Little Big League: The Kids Movie That Went Harder Than It Had Any Right To
Vložit
- čas přidán 21. 05. 2023
- Twitter: / dead_baseball
Thanks to Greg Pincus for contributing! His Twitter: / gregpincus
Other sources:
An Oral History of ‘Little Big League’ - www.ballysports.com/north/new...
Where Are They Now: Little Big League 20-Year Anniversary - bleacherreport.com/articles/2...
'30 With Murti': Actor, Director, Baseball Fan Timothy Busfield - www.audacy.com/wfan/articles/...
Tony Todd is the Greatest Celebrity Softball Player of All Time - www.enfuegonow.com/news/tony-...
Tony Todd on Topps, Sheen, more - www.mlb.com/video/tony-todd-o...
THE BUDDY SYSTEM - www.geocities.ws/Hollywood/Ac...
A Little Big League Episode! Meeting on the Mound with Jake Reiner - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Movie listing, baseball background, and other career notes from IMDB, Baseball Reference, and Wikipedia. - Sport
Night Nurses from Jersey
Off the turnpike looking for love
It was Bowers I swear!
@@one7deep7savage7 You want me to trade him? I'll do it!
@@keirblank4870 I'll send him to Detroit!
Lol (I think that was the team he said)
😂😂😂😂
Holy flashback. .. .My name appears in your video at 28:28 - best 3+ months of my life playing one of the Twins. Still have the items tucked somewhere including a copy of the script Thanks for acknowleding the true baseball we put into it. Jay Wange
Well done, Jay Wange.
So you played Bill Wegman in the movie??
I always felt this bit part was really cool … Bill Wegman was a Right Handed pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1985 to 1995 with a career record of 81-90. He is also a cousin of one of my uncles. I always found it odd that he was left handed in the movie and a righty in real life
@@stephenself6164 LOL - HI Stephen! I wasn't Bill Wegman. My Twins' character's name was King but the only reason I know this is because of the locker I sat in front of in our locker room scenes. Wegman was played by a guy named Jessie (it's in the credits under Twins team). Great point on the righty/lefty boo-boo. :) Take care. Jay Wange
@@jaywange2449 didn’t realize that… had to be such a cool experience
this is awesome! love this comment
They actually do setup the “Should we pinch hit for Scales” thing earlier in the film. One of Billy’s 1st games managing (maybe the 1st), he makes the decision to let Scales bat with 2 outs in the 9th and a chance to tie the game. Then the press asks him about it after the game and he says he wanted Scales to bat because he was confident in his offense. Then it comes back around & pays off in the climactic Mariners game.
"Of course you like him. He's the only person in the world who thinks you can hit!" 😂
This was my favorite baseball kid movie growing up, surprised to see how bad it’s numbers did. It had the most realistic mlb feel to it for sure. Great video as always man
The most realistic was angles in the outfield. If you disagree you are wrong
It did bad in the box office but it did fine selling VHS. Kids liked it. Parents rating it didn't but they weren't the target audience anyway
@@praise_baby_jesus the movie where they only played home games and had help from angels is the most realistic okay buddy whatever you say
8 year old Minnesota kid when this was new, it was definitely the best one.
@lord baby jesus nah rookie of the year for sure
They made Johnson and Griffey seem so damn cool. It was definitely my favorite baseball movie as a kid, but that's probably cuz I was a nerd who wanted to manage a big league team
I believe this movie and Nintendo's infatuation with Griffey made him transcend the actual game. I spent entire summers building teams in those games and simulating season after season.
I'm actually from Seattle and the Ms are my team. So As you can Imagine I loved that movie as a kid and saw them play in real life plenty of times at the Kingdome!
Griffey was/is my favorite player. I loved that they made him look like a bad ass...even a heel, if you're into wrestling terminology. Just so good all around.
They didn’t ‘make’ them look cool, they already were😉
@@joshc2324 He's my favorite of all time too and yes he was the dopest baseball heel in a movie. They made Randy look pretty scary/badass too which probably wasn't too hard cuz in real life everyone was already terrified to hit against him lol. The Big Unit
They showed how managing a baseball team turns you into a different kind of person. Billy was the realistic kid for a change, not always upbeat and didn’t always do the right thing. Definitely not for kids entertainment but true baseball fans will stop to watch this classic anytime
I thought the way his character evolved through the movie was top notch. A precocious kid who could have success because he knew baseball strategy as a result of growing up around baseball, but even with his prodigy-like mind, he was too young to handle the stress of the job and his mental health deteriorated throughout the film.
The idea of a 12 year old managing a team is such a goofy concept, but they played it straight, and it was pulled off so well that it can fool you into this thinking that something like this is possible.
Second favorite baseball movie to The Sandlot. I'm dead serious. This movie took baseball seriously, while still being comedic. Felt much more legitimate in the way it dealt with strategy and tactics and the day to day grind of being an MLB ballplayer.
The thing with thinking of PHing Scales isn't in your face, but all through the movie people remark he's not a great hitter, when Billy shows confidence in Scales, and Mickey later says he likes Billy, he's told "of course you do, he's the only person in the world who thinks you can hit."
Even when I was younger, thst wasn't out of nowhere like the Hilbert thing.
I genuinely used Bowers’ mathematic formula in elementary school. One of my favorite silly scenes of all time but genuinely helps you learn how to calculate a real world situation
I use the “man came in on Tuesday…” logic bit all the time! 🙌
I was doing a job entry exam a few years ago and it was one of the questions! Something like "Bob can write a briefing note in 4 hours, Jim can do it in 5. How long to do it together?" Mind flashes immediately to Bowers and that whiteboard.
I should know this. My uncle is a painter.
@@NepeanWarrior Answer is 2 hours, 13 minutes, and 20 seconds.
Same here! It was a bonus question on the exam, I was actually on a baseball trip and missed class when the teacher went over that lesson. My teacher had me stay after class when he handed back our test scores because he was dumbfounded that I was the only student to get the bonus question, and I wasn’t even in class the day he covered it!
growing up in Minnesota this was my favorite baseball movie as a kid. I got my teacher to let us watch it in class in 5th grade. I definitely got in trouble for the night nurses scene. Great video!
Haha you and billy both got an earfull 😂
Soooooo.....what are we gonna do with that blood pressure of yours 🏥💋
@@UhRageQuit He only rented the movie 11 times! What's his mom being so uptight about?!?!?!
@@LucianDevine that’s what I said, if I had a nickel for everytime I ordered a movie by mistake multiple times….
Being a little leaguer at about 9-10 when these films came out - in a small town - where there was nothing to do except play baseball and go to the movies…
… ‘twas a magical time.
I love how eerily similar Tony Todd got his role is to Willy "Mays" Hays is played by Wesly Snipes. Both essentially just crashing a tryout.
I think the issue with Little Big League is that as a kids movie it didn’t appeal to adults even with all the major leaguers in the film. And I feel that it was more “adult” than other kid baseball movies. There was no mythical beast as in The Sandlot, no Angels making a pro team commit 17 errors on one play, and no 100mph throwing 12 year old striking out pros. I loved this movie growing up, and I appreciate it more now as an adult for how well the baseball scenes are portrayed in the film.
I will have to make sure I watch the whole video before writing my comment because you said exactly what I did😂
I agree. It’s too real for kids and being a “kids” movie, adults didn’t go watch. I was 12 when it came out and it didn’t have the magic that other baseball movies had. But I still appreciated the actual baseball in it because I played baseball. But for the majority of kids, it was too real.
Yeah, like when the kid is literally caught watching porn, lol (or was that the other movie?)
@@Yaddlezap Well, he didn't get caught, just the mom found out about the price of the 'Movie'.
In regards to the scene where Billy let Scales hit instead of pitch hitting... Earlier in the film, Scales made a comment in the locker room where he said that he like Billy as a manager because Billy believed in his abilities at the plate, one of Scales teammates tell him that he only likes Billy because Billy is the only person in the world that thinks Scales can hit.
The Troy Startoni segment is absolutely wild.
I loved little big league as a kid specifically because it looked like real baseball. I never liked movies like Rookie of the Year that the on field action was silly or it looked like all the pitches were arcing into home at 60 mph
Rookie of the Year was basically The Fast & Furious of baseball movies.
I love them both, but there's no way anyone could argue "Rookie of the Year" is even on the same planet as "Little Big League" in terms of understanding baseball.
One thing not mentioned here that I always liked about LBL was the ending. Movies like this so often end with the big win, it was refreshing to have them lose the big game. And yet it wasn't a downer, having the fans bring the team back out was more moving than simply winning would have been.
I liked that the Braves lost the big game at the end of The Slugger's Wife, mainly because they lost to the Astros and I'm an Astros fan.
You forgot to put *spoiler alert*, you imbecile
On the subject of Billy Heywood, that the kid isn't some smiley doofus is what I enjoy so much about the film. It's about a kid who is thrust into an adult world in a position of leadership and really, Billy is using managing the team as a means of coping with his grandfather's death...keeping the team alive that season was his way of keeping his grandfather alive. Billy deals with real issues like grief, growing up without a father, and the burden of balancing responsibilities and personal relationships. Billy's arc is going through the 5 stages of grief and at the end he's accepted the death of his grandfather by becoming a kid again. He also has other negative traits that he overcomes or begins to overcome by the end of the movie. All of which really falls into the realism of the film. If Billy were just some goofy kid, the film wouldn't work. But Billy's own psychological struggles are reflected in his baseball struggles, so there is a lot more narrative weight behind the baseball play rather than winning or losing the fictional game.
This movie is what gave Griffey the cocky-but-loveable persona we all know him to be. And this movie is also what gave Randy Johnson the no-nonsense persona we know him to be.
Johnson looked genuinely scary in that movie. I can only imagine what it was like to have him pitch against you
Griffey has the perfect level of cockiness and swagger without it being too much and obnoxious, love that guy
Also, absolutely pissing myself at the story of how Busfield asked Johnson if he could throw two pitches in the same spot and he just says "yeah I don't know how to do that"
Yeah that was hilarious. Like he probably could just didnt want to bcuz thats how competitive he was. One of my favorite pitchers. I doubt we see anyone like him again. Tall, left handed, weird arm slot, a slider that starts behind you and breaks two feet leaving you whiffing at the other side of the plate. Man he was unreal like a created player on the Show
Shoulda gotten Greg Maddux to do that scene lol
One thing you didn't talk about here was that it was that it was shot in the actual stadium where the primary team played, unlike some other baseball films, and shot in more than one ballpark. As someone who's always appreciated the uniqueness of ballparks, this also was a major contributor to the realism factor.
The thing is, Billy being a bit of jerk is probably the most realistic portrayal of what would happen if a kid his age was put in that position. He is very knowledgeable about baseball but he is very immature and doesn't understand how to deal with people in a work environment. Plus, by that end he matures some and mellows on some of that.
Exactly, and while Billy's mistreatment of Lou was awful, it was sort of understandable cosidering that he had lost his grandfather, and was afraid of losing his mother to lou (no matter how irrational it may be), which is revealed when billy asks his mother "are you still there for me"?
The one thing this video did NOT answer:
If Joe can paint a house 3 hours and Sam in 5 hours, how long will it take if they paint the house together?
I almost included a part about this scene because as far as kids movies go where you have wacky situations (manager and team worried about math homework right before the biggest game of the year) that are also somewhat relatable to kids, that scene probably hits the sweet spot the best. It's probably the strongest "kids movie" scene in the movie.
@@BaseballsNotDeadit was more or less a poor attempt at humor; it always stuck with me since being a kid. Keep up the quality content👊🏻
@@_theporkchopexpress I disagree, I thought that scene was hilarious.
1 hour, 52 minutes, and 30 seconds.
Probably have watched this movie over 50 times growing up. "So you own the team and the stadium?" "Yeah" "Can I have 5 bucks?" "I don't have 5 bucks." Genius.
I was the target demo when all of these movies came out (9-10yo baseball player/fan). I loved Sandlot and Little Big League because of how well they got the baseball to feel right. ROY and Angels I hated because they didn't. Now that I'm older I can see what they were trying to do, but at the time they just felt overly corny.
Ya Little Big League and Sandlot were the best and dope because they were all around dope movies aside from the baseball being realistic. Example Angels In the outfield and Rookie Of The Year were filled with Special Effects which if not done right can make a film extremely corny like you said. While Sandlot and LBL didn't need any because the storylines were good enough. Only special effect I can think of is the dog(beast) being exaggeratingly huge in Sandlot.
Yeah Angels was especially bad for me cause I couldn't stop myself asking dumb questions like "Why is god spending time on a baseball game when all the other problems in the world exist?". But aside from that my favorite baseball movie as a kid was always "The Rookie" I think it was called, the one with Keven Costner or what ever.
Duane Davis also had a pretty famous father...the legendary Hall of Fame defensive end and captain of the Lombardi Packers, Willie Davis.
You beat me to it
I managed a video store in the 1990s. Playing this movie in-store and hearing it in the background was how I grew to appreciate it.
A stat correction: There are actually 11 world series titles in the guest stars, you forgot Ivan Rodriguez's World Series title with the 2003 Marlins.
Funny. I actually wrote the script and recorded the audio saying 11 world series rings, realized I had gotten the WAR wrong and re-added everything up and somehow got 10 world series rings on the second run through.
@@BaseballsNotDead Heh, classic 1 step forward two steps backwards. Gotta love it!
That scene where the kid goes through a hypothetical bullpen usage was always a favourite of mine.
Brad Lesley also payed in the NPB in Japan hence why he was on Takeshi's Castle/MXC, he played for the Hankyu Braves.
Blackout gatling, the relief pitcher of the twins.
So glad you did a full length video on this movie! I always remember it being my favorite baseball movie growing up, didn’t know why but this makes it all make sense! lol
It was just an all around great movie and new plotline that had never been done (Little kid as a MLB Coach) which was super creative.
@@one7deep7savage7 very true, seeing the baseball action scenes from here compared to other movies I watched really shows how good LBL got it. Not sure if he mentioned it, havnt made it through the whole video yet, but the soundtrack to lbl makes it twice as good as well
@@UhRageQuit Yup wow I totally forgot how good the soundtrack was too with all those oldies songsl. Great point!
I put this over Angels in the Outfield only because it was more believable as a kid. Sandlot is first by a WIDE margin. Then Rookie of the Year.
For this one, they tried to go for "kid bossing adults around." What kid didn't fantasize about being the boss? The problem is that it wasn't very funny. Billy just flexes the whole time, and he's mostly mean. It's played like he's way over his head and can't handle the pressure of running a franchise (as a kid would probably feel in a similar situation). There is no wonderment and fantasy in the movie. It's played very straight the whole time.
Look, a Bill Hayward has to do what a Bill Hayward has to do
You clearly need more time spent with the Night Nurses from Jersey.
Growing up in minnesota and being a lifelong twins fan, I love this movie. Love the acting- the math problem the horse named friday John Gordon’s obscure stats. Just great
I believe you meant to say Wally Holland
Little Big League was the best of the four and I will die on that hill.
I still love this movie.
Oh, I'm a Seattle fan and seeing Griffey blast one, Randy bringing the heat( although he looks like he's just soft-tossing in the film), and Lou Piniella going, "What the Hell was that?" leaves me feeling 10 again.
Also also, the music that plays when Griffey is walking to the plate makes him look terrifying. When he got walked, he looks back at the catcher like “If you won’t let me take it deep then looks like I’ll have to steal every base.”
The real reason this movie didn't do better at the box office is because it opened around the same time as "The Lion King" and "Forrest Gump."
I HAVE WAITED FOR SOMEONE TO MAKE A VIDEO ON THIS CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE FOR FAR TOO LONG. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I LOVE YOU.
This is one of the movies I watch every year to get ready for baseball season. The fact that they cared enough to do the baseball stuff correctly for a kids' movie is probably the main reason why it holds up. Also, the musical montages are amazing.
With Scales they mentioned earlier at some point in the movie that he was known for being a great fielder but not the strongest hitter so they would pinch hit for him. This is why he asked if they wanted him to hit in the finale. Hope that helps
I wish I had a copy of the movie handy. The way I remember it, a reporter questions letting Scales hit in Billy's first game. Billy shoots back they needed an extra base hit and Mickey has power to the gaps. Mickey says he likes the kid, and his teammate says the kid's the only one who thinks Mickey can hit.
Yeah i ended up rewatching this tonight from this video, and they definitely set up the scales situation. Theres the whole scene where he states he would never pinch hit for scales, he has good power to the gaps or something to that effect.
@@i_have_a_coat That's right. Spot on!
Even if they hadn't set it up, it's like the Greg Pincus says: sometimes stuff gets lost in editing or rewrites. When I see videos pointing out "plot holes" similar to this, usually there's a reasonable offscreen explanation. In this cases, even if it hadn't been set up, the fact the other guy asks if Billy's gonna pinch hit Scales, and the fact Scales asks if Billy wants him to hit, suggests there's a reason: Scales has been in a slump, suffered a minor injury in practice, has a bad history with that particular pitcher, etc.
@@rickl.461 Yup great point. Basically like easter eggs in Marvel or MCU movies right? Where alot of things are actually revield in the sequel to the movies we watched
Great video!
One note - Scales pinch hitting is setup earlier in the film. In Billy’s first game Scales pops out to end the game - afterwards one of the interviewers asks Billy if he considered pinch hitting for scales and Billy says he thinks Scales has great power to the gaps and they needed an extra base hit.
It’s hinted at throughout that Scales struggles from the plate but Billy believes in his ability nonetheless
I actually really liked how Scales being the rookie was exemplified throughout the movie, especially in the scene where Billy meets with the players for the first time as a manager, he is the only one paying attention and showing interest, like he is a rookie trying to make a good first impression.
Watching Rookie of the Year today is almost unbearable. As a kid I enjoyed it. But it hasn't aged well at all. Now I loved Little Big League maybe a little more than ROTY as a kid but now as an adult in my 40s Little Big League held up and is way more watchable with it's real feel MLB action.
I haven't really watched Rookie of the Year in a while, but when editing in clips from the last game in the movie... the way it's put together is insufferable. A 10 second play is drawn out to over a minute because they show 15 reaction shots in between everything.
Rookie of the Year is more cartoony, which is fine if that's what you're going for. But I definitely agree LBL is more "realistic" and probably aged better because of it.
I never liked ROTY. I first saw it after my time for it past. I asked for the movie “The Rookie” for my birthday but got ROTY. Two totally different movies but my nana didn’t realize. I kept it anyway and watched it but meh.
bro what??? Daniel Sterns performance alone makes that movie worth it! “Its hot ice! You heat up the ice cubes!” 😂
@@poindextertunes exactly!!!! You take the ice and just heat it up
Thanks for the breakdown of this 90's baseball movie classic. I was a big fan of this movie as a kid because it had a know-it-all kid (like me) and great baseball play. I was surprised as a kid how underappreciated it was (Rookie of the Year was much more popular with my friends).
Somehow you always seem to make the most interesting baseball content on things I never would have thought I’d find interesting
Brad Lesley was a friend during college. You left out a couple interesting points about his baseball career. Brad's reaction to an infield put out was part of ABC's intro to The Wide World of Sports. His antics on the mound were wild before mound celebrations existed. Because he was known to physically celebrate too hard with his teammates, they nicknamed him the Animal. He then spent several years in the Japanese pro league and became very popular. Animalson! He was a big hit in Japan and had a regular part in the original Wipe Out series as the villain who shoots a water power hose at contestants knocking them off the course. Brad was a good man. RIP
Griffey's homer in the Wild Card tie breaker is the best movie HR ever hit. I proudly own a Billy Haywood Twins jersey. I was first introduced to "Runaround Sue" because of this film.
Major League and Rookie of the Year are two of my favorite baseball movies,, but Chelcie Ross and Gary Busey were thoroughly unconvincing as pitchers. The authenticity of the baseball in Little Big League really stood out.
Honestly, I could live with those two being unconvincing because both those guys were narratively playing washed up has beens at best. Busey wasn't able to throw worth a damn until the last game at which point he destroys his arm for good and served more as a father figure and cautionary tale for Henry anyway and Ross basically brags about all the bullshit he pulls out of necessity because he doesn't have the velocity to do anything else.
To this day, this is my favorite baseball movie. The reasons why you listed for Little Big League not connecting with kids is the reasons why I love it. The realism is what makes it for me.
All these movies came out around 6th-7th grade for me, and the lead kids in Rookie Of The Year and Angels In The Outfield reminded me of all the doe eyed Saccarhine Unrealistic TGIF type charecter's who were starting to become cringe in my eye's . Billy's smartass charecter had the perfect appeal for that area in one's life right in btwn little kid and angty teen
I thought this was one of the few who considered this film realistic, the music, the action, the fact that it is "wide" and shows the stories, the stadiums with precision and the plays, there is no where to get lost, it helped me to love plus baseball, thanks for this tremendous review and minidoc!
Can't tell you how much I love this. My siblings and I grew up watching so many baseball movies over and over again, quoting them back and forth, etc.
We love LBL, and were amazed as kids as to how good the baseball in LBL was, and have frequently pleaded with friends and others to rewatch it for that reason.
Was already excited when I saw you briefly cover it in your earlier video on baseball movies. But this deep dive is fantastic, and will be getting shared with a lot of folks. Bravo, sir.
Love the channel. Keep up the great work.
This is incredible. THANK YOU. 😭🙏 This movie was aimed at baseball lovers without them meaning to do it. That's what happened
Just wanted to say your research you've clearly done for this video is fantastic! I have such fond memories of this movie as a kid, and watching this I've learned so much about the production. As both a baseball nerd and film nerd, really well done!
As a historian, I’m always appreciative of people putting their sources. As a baseball nut, that goes double here 😂
This movie is sooooo underrated!!!!!! Really good all around film!!! Had a crush on Ashley Crow growing up!! That’s the kid owners’ mom. Amazingly enough, she had a kid with fellow actor Matthew John Armstrong who’s a major MLB Prospect!! His name’s Pete Crow-Armstrong, he’s a centerfield prospect for the Cubs. He used to be in my favorite teams’ system (the Mets), but they stupidly traded him away!!! I think he’s gonna be good!!😊
You nailed it: definitely the best portrayal of baseball in a movie, but not a movie I liked as a kid because the kid in the movie isn't somebody you can identify and sympathize with. I also find it interesting that even when the main kid is a rich jerk he doesn't have a biological dad at home just like the other three kids' baseball movies of the time that were mentioned. Apparently that was the formula for developing child characters in the early 90s.
Im surprised they made a movie about the Twins in 1994, considering they had just won two titles in 1987 and 1991. Baseball movies that feature real teams are usually teams who have a drought or havent won, like the Cubs-Angels-Indians
Growing up in the Twin Cities... around 13 at the time of this movie I loved it.. LOVED seeing the Twins on the big screen. Plus it was right in the middle of our two championships which means every kid in the Twin Cities was all over baseball.
I love it when his mother grounded him because he was arguing with the Umpire,
I love this movie, but as a diehard M's fan, it's nearly laughable to me that the big bad bully team in this movie is the 1994 Mariners.
So glad you made this video. This was always one of my favorite movies, not just baseball movies. My kids are 9 and 11 now and they love it too. It has everything. And the baseball is so good. We worked on a hidden ball trick play at my boys travel practice yesterday. I told all the boys to go watch this movie to see how it's done. Thanks again for making this. Brings back great memories.
No matter how it did, I LOVED this movie as a kid.
Edit: The fact that PCA's mom was the mom in the movie is wild. Never woulda thought about that. I'm sure there's some great banter from guys on his team about that lol.
I loved the baseball movie ranking video, and appreciated all the work that went into it..all the hours watching, note taking, editing etc. and this one you went above and beyond. Two of the best videos (not just sports) of any kind I've ever seen on CZcams.
You dug way more into this movie than anyone ever needed to...... And I sincerely thank you for it!
24:24 - Ivan Rodriguez did win a World Series. 2003.
Yes sir. Marlins!
Grizzly Adams DID have a beard
So many sleepless nights cured by Night Nurses from Jersey
Whenever I'm in a hotel I always want to throw water balloons.
And I always want to watch Night Nurses From New Jersey.
I remember watching this in the theaters and it’s still one of my favorite sports movies. I watch it roughly once a year with my own kids now. I think it’s one of the funniest sports movies out there.
After watching this video. I now want to see a full length video on whether the MLB cameos in little big league could beat the mlb cameos in Homer at the bat.
The realism of this movie is top notch! As a Dodger fan, as a kid it always bothered me in Rookie of the Year how they used Comiskey Park to pinch hit for Dodger Stadium. As an adult I understand the limitations of shooting locations and budgets, but it still really breaks my immersion. LBL had the uniforms, stadiums, and atmosphere right. I’ll always appreciate it for nailing the details despite the story’s shortcomings. It’s a family favorite!
Bought a copy shortly after seeing this video (it came in real quick) and just finished watching it. As an older baseball fan I can definitely enjoy how well they replicated the game with actors and real players. Also figured out what baseball movie it was where I heard Run Around Sue in. Been trying to remember for awhile.
Also it is a good movie in its grounded nature though I can see why it didn't get the same sort of attention Rookie of the Year got. Big thing is that I can't imagine very many kids wanted to be the manager rather than the star player of a baseball team.
Good lord, I imagine going up against Randy Johnson was stressful enough if you were a pro I couldn't imagine the absolute terror of being an amateur and having him throw "light" at you.
I never understood why the Minnesota Twins were the team in this movie because they were a few years removed from winning their 2nd World Series in a 5 year span.
Same. I can't understand how the Twins would go from being World Champions to being one of the worst teams in baseball in just 3 years.
I read that they wanted a team in a major city in the Midwest
Filming a baseball movie is much easier inside and especially during the winter 😊
Amazing video! Great research into the actors/ballplayers in each role, I had no idea about any of their backgrounds... what a story Tony Todd is!
I adored this movie growing up, watching it constantly on VHS... sometimes rewinding and playing again right after I watched it lol. Probably didn't realize at the time how technically brilliant the in-game sequences were, although maybe that was unconsciously part of why I liked it so much. Well done highlighting this!
While I think Billy is a smartass (and for the most part stays that way while he is a manager), he feels like he has to be mean or throw his weight around with his talk because he knows or inherently senses that he has far less experience in life, let alone baseball, than the players. So he sees what other managers do and how they've acted and reacted to their players, umpires, the media, etc (he starts out a big baseball fan so he probably has read up on different lore of managers in history doing this or that, seen video of managers and players arguing in the dugout and so on) and tries to mimic those behaviors. What he can't glean most of the time from just watching televised games and highlights (or even in person, maybe being in the clubhouse a handful of times) is the actual content of what the managers are saying, he can really only learn body language (unless he's a Jomboy-level lip reader lol)... he can only imagine what other managers are actually saying to their players when they criticize them. So there is little to no subtext to what Billy is saying when he criticizes them, it's just direct, few jokes if any, because he's more of a kid and fan then he is an associate/business partner. Admittedly I haven't seen the movie in full in a long while, but I think I remember the hitting coach trying to be a bit of a coaching mentor to Billy; I think the story would've been improved by a manager from a different team, whether an actor or actual major league manager, coming in as a mentor to guide Billy along the journey at different points (again I can't remember that being a significant part of the movie)
CARLOS BAERGA! I forgot he was in that movie! I remember this time. I was in 6 & 7th grade. So, they were aimed directly at my age group.
Monday, June 19, 2023, 3:35 AM. This was the exact moment when I learned that Poindexter in Revenge Of The Nerds was played by Timothy Busfield.
Loved your in depth video about the athletes of LBL. I also loved how you talked about the kid baseball movies of 94’. All of those movies were a huge part of my childhood!
Good to see this movie getting the respect it deserved
lmao that randy johnson story is great
Billy Heywood's character was an attempted depiction of what a manager would act like at the time. Remember, he fired Dennis Farina''s character because the players did not like him but the team was also losing. I thought Billy's character was a bit of fresh air.
Reason for its failure could be market fatigue. As you mention the other kids oriented baseball movies that time. Plus Major League II, while not a kids movie on the face of it, a lot more family friendly than the 1st movie, also released in '94. That's a lot of similar premised movies very close to another. Not a real bankable star either. Biggest name is probably Jason Robards, the grandfather owner who of course is not in it for very long. Some solid character actors as you point out, but no real big star of the day. It's still a movie I enjoy and I will say a bold one for having the team lose at the end. Love that Griffey robs the would be homer at the end. Me & a friend still laugh about that to this day.
Great video. I appreciate all the work you put into it. I have to say that personally as a kid growing up, I absolutely LOVED Little Big League. It was my favorite baseball movie even over ROY. It had so much baseball in it, so many real players and teams, and it all looked so real so I was mesmerized by it. Plus it had my idol Ken Griffey Jr. in it dropping a bomb, robbing a HR and even "acting" lol. AN underrated gem in my opinion.
Gotta breakdown more baseball movie casts/lineups, this was awesome
Man I wish you uploaded every few days or so, your videos are phenomenal!
I've only seen this movie as an adult and have liked it each time I've watched. The authenticity helped a lot. And the fact that the kid was the manager and not a player.
Yes! Always wanted somebody to make a full video on this Movie. The montages are some of my favorite from any baseball movie. Also the math scene before the big game is amazing
One of my favorite shots is when they’re on the road in Boston and it’s a foggy afternoon game at Fenway. Such a beautiful sight. The feel of baseball
This video is spectacular - it's rare I can sit and watch a CZcams video for more than a minute or two, this was worth the half hour; thank you!
This was a top 3 baseball movie for me as a kid. 1. Sandlot 2. Rookie of the Year 3. Little Big League HM: Angels in the Outfield (im an Angels fan)
People forget, but Mel Clark pitched 3 shut outs in a row for Cincinnati in 86.
Fantastic video, thank you! Also, I was today years old when I realized the Wally Joyner cameo wasn't actually a Mark Harmon cameo. I've seen this movie a couple dozen times over the past (nearly) 30 years and I've always believed that was Mark.
$3,000 on dinosaurs had me Howling 🤣
LBL is easily the most underrated baseball movie of that era... I may have only been 10 yrs old at the time, but my recollection was that this movie was just promoted very poorly... Sandlot, ROTY, an AITO were all extremely popular with my age group the moment they were released, but most kids in my area had no idea that LBL even existed.
My only real gripe with LBL is that they did shit on my team (the Indians) as well as on my two favorite players (Baerga and Sandy Alomar)... But at the end of the day I still gotta give it love.
Just from memory, I think you're right. I recall ROTY and AITO being heavily promoted on what felt like every commercial break in 1993 and 1994. I truly don't remember nearly as much promotion for LBL. Though I must say, this video was also spot on with its analysis as to what hurt the movie as well with the writing of it. It definitely aged wonderfully, but I can sorta understand why a kid in the mid 90's liked the others better.
I am 63. A lifelong baseball movie junkie and this is one of the best. So many lists ignore this one and have all the cliched movies at the top. Mr Baseball with Tom Selleck is terrific too! The best? The Sandlot!!!!! Captured my own youth perfectly!!!!
This was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and I would still watch it today. I learned so much from this video that makes me love it even more. This was an excellent watch. Very well done!
This is one of my favorite movies of all time, Billy Haywood was a baseball encyclopedia!!! lol, all four of the movies listed at the beginning are awesome movies.
39 seconds in, why do i have chills. There's something deeoer about the sports movies we grew up with that explain us compared to the others today. Thanks for making this
This was one of my favourite movies as a kid. This is an amazing break down. Thank you!
This is just what I needed 😁 Love this channel!
bro this video is so good. I grew up with Little Big League. It's my favorite baseball movie and love that you made a documentary about it.
The most underrated baseball movie there is. Easy Top 5 all time baseball movie in my book. The real players made it that much better.
And that Twins pitcher, #13, I thought he looked a lot like Mark Portugal. Only if he pitched with the other hand.
Man you saw that look on Juniors face. He could EASILY make it in today's MLB with that SWAG! MY BOY! 🙏👍 I mean, he played until 2009 or 2010 so he was right there in it.
Its a good movie, but Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch will always be the greatest baseball movie ever
Love the vids man, small note; when speaking of Paul O'Neill, you mention 5 world series rings "1 with the Reds & 5* more with the Yankees"