Not every movie deserves a sequel. Final Destination 2? Really? But one of the greatest productions on the topic of baseball is poised to see a follow-up. And we will all be better fans for it.
According to the Indiana Gazette, Ken Burns is working on a sequel to his Emmy-Award winning series, Baseball. Burns intends for his follow-up, currently named The Tenth Inning, to debut as a pair of two-hour episodes.
Topics Burns said he would definitely be addressing include the impact of Latin and Asian ballplayers and the Bartman Incident, after which the 2003 Florida Marlins went on their second World Series.
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by Hans on February 17, 2009
With the red carpet ready to be unrolled, Oscars being polished, and movies the topic of conversation, baseball deserves its place. The category, best baseball movie of all time. And the nominees are…
10. Cobb @ Amazon
Tommy Lee Jones’ performance as the great Tyrus Raymond Cobb has no equal. A must watch for baseball and non-baseball fans alike.
9. Pride of the Yankees @ Amazon
This movie was actually nominated for 10 Academy Awards, but even without those “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth” on the big screen is hard to top.
8. The Bad News Bears Matthau version
Billy Bob (not recommended)
The Walter Matthau version, not the Billy Bob Thornton version. Grumpy, alcoholic, former minor-leaguer coaches a team of little-league misfits. Classic comedy.
7. A League of Their Own @ Amazon
“Are you crying? Are you crying? There’s no crying. There’s no crying in baseball!” Tom Hanks plays a character modeled after Jimmie Foxx, managing a team in the first ever All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
6. Eight Men Out @ Amazon
The story of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the 1919 Chicago “Black” Sox, who were accused of throwing the World Series and were forever banned from baseball. All-Star Cast to boot.
And the top 5 baseball moves are…
5. Major League @ Amazon
(and only $10!!!)
Lovable losers never had it so good. Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, Tom Berenger, and a great cast suit up to represent a team built to lose. An instant baseball classic.
4. Field of Dreams @ Amazon
This Kevin Costner film, based on the W.P. Kinsella novel Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes To Iowa, was also nominated for numerous Academy Awards including Best Picture.A little trivia - Archibald “Moonlight” Graham was based on an actual baseball player by that name.
3. The Natural @ Amazon
This film starring Robert Redford is also based on a novel, Bernard Malamud’s The Natural, and was also nominated for various Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close). I bet Rick Ankiel wishes his story was more like this one.
2. Baseball by Ken Burns @ Amazon
If you have not yet seen this work, you are missing out. Every Tuesday night at 8pm, the newly created Major League Baseball Channel - available on every cable network - airs an episode of Baseball. Worth the investment.
1. Bull Durham @ Amazon
Greatest baseball movie ever. One of my favorite parts is when Crash Davis describes the 21 greatest days of his life. “You know, you never handle your luggage in The Show, someone else carries your bags. It was great. You hit white balls for batting practice, the ballparks are like cathedrals, the hotels all have room service, and the women all have long legs and brains.”
To me, these top ten are easy. Tell me if you think otherwise.
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