In honor of opening day, we’re testing your knowledge of baseball movies, documentaries and mini-series. From the most excellent to the only so-so, these movies made us want to oil up the old glove and dust off our cleats for one more run around the bases. Match the name of the film to the information provided.
Quiz answers can be found on the last page of this issue, https://www.thisawfulawesomelife.com/home/2018/4/12/next-month-in-this-awful-awesome-life?rq=baseball%20quiz
Bull Durham Field of Dreams
The Natural Eight Men Out
Pride of the Yankees Mr. 3000
The Rookie The Sandlot
Major League Moneyball
A League of their Own Bad News Bears
Bang the Drum Slowly Cobb
Damn! Yankees The Pride of St. Louis
Fear Strikes Out Chasing 3000
Angels in the Outfield Baseball – Ken Burns
The Jackie Robinson Story The Bronx is Burning
Trouble with the Curve The Babe
The Benchwarmers Fever Pitch
For Love of the Game Hardball
The Perfect Game Summer Catch
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Movie Kings 61
1. This 1957 biographical sports drama depicts the life of American baseball player Jimmy Piersall and his relationship with his domineering father.
2. An Iowa farmer builds a baseball diamond on his land after hearing a mysterious voice say, “If you build it, he will come.”
3. Three adult “nerds” team up to help a bunch of kids who are being bullied by a team of baseball jocks in this film starring Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon Heder.
4. This 1994 biopic stars Robert Wuhl as sportswriter Al Stump who is hired to write the autobiography of a famed baseball player played by Tommy Lee Jones.
5. This romantic comedy is probably better known for Jessica Biel a in bikini than actual baseball footage.
6. The women get a turn at baseball during World War II in this film directed by Penny Marshall.
7. Bernie Mac stars in this comedy about a baseball player who retires from baseball only to discover he needs three more hits to be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
8. A group of young sandlot baseball players in Monterrey, Mexico win the 1957 Little League World Series.
9. Susan Sarandon, Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins star in this 1988 film about a groupie, a veteran catcher and a rookie pitcher.
10. This 1952 biographical film is about the life of Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean.
11. This film is a dramatization of the 1919 World Series and Major League Baseball’s Black Sox scandal.
12. Nominated for four Academy Awards, this film stars Robert Redford as the fictional baseball player Roy Hobbs.
13. The fate of “G-Baby” had us all in tears during this 2001 film starring Keanu Reeves.
14. Two brothers travel cross-country hoping to see Roberto Clemente reach a career milestone.
15. John Goodman stars as a baseball legend in this 1992 American biographical drama.
16. Billy Crystal directed this 2001 sports drama about Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle on their quest to break Babe Ruth’s single season home run record.
17. 1943 biographical drama of the life of revered Major Leaguer Lou Gehrig.
18. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill were both nominated for Academy Awards for their roles in this 2011 film based on a non-fiction book by Michael Lewis about the 2002 season of the Oakland Athletics and their general manager Billy Beane.
19. This sports drama based on the true story of Jim Morris’ brief but famous MLB career stars Dennis Quaid.
20. This 1976 sports comedy is about a team of ex-Negro League baseball players in the era of segregation. The players, tired of unfair treatment in their league and segregation in the MLB, form a successful and wildly entertaining independent team to showcase their abilities.
21. When a former Las Vegas showgirl inherits a baseball team, she tries everything in her power to make the team finish in last place, so she can void the contract with the city of Cleveland and move the team to Miami.
22. This popular film about a team of little league “misfits” stars Tatum O’Neal, Jackie Earle Haley and Walter Matthau.
23. 1958 musical about a man who offers to sell his soul to the devil to see his team (the Washington Senators) beat the New York Yankees.
24. Award winning 1994 American TV documentary about the history of baseball.
25. This film stars Kevin Costner as fictional baseball great Billy Chapel, a 40 year old pitcher at the end of his career who after pitching a perfect game must decide whether to accept a trade to another team or hang up his cleats and move on with his life.
26. This eight part miniseries which debuted on ESPN is about the adversarial relationship between Yankee superstar Reggie Jackson and team manager Billy Martin and the city’s hopes for a World Series title during the turbulent summer of 1977.
27. An aging baseball scout with failing eyesight must turn to his daughter to help save his career at the expense of her own.
28. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a boy in foster care praying for a father and the California Angels to win the pennant. Danny Glover is the Angel’s Manager who can answer his prayers
29. This movie chronicles the challenges and triumphs of the first player to break the color barrier in baseball.
30. The story of the relationship between an intelligent star pitcher (Michael Moriarty) and his best friend (Robert De Niro) – an affable catcher of lesser intelligence who learns he has a terminal disease.
31. Romantic comedy starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore as a couple trying to balance their relationship with her job and his obsession with baseball.
32. The new boy in the neighborhood wanting desperately to fit in must learn to play baseball in this coming of age story about making and keeping friends.
