Rip (J. Richey Nash) is a veteran baseball player who started strong and then become mediocre, kind of like this film.  He had his chance in the majors but then he injured his knee and now, he plays in the minors.  One game, he comes close to hitting the cycle, just missing out on his chance to hit a home run.  Immediately afterwards, he told that he’s been released to make room for some young players.  That’s baseball.  Players come and players go.  I thought I’d never get over Elvis Andrus leaving the Rangers and I never did.  When Andrus retired last year, he signed a one-day contract with the Rangers so he could retire as a Ranger.  We love you, Elvis!

Rip goes back to his small town, where he’s still a big deal because he used to be a pro baseball player.  His father (Bruce Dern) is in the hospital but Rip still resents the pressure his father put him under while he was growing up.  It’s all really predictable.

I liked the baseball scenes at the start of the game, even though Rip’s batting stance seemed all wrong.  They still captured the excitement of watching a good game and they reminded me that, even though football and basketball may get all the attention, baseball truly is the nation’s pastime.  Baseball is Americana and I’ll always love it.  But once the movie stopped being about baseball and became about Rip being a jerk to everyone in his hometown, I got bored with it.  Bruce Dern was good but everyone else was forgettable.

The important thing?  Only a month to go until spring training!

Elvis Andrus, once and always a Ranger!