You have to love films about baseball

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2012)

You have to love films about baseball, especially when they are extremely well written. This is one of those films. Ward has a handle on baseball players and baseball fans that cuts straight to the heart and draws you in. Instead of focusing on a single player, he makes baseball what it ought to be...a team effort. His team is Tom Berenger, who plays the past his prime catcher ready to have one more decent season. Renee Russo is his ex-fiancé who has moved on with her life, but is still in love with Jake. Charlie Sheen and Wesley Snipes become the "hotshots" of the rookies, Sheen as the pitcher with the blazing fast ball and a lack of control, nicknamed the Wild Thing, Snipes as Willie Mays Hays, the runner out to score 100 stolen bases in the season. Dennis Haysbert gives an excellent performance as Pedro Cerrano, the Cuban who defected from his native land to practice his religion...voodoo. Harsh language and a couple of scenes of brief nudity drew an R rating from the MPAA, but the teens ought to love it, especially the ones who have played baseball in school. Definitely a collectible.