Former Las Vegas showgirl Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton) has inherited the Cleveland Indians baseball team from her deceased husband. Phelps has received a lucrative deal to move the team to Miami, and she aims to trigger the escape clause in the team's contract with Cleveland if season attendance falls below minimum levels. To do this, she fires most of the existing players and has her new General Manager Charlie Donovan bring in new ones from a list of aging veterans and inexperienced rookies, hoping to make the worst team ever that would certainly cause attendance to decline. Phelps hires Lou Brown, a former coach from the Toledo Mud Hens to lead the team.
During spring training in Tucson, Brown and veteran catcher Jake Taylor discover the new team has a number of interpersonal issues as well as their own struggles with the game, such as the prima donna nature of Roger Dorn, the only player on a long-term contract with the Indians, and the weak arm of veteran pitcher Eddie Harris who is forced to doctor his pitches to stay competitive. As the season starts, the team is unable to overcome these problems and starts on a losing streak. Their rookie pitcher, Ricky Vaughn, has an incredible fast ball but with little control, leading him to be called "Wild Thing"; however, by chance, Brown discovers Vaughn has eyesight problems, and when they fit him with glasses, his pitching drastically improves, helping the Indians to a series of wins. The rest of the team rallies behind this, putting aside personal issues and coming together to bring the Indians higher in the division standings. Phelps tries to demoralize the team by taking away their luxuries such as a private jet, but the team still holds strong, and appears to have a shot at winning the division. Meanwhile, Taylor finds that his ex-girlfriend Lynn is living in Cleveland, and tries to get her to come back to him even after learning she has become engaged to a new beau.
When Phelps' original plan falls through, she decides that she will purposely void the contract, despite the financial penalty, and will move the team to Miami regardless. Donovan relays this to Brown, who informs the team that no matter how well they do, they will be fired after the season. Taylor leads the others to agree that they should do the best they can and win the division. To spur the team, Brown uses a covered cardboard standup photo of Phelps from her showgirl days, pulling off a piece of the cover for every game they win. The team succeeds in tying the division with the New York Yankees, leading to a one-game playoff to determine the title.
In the playoff in Cleveland, the Yankees take an early lead but Pedro Cerrano is able to overcome his inability to hit a curve, knocking out a home run to tie the game. In the top of the 9th, with the bases loaded and the Yankees' power hitter Clu Haywood at bat, Brown has Vaughn pitch relief despite past confrontations Vaughn has had with Haywood. Vaughn manages to strike out Haywood, sending the Indians up to bat.
With the game tied and the Indians with two outs, the speedy Willie "Mays" Hayes manages a single to get on base, and then steals second. Taylor steps up, and after signalling to Brown, calls his shot to center field. With the Yankees prepared for the long play, Taylor instead bunts, allowing Hayes to make it to home safely and win the game. The team and crowd erupt into cheers while Phelps realizes that she likely will not be able to move the team after this. As the team celebrates, Taylor sees Lynn in the stands, no longer wearing her engagement ring. The two rush to hug each other as the city celebrates the victory.
Output: What incentive did Brown use to encourage the team to win?