Kevin Costner Just "Gets" Baseball

Rating: 7/10 (12 March 2017)

Considering the fact that "Field of Dreams" (also starring Kevin Costner and about the national pastime) is my favorite sports film of all time, I watched this film with high expectations. For the most part, this movie lived up to those expectations.
Basically, the plot centers on Detroit Tigers pitcher Billy Chapel, who finds himself nearing the end of a very long and very successful career. However, when the owner of the Tigers tells Billy that the team no longer can afford him, Billy must make the biggest decision of his life (be traded or retire), all the while putting up zeroes on the Yankee Stadium scoreboard on the final day of the baseball season.
This aspect of the film (Billy's tumultuous decision) really works for baseball fans in a couple of ways. First is the use of flashbacks (think LOST) that show Billy's career up until the present, including his long road back from injury and a burgeoning (yet complicated) romance. Secondly, the vocal talents of Vin Scully (the real-life voice of the Dodgers) will remind all viewers that this movie truly is meant to appeal to pure baseball fans. As Billy pitches deep into his remarkable game, all the while recollecting the earlier events of his life, the film's climax is superbly narrated by Scully.
About the only "knock" I have on this film (and thus why it isn't five stars) stems from the fact that Billy's romantic issues tend to be a bit too contrived to create the highest form of believable drama. Perhaps Costner was trying to portray a very conflicted Chapel, but to me it came off as a bit confusing how Billy could have his "affairs on the side" and still be involved in a touching romance.
All told, though, this is a film that baseball fans will almost certainly love. Even if you don't completely fall for the romantic aspects, you will be cheering on Billy Chapel as he struggles to achieve the pinnacle of baseball greatness for a pitcher. Once again, as in "Field of Dreams", Costner proves that he truly does know how to capture the essence of what makes the game of baseball so dramatic.