In Bull Durham, Kevin Costner plays Crash Davis, a veteran catcher in the minor leagues who is brought onto the Durham Bulls so that he can teach a rookie pitcher, Ebby LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), how to play the game and also get him ready for his inevitable move to the major leagues.  Also helping to get the dim-witted but sincere Ebby ready is Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon), who worships at the Church of Baseball and who has an affair with a different player every season.  The film follows the Bulls through their season, as both Crash and Annie mentor Ebby while also falling in love with each other.  Ebby even gets a nickname, Nuke.

Considering how much I love baseball, it might surprise you to learn that, up until recently, I had never seen Bull Durham.  I had read that it was one of the best baseball movies ever made but I never actually watched it.  I’m glad that I finally did watch it because it is a really good baseball movie.  It’s a movie that loves the game and I wasn’t surprised that the director was a former minor league player because Bull Durham is full of the type of details that you would only get from someone who had actually been there.  I especially liked the scene where it was revealed what the players and the coaches are actually talking about when they all gather on the pitcher’s mound.  It turns out that they’re not always talking about how to strike out the pitcher.

The love triangle part of the film didn’t work as well as for me.  I could relate to Annie’s love for baseball but her character still didn’t quite ring true for me and her narration was overdone.  Both Annie and Nuke seemed cartoonish whenever they got together.  Kevin Costner, though, was great as Crash Davis.  He was believable as an athlete and a mentor.  My favorite Costner moment was when a batboy told him to “Get a hit, Crash,” and he replied, “Shut up.”  It rang true.

I don’t agree with those who say Bull Durham is the best baseball movie.  I think Eight Men Out is better.  But I still enjoyed Bull Durham.  It’s a movie that loves the game almost as much as I do.