From 1989’s MajorLeague, this is the way every baseball game should end. What I really love about this scene is that Tom Berenger wins the game not with a home run but with a bunt. That’s what baseball is all about.
Have you guessed yet that I really, really love baseball?
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
As a photographer, I love a good silhouette shot. Here are some of my favorites.
4 Shots From 4 Films
Fantasia (1940, Dir. by Samuel Armstrong)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004, Dir. by Quentin Tarnatino)
Cade Belyeu, a sophomore outfield for Auburn University, lost his mom on Friday morning but, when he called to tell his coach the news, he said that he still wanted to play in that night’s game against Holy Cross. His mom, before she passed, said that she wanted him to play in the game.
On his third trip to the plate, this happened…
The homerun was the first of both the game and the season. As Belyeu rounded the bases, he pointed to where the ball had gone out of the stadium. The crowd, most of whom knew Belyeu’s story, erupted in cheers. After the game (which Auburn won 4-1), the fan who caught the ball returned it to the team and it was given to Belyeu.
Adam Smasher (Jason London) is the family friendly version of Howard Stern, an obnoxious shock jock who has just been fired from his radio job and, due to nearly crashing into a cow, finds himself stranded in a small North Carolina town. He gets a job on the local radio station, co-hosting a call-in show with Eve Cassidy (Lauren Harper). At first, Adam and Eve don’t mix. Adam is cynical and Eve actually wants to help people with their relationship issues. After a few days, Adam learns to appreciate country living and Eve falls in love with him even though she’s dating the station manager, Jamel (Ian Reier Michaels). Adam shows he’s a soft touch when he buys a bunch of sandwiches for a poor family and Eve starts to loosen up and have more fun on the air. Eve is offered her own show in Chicago and has to decide between her career and Adam.
This isn’t a Hallmark film but it might as well be. I enjoyed it even though I knew everything that was going to happen, from the minute Adam first heard Eve on the radio and called in to “smash” her. (I actually had to check to see when this movie has been made because Adam’s whole act seemed to be from the 1990s.) This is one of those movies where you know what you’re getting from the start. If you’re surprised that Adam brings a carousel down to the station for Eve to ride during a commercial break, you’ve probably never seen one of these movies before. I liked the cozy small town town feel of the location and I think Jason London should be in more movies. I also think it’s funny that 99% of these movies start with someone having car trouble. If people knew how to drive, they would never fall in love.
Lisa asked me to pick today’s song of the day and you’ll never guess what it’s about!
Baseball!
If you’ve been to a game, you’ve heard Centerfield. If you’ve been to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, you’ve heard Centerfield a lot. This song captures everything that I and so many other people love about the great American pastime! I can’t wait to hear it again in just a few more weeks!
Well, I beat the drum and hold the phone The sun came out today We’re born again, there’s new grass on the field A-roundin’ third and headed for home It’s a brown-eyed handsome man Anyone can understand the way I feel
Oh, put me in, coach I’m ready to play today Put me in, coach I’m ready to play today Look at me, I can be centerfield
Well, I spent some time in the Mudville Nine Watching it from the bench You know I took some lumps When the Mighty Casey struck out So say, “Hey Willie, tell Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio” Don’t say it ain’t so you, know the time is now
Oh, put me in, coach I’m ready to play today Put me in, coach I’m ready to play today Look at me, I can be centerfield
You got a beat up glove, a homemade bat And a brand new pair of shoes You know I think it’s time to give this game a ride Just to hit the ball and touch ’em all, a moment in the sun It’s a-gone and you can tell that one goodbye
Oh, put me in, coach I’m ready to play today Put me in, coach I’m ready to play today Look at me, I can be centerfield (yeah)
Oh, put me in, coach I’m ready to play today Put me in, coach I’m ready to play today Look at me, gotta be centerfield
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Here are 4 shots from 4 films about my favorite sport!
4 Shots From 4 Baseball Films
Eight Men Out (1988, Dir. by John Sayles)
A League Of The Own (1992, Dir. by Penny Marshall)
42 (2013, Dir. by Brian Hegeland)
Everybody Wants Some!!! (2016, Dir. by Richard Linklater)
It’s almost time for Spring Training and I’ve been thinking about some of my favorite baseball movies!
There are a lot of movies that I like but my absolute favorite baseball movie has to be EightMenOut, which is about how the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series. What I like about is that, while looking at the economics and the politics about baseball, it never lost sight of everything that makes the game so special.
In the scene below, fans at a minor league game think they’ve spotted Shoeless Joe Jackson, one of the best players to have ever been banned from baseball, at bat.
Today is Susan B. Anthony Day. When I went to the polls last November and I received my “I Voted” sticker, I made sure to take a moment to thank Susan B. Anthony for all of her hard work to win, for women, a right that so many now take for granted.