The List: Baseball movie moments
Page 2 staff

Last week, Page 2 looked at the best quotes from sports movies. This week, we turn our attention to some of the best moments on the silver screen.

The Natural
"The Natural" was filled with magic moments.
Check out our list of the 10 best moments from baseball movies, then see how Page 2 readers ranked their 10 favorite baseball movie moments. And be sure to vote in the poll to pick the best big-screen moment on the diamond.

Here's Page 2's list:

1. Roy Hobbs' (Robert Redford) home run into the light tower at the end of "The Natural"
One of the best endings to any sports movie ... and Pop Fisher finally won that damned pennant.

2. The "There's no cryin' in baseball" scene from "A League of Their Own"
As crusty manager Jimmy Dugan, Tom Hanks offered up perhaps the most quoted line in the history of baseball movies.

3. Lou Gehrig's (Gary Cooper) "Today I am the luckiest man on the face of the Earth" speech in "Pride of the Yankees"
Sure, it was a Hollywood version of Gehrig's real-life speech -- but we're betting you didn't have dry eyes after watching it.

4. Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) playing catch with his father (Dwier Brown) in "Field of Dreams"
Field of Dreams
Don't feel guilty if you cried at the end of "Field of Dreams."
Speaking of crying ... the final scene of "Dreams" ranks right up there up with "Brian's Song" as one of those rare moments when grown men are excused for shedding a few tears.

5. Roy Hobbs' homer off the scoreboard clock in "The Natural"
The scene where Iris Gaines (Glenn Close) stands up as the mysterious "woman in white" was brilliantly shot by Barry Levinson. And Hobbs' slump-shattering HR was a fitting climax.

6. Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger) lays down a bunt to win the pennant for the Indians in "Major League"
Who needs a towering homer when you can get your catcher to beat out a bunt?

7. The "Let them play" chant from "Bad News Bears in Breaking Training"
The sequel was nowhere near as good as the original, but the scene in the Astrodome might be the most memorable of all three "Bears" films.

8. Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) telling the opposing batter what pitch Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) is going to throw, and the guy hitting a home run in "Bull Durham"
He hit that thing like he knew it was coming ... right off the freaking bull in right field.

9. Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) enters from the bullpen in "Major League"
"Wild Thing" made everyone's heart sing.

Bull Durham
Susan Sarandon and Kevin Costner had some terrific chemistry in "Bull Durham."
10. Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) strikes out "The Whammer" (Joe Don Baker) on three pitches in "The Natural"
One pitch out of the strike zone would have doomed Hobbs ... but then again he was "the best there ever was" in the game.

Also receiving votes:
  • Robert De Niro (as Bruce Pearson) swinging the bat like he was attacking a pinata in "Bang the Drum Slowly." (Hey, folks, it was a terrific movie, but there weren't a lot of memorable baseball moments.)

  • The young Moonlight Graham (Frank Whaley) stepping over the foul line and turning into the doc (Burt Lancaster) in "Field of Dreams"

  • The kids finally "retrieving" the ball in "The Sandlot"

  • The last out of the perfect game in "For the Love of the Game"

  • Conor O'Neill (Keanu Reeves) taking the poor kids to their first major-league game at Wrigley Field in "Hardball"

  • The batting cage scene where Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) shows Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) how to move his hips properly when swinging in "Bull Durham"

  • Dottie Henson's (Geena Davis) split while catching a foul ball in front of a photographer in "A League of Their Own"

  • Timmy Lupus (Quinn Smith) catching the ball to end the championship game in "Bad News Bears"

  • The collision at home plate between Dottie Henson (Geena Davis) and her sister Kit (Lori Petty) in "A League of Their Own"

  • Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) catching a foul ball at Wrigley Field in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

  • Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) performing the National Anthem (as Enrico Pallazzo) and then umping the Mariners-Angels game in "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!"




  • ALSO SEE:


    The List: Best sports movie quotes

    Page 2 readers pick best baseball flicks

    Readers' List: Worst acting performances by athletes

    Readers' List: Best acting performances by athletes

    The List: Least likable baseball players

    The List: Greatest clutch teams

    The List: Greatest World Series moments

    The List: Greatest streaks by teams

    The List: Greatest streaks by individuals

    The List: Greatest career records

    The List: Greatest baseball season

    The List: Most beloved New York athlete of all-time

    The List: Most underrated current baseball player

    The List: Greatest sports wives of all-time

    The List: Least likable football player

    The List: Most beloved football players

    The List: Most beloved baseball players

    The List: Worst calls in sport history

    The List: Worst free-agent signings

    The List: Lopsided Trades

    The List: Best owner in sports

    The List: Coolest athletes

    The List: Biggest upsets





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