Baseball fiction but not far off fact.

Rating: Null/10 (21 June 1999)

While not exactly faithful to the novel by Bernard Malamud this still comes off as an exceptional baseball movie. Good characters all around make this film what it is. Wilford Brimley is outstanding as Pop Fischer. Great scenes include Hobbs getting his Knights cap in the locker room and being told by the equipment manager "Welcome to the Majors". Not exactly like he had planned but he was finally there and knew it in his own special way. His bubble gum card being cranked out blended along with footage of him becoming the Knights savior. Something he had obviously imagined happening as a younger man. His first uneasy meeting with Pop and his right hand man Red. Feeling out of place in an environment he loves. His dinner with Red when he tells him "Red it took me sixteen years to get here..You play me you'll get the best I've got." Knowing what he's up against but hoping he'll get the chance. If you're a baseball fan you can't pass this one up. If you're in a real baseball mood watch this one along with Fear Strikes Out featuring Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden. Another baseball film filled with triumph and tragedy.