Little Big League
Little Big League
This overlooked baseball gem is a heartwarming adventure that celebrates dreams, friendship, and the love of the game.
PRE-GAME ⚾️
Welcome back to Balls on Film! 👋🏻
I hope everyone has had a great week. I’ve been pretty consumed by all things baseball this week, which makes our film choice so fitting. Unfortunately, real life baseball events haven’t been bringing me quite as much joy as this movie does, with my Yankees losing to the Dodgers in the World Series on Wednesday night in an ugly, ugly loss. I’m feeling rather dejected over the whole thing. It’s been a rollercoaster of a season, and game 1 of 162 back in March feels like it was such a long time ago now.
I read a quote recently that really stuck with me:
“Baseball breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.” - A. Bartlett Giamatti
I’ve no idea what the offseason will bring for my team, but I’m going to do what I always do: look forward to Opening Day, and another season of hope and possibilities. Hope springs eternal, and all that.
With that, let’s get to Little Big League! I’ve been looking forward to getting to this one - it’s an under-appreciated gem that’s quite unlike any other kids sports movie out there.
FIRST HALF ⚾️
Little Big League often gets confused with Rookie of the Year. Both movies were released in the early 90s and share a similar premise of young kids finding themselves unexpectedly involved in professional baseball. In Rookie of the Year, the main character becomes a pitching sensation for the Chicago Cubs after a freak accident gives him a super-powered arm. Meanwhile, the much more grounded Little Big League tells the story of twelve year old Billy Heywood (Luke Edwards), who becomes the owner and manager of the Minnesota Twins after inheriting the team from his late grandfather. Both movies feature fairly ludicrous plots, but what makes Little Big League so great is just how straight it plays the whole thing, and how it gets the audience to buy into it completely.
The film’s whole premise is totally improbable, yet always feels grounded and believable. I’ve always felt that it’s one of the most grown-up kids movies from this time period, particularly when you consider other titles that were released around the same time. It captures that childhood fantasy of every baseball-loving kid who’s dreamt of managing a team and strategising with players - but with baseball, that dream is never something that really goes away and carries over to adult fandom, and it’s probably why this movie appeals so much to older audiences too. Luke Edwards does a convincing job of portraying Billy as a smart and determined kid who genuinely loves the game. His character isn’t played for laughs and there’s none of the usual slapstick-style humour that you’d expect from a child character like this who’s thrust into such an unbelievable situation. While the story is very much wish-fulfilling, one of it’s biggest strengths is how it perfectly balances fantasy and realism.
This film has such a good supporting cast of characters. Timothy Busfield, in his second baseball movie after Field of Dreams, is great as Lou Collins, the team’s first baseman. His relationship with Billy’s mother adds a fun dynamic between the two characters and makes Billy’s new-found role as team owner and manager all the more complicated, particularly later in the film as Billy’s ego begins to inflate a little. John Ashton is perfect as the skeptical pitching coach, Mac, and his character’s arc from struggling to take orders from a 12 year old to softening and coming to appreciate Billy’s genuine passion and knowledge for baseball provides plenty of comic relief. Much like the humour throughout the rest of the film, the comedy that comes from this relationship never feels silly or over-the-top. Scott ‘Luke Danes’ Patterson of Gilmore Girls fame also makes an appearance, and the first time I watched this movie, I must have looked like I was recreating the Leonardo Dicaprio pointing at the screen meme when he first appeared.
What makes Little Big League appealing to older audiences as well as kids, is its respect for baseball itself. Unlike many family sports movies that rely heavily on slapstick humour and characters getting themselves into ridiculous situations, this film doesn’t reduce the sport to a punchline. It respects the rules and nuances of the game, and shows that Billy actually has to adapt and learn new skills in order to earn the respect of the players, and all of the challenges that come with it. Billy’s journey isn’t always smooth, and there’s several moments throughout where he’s forced to grapple with hard choices, and the film shows a level of maturity that’s not often seen in kids’ movies. It even features real baseball players and broadcasters, like Ken Griffey Jr and Bob Costas. Griffey almost feels like the final boss of a video game by the time he appears, and his inclusion really makes the film’s climactic game feel like an insurmountable challenge for Billy and the Twins.
The game scenes themselves are meticulously shot, and gives us a look at the actual strategy involved in the game. It doesn’t attempt to simplify the on-field action or talk down to the younger audience, and it’s a big reason why this movie from 1994 has aged so well and still holds up in thirty years later.
Sure, the plot of Little Big League may be a tad predictable. Once the story gets going, it’s not hard to see how it will play out, and how the relationships between the characters are going to develop, but it it doesn’t take away from it’s charm. The relationships between the characters, and the ways in which it portrays the game of baseball are the film’s strengths. I love watching Billy toe the line between managing his new-found responsibilities and just being a kid who wants to hang out and talk baseball with his friends, and who misses his Grandfather. Speaking of his friends, I love the dynamic between them and Billy and the scene where he brings them to the ballpark and they get to throw the ball around on the field is one of my favourites from the movie. It’s the relationship between Billy and the players though, and how it develops, that ultimately leads to the math homework scene near the end of the film, which is the best part of the whole movie. There’s a reason I couldn’t not give it the best scene award, but we’ll come to that in the second half.
Little Big League may not have received the same fanfare as some other ‘90s sports movies, but it’s an often overlooked gem that has since developed a cult following amongst fans of the genre. What could be an overly silly story is instead told with heart, humour, and a surprising respect for the game of baseball.
Little Big League is available to purchase on most digital platforms. I purchased the film on the Apple TV store for this review.
HALFTIME ⚾️
Let’s take a break for halftime. Grab some refreshments and settle in for the second half.
Let’s get into what else I’ve been watching this week.
The Turnaround
You might remember the story of the devoted Philadelphia Phillies fan who rallied his whole city to give struggling shortstop Trea Turner a standing ovation to show their support for him. It resulted in a magical run of games for Turner and the team, and this short 25 minute documentary chronicles the events. It also introduces us to the fan who started it all. It’s a short documentary on baseball, mental health and the importance of kindness - and even if you don’t care about baseball or sports at all, I cannot recommend it enough. The last few minutes almost brought me to tears. Incredible stuff.
Streaming now on Netflix.
Juror #2
I got to attend an early preview screening of Clint Eastwood’s new movie this week, and until sitting down to watch it, I had no idea that Warner Bros had decided to only give it a limited run instead of a wide release. It’s a shame, because if this does end up being Clint Eastwood’s final movie as rumours have suggested, he’s going out on a high. I thought it was absolutely gripping, with an amazing lead performance from Nicholas Hoult. What an absolutely stacked cast all around. If you love a good, gripping courtroom drama then make sure you see this.
In theatres now.
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I’d also like to remind everyone that I’ve started the Balls on Film subscriber chat, which you can access from the main page or via the chat tab at the bottom of the screen in the Substack app. I’ll post a few threads in there every so often, and would love to hear about all the new things you guys are watching, if you’d like to dive in and share.
Let’s get back out on to the field.
SECOND HALF ⚾️
Let’s jump into some awards and bonus content.
BEST SCENE 🏆
The math homework scene never fails to put a smile on my face. It’s pure joy to watch.
BEST LINE 🏆
Joey: Man! “When my Grandfather died, all I got was a sweater.”
MVP AWARD 🏆
This goes to Luke Edwards as Billy. I really liked that he managed to the team like an adult, and with a proper baseball mind. This whole movie could have easily been made as a goofy comedy, and Edwards helps make it feel believable despite the whole concept being completely ridiculous.
IMDB TRIVIA HIGHLIGHT 🏆
The baseball team in the original script were the Kansas City Royals before being rewritten and changed to the Minnesota Twins because it would be much easier to shoot in the Metrodome, an indoor stadium.
BEST LETTERBOXD REVIEW 🏆
Did anyone else just imagine Patterson’s character as Luke Danes whilst watching this
BONUS FEATURE 💿
This is a really interesting deep dive into the movie from Baseball’s Not Dead. There’s a ton of great stuff in here.
POST-GAME ⚾️
One sports movie sub-genre that we’ve not covered yet is Mixed Martial Arts, so next week’s movie is Warrior, starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. I’ve not seen it since opening weekend on the big screen in 2011. There’s not been many great movies based on MMA at all, so I’m curious to see how Warrior holds up.
As always, leave your comments on Little Big League, and let me know what you’ve been watching too.
See you next week.
~James