express were matched up against the first place Huskies, and it was very clear that Eau Claire would be outmatched from the beginning.  They ended up losing 10-5 behind a lackluster performance from starter Jake Harrison.  He gave up 4 runs on 6 hits before we even sat down and did not come out for the 2nd inning.  The next man up was Tyler Strzelczyk and he did not fare much better, giving up 4 runs of his own, albeit his were all unearned.  John Lagattuta and Kyle Jacobsen combined to go 4-7 with 2 homeruns for visiting Duluth.  The Huskies also had a kid named Nick Sogard, who I was disappointed to find out is of no relation to the Brewers' Eric Sogard, especially given the fact that he walked twice and has an OBP of over .400.

Despite the outcome of the game, for many reasons, this will be one of my more memorable baseball trips.  I will always think of Eau Claire as fondly as my wife knowing that I spent my first Father's Day there with her and our daughter.

park rankings and statistics:
see original post from July 2013

starters - Andrew Stout (DUL) v. Jake Harrison (EC)
opponent - Duluth Huskies
time of game - 3:16
attendance - 1049
score - 10-5 L
Brewers score that day - 4-1 L

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.22:
Brewers 44-30, +1.0 (4 v. Cardinals, 2 v. Royals)
Reds 29-45, -15.0 (4 v. Cubs, 3 @ Braves)
Twins 33-38, -6.0 (3 v. Rangers, 3 @ White Sox)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 4 (+9 worked)
Peter - 10

Cold Spring Baseball Park

All photos of Cold Spring Baseball Park available on Flickr.

Our creed of "any game, anywhere, anytime" was pushed to its limits once again as I attended an amateur town ball game in my wife's home town of Cold Spring, Minnesota this past weekend, which is bursting at the seams with just over 4,000 residents.  Cold Spring is one of many small towns in Minnesota that is clinging to what is left of the "town ball" tradition in this country, in which fans and players alike can enjoy local baseball in its purest, non-commercialized form.  With the amateur season being so short and the schedule being very "fluid" to put it nicely, I was happy to finally make it to a game on one of our visits.

I will admit that I am guilty of loosely defining the term "ballpark" just to pad my stats (I've been to 137 parks, but who's counting?).  For example, just about every Wisconsin collegiate "ballpark" I've been to has been little more than some metal bleachers, a chain link fence, and a couple of dugouts - hardly more than a playing field in a park by any stretch of the imagination.  However, despite what you may know or think of Town Ball, Cold Spring Baseball Park definitely earns the moniker of "ballpark."  Cold Spring is certainly not your average dinky small town, as they feature several bars and restaurants, a bowling alley, a chain grocery store, a high school, a hotel, a golf course, and even a production brewery.  So it's no surprise that there is a long history of baseball in the town and in particular on their current site for nearly a century.  The current park has existed in some form since 1923, just in time for the formation of the statewide amateur league, which in its heyday around WWII fielded nearly 800 teams.  A covered grandstand was added in 1949, lights were added in the 1980s, and an extensive fundraiser was held a few years ago to update the dugouts, replace the bleachers, and add a party deck and concession stand.  I remember NFL star Eric Decker being at the unveiling of the ballpark renovation on our of our visits, who happens to be a Cold Spring native and major financier of the renovation (and also went to high school with my wife).

I was very impressed by the amount of labor and civic pride that went into a ballpark that probably very few people outside of Cold Spring will ever see or care about.  The amount of volunteer hours that go into just day-to-day operation and maintaining the pristine field for a community this small was unbelievable to me.  Besides the Springers who I saw that night, the park hosts at least 5 other permanent teams, including the local high school and a couple of Legion ball teams, so in the months of June and July there are multiple games here almost every day, which must require a tremendous amount of work.  In fact, there was a Legion game wrapping up when we got to the park, so the Springers game didn't even start until 8:30.  The covered grandstand, the ivy-covered outfield fence, and the tall bulky light towers give the ballpark that old charm that you just don't find anymore, while the 2015 renovations have helped keep it modern and enjoyable for the casual fan.  If Cold Spring was just a little bit bigger, there's absolutely no reason that this ballpark could not logistically host a Northwoods League team - it's certainly at least as nice as half of the parks I've been to in that league, not to mention way nicer than Beloit.  Town Ball is unabashedly no-frills, as baseball was originally intended and what many consider to be the only true form of the game.  It was a treat to feel like a part of the local community for the evening.

I've spent most of this article romanticizing the town of Cold Spring and amateur baseball, but the reality is that the level of play is probably just above high school quality.  Amateur baseball is even below independent league baseball on the spectrum of talent, often a combination of athletes from lower-tier colleges and residents just looking for a hobby after work.  A typical roster will thus range in age from teenagers all the way into 40+.  The clear star for the Springers was Jordan Barth, who recently helped Augustana College win the D3 Championship.  I don't know his exact stats because the league does not offer box scores, but he had at least two run-scoring hits on the evening.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, the balding middle-aged starting pitcher for the Springers literally threw only fastballs, and by "fastball" I mean he made Jamie Moyer look like Randy Johnson.  His night basically amounted to him playing catch with the catcher as he took no signs or direction, but still managed to somehow scatter only 6 hits in 6 shutout innings.  The Springers went on to complete the shutout 9-0 over the Richmond Royals in barely over 2 hours.  With no ticket stub, no program, and no published recap of the game available in any form, the only proof I have that I was there is this post and the t-shirt I won from the local dumpster rental company at the annual "Merchant's Night" auction.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 7
views from park - 4 (houses and ivy fence)
view to field - 3 (lots of netting and foul ground)
surrounding area - 2
food variety - 3
nachos - 3
beer - 8 (surprising large selection of Busch and Third Street, not surprisingly cheap)
vendor price - 10
ticket price - 10 (every game is free other than "Day at the Park" fundraiser game)
atmosphere - 7
walk to park - 5 (residential)
parking price/proximity - 9 (free on street)
concourses - 3
team shop - n/a

best food - I guess hot dog?
most unique stadium feature - ivy fence, Deck87 on top of dugout
best jumbotron feature - n/a
best between-inning feature - "Merchant's Night" raffle and watching teams take fielding practice

field dimensions - 325/385/345
starters - ??
opponent - Cold Spring Springers v. Richmond Royals
time of game - 2hrs-ish
attendance - 250-ish
score - 9-0 W
Brewers score that day - 12-4 W

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.14:
Brewers 41-27, +1.5 (3 v. Phillies, 3 @ Pirates)
Reds 25-43, -16.0 (2 @ Royals, 3 @ Pirates, 2 v. Tigers)
Twins 29-35, -5.0 (3 @ Tigers, 3 @ Indians, 3 v. Red Sox)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 4 (+9 worked)
Peter - 8