THE UNFETTERED CRITIC

By Paula Block Erdmann & Terry Erdmann

Baseball Goes To the Movies

              April 1st marks the opening day of Baseball Season.

Stop yawning.

Yeah, yeah, we know. In this era of quick edits and short attention span, it’s considered cute to call baseball the mullet of sports. It’s also short-sighted. Think about it: football likes to be played by the big and bulky; basketball by the long and lanky—and most professionals retire exhausted at age 39. But baseball calls to all of us, regardless of age, size, shape. Right-fielder Wee Willie Keeler hit over .300 in sixteen seasons, yet he stood 5’4” and weighed l40 pounds. Right-fielder Babe Ruth dominated the game throughout his career and, let’s face it, he was chubby. Name one other sport in which kids, moms, dads and grandparents can team up “on a level playing field” and have a really fun time. Knew ya couldn’t.

We think baseball and movies go together like mustard and hot dogs. Thomas Edison shot the first baseball movie, The Ball Game, in l898. Since then, Hollywood has produced over 200 productions set against a baseball background.

We say “set against,” because our favorites aren’t really about the game; they’re about the fun that moviemakers can insert into the game—

It Happens Every Spring stars Ray Milland as a chemist who discovers a lotion that repels wood. So he soaks baseballs with the stuff and joins the Cardinals as a pitcher, striking out batters with his outrageous curveball. When things go wrong, you’ll realize that baseball is home base for a good laugh.

            We really like A League of Their Own, an enlightening look at the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that maintained the game during WWII while male players traded their bats for rifles. It’s so gender-friendly that it’s directed by a woman, Penny Marshall.

And then there’s Rhubarb, about a cat that inherits a baseball team from his eccentric millionaire owner. Yes, you’ll laugh.

         We’re not alone in liking baseball movies. Kevin Costner has starred in three excellent choices you’d do well to watch again: Bull Durham, Field of Dreams and For the Love of the Game. That last title defines the reason he makes them.

To get an actual sports perspective, we tossed the ball to baseball executive David Pinsky, past president and district officer of OSSA, the Oregon School Athletic Association. When not serving as umpire for Little League and American Legion games, Pinsky is a baseball movie enthusiast. “I’ve seen them all,” he says. “I like Kill the Umpire, when William Bendix accidentally puts a tonic in his eyes that makes him see double, and The Natural, when Robert Redford hits the ball into the clock. And Angels in the Outfield, where there literally are angels in the outfield.

“But the really good baseball movies are based on true events,” Pinsky states. “Like the Lou Gehrig biography, The Pride of the Yankees. Of course, the best baseball movie ever made is The Jackie Robinson Story, because it stars Jackie Robinson as himself. It shows the struggle he had getting into the major leagues—possibly the top sporting story of all time.”

            Movies aside, there’s nothing like the real thing, and happily, the Rogue Valley has an active baseball community, with teams playing on nearly every high school field. Or if you’re a wee one at heart, check the Little League schedule at: medfordamericanlittleleague.com. Plus there’s the Middle School League, and the American Legion League—including the Medford Mustangs, the area’s most decorated team.

Or just gather your friends and family around a ball and a bat in the back yard. You’ll like it. We wouldn’t throw you a curve ball.

Paula and Terry each have long impressive-sounding resumes implying that they are battle-scarred veterans of life within the Hollywood studios. They’re now happily relaxed into Jacksonville.