Mr. Baseball

Tom Selleck's glorious moustache goes to Japan in this culture clash comedy that still rounds the bases, but feels a bit past its prime.

Mar 14, 2025

PRE GAME ⚾️

Welcome back to Balls on Film! 👋🏻

I hope you guys have had a good week! I said last week that I was attending FrightFest in Glasgow, which I look forward to every year. Unfortunately, it ended up being a bit of a bust this year with no real standout movies and a few downright terrible ones. The whole festival seemed off this year, and sort of phoned-in without any of the fun and horror community spirit that usually makes it special. After two days that kind of dragged, we actually ended up leaving before the final movie, which we’ve never done in the 18 years we’ve been going to the festival. It was a huge disappointment, and I’m hoping for a bounce back year in 2026.

Thanks for all of your comments and feedback on Hoosiers last week. I wanted to highlight a couple of great posts on Substack that I found as a result of the community here. Here’s a post from

Josh Suchon’s Newsletter

Sue Shawn Says

that discusses why Gene Hackman was amazing, but Coach Dale was terrible. It’s a great read!

Josh Suchon’s Newsletter

The most overrated coach in movie history

Scribbling from Albuquerque…

4 months ago · 7 likes · 3 comments · Sue Shawn Says

And here’s a really wonderful post from

Beauty Of A Game

with some of the best sports movie posters of all time, which includes Hoosiers:

Beauty Of A Game

The Best Sports Movie Posters of All-Time

Almost as long as there have been movies there have been movie posters. And almost as long as there have been movies there have been movies about sports. Thus, for almost as long as there have been movies about sports there have been sports movie posters. Throughout the years, as printing technologies and design styles have changed, movie posters have c…

4 months ago · 8 likes · 7 comments · Beauty Of A Game

I actually had planned to share my own favourite sports movie poster here this week, but it’s actually been too tough for me to pick just one. I might need some more time to think about this…

For now though, let’s turn our attention to baseball. Mr. Baseball, more specifically!

FIRST HALF ⚾️

There’s a certain charm to Mr. Baseball that’s hard to ignore, even if parts of it feel like a bit of a relic of the early 90s. It’s the familiar tale of a washed-up athlete getting a second chance, but what makes this story different is that the second chance is happening in another country, and the whole culture shock angle that comes with it that’s played so heavily. It’s a movie that probably wouldn’t work as well today in that respect, but it still provides a good mix of laughs, heartfelt moments and a look at Japanese baseball culture that can feel both authentic and, at times, pretty dated.

Tom Selleck, glorious moustache and all, plays Jack Elliot - a cocky baseball player who’s getting a bit past his prime. He’s sent to Japan in a trade, after the New York Yankees decide to replace him with a much younger rookie talent. He ends up playing for the Chunichi Dragons, and struggles to adapt to the culture both on and off the field. He clashes with his manager, Uchiyama (Ken Takakura), and doesn’t get on board with the other player’s team-first mentality. Here he also meets another American player on the team, Max Dubois (Dennis Haysbert) and Hiroko (Aya Takanashi) - the team’s translator tasked with helping him adjust to life in Japan. It’s the story of Jack trying to find his way back to glory, and adapt to new ways all of doing things at the same time.

What works best is Selleck himself. He brings just the right amount of arrogance to Jack without making him unbearable, and his comedic timing and charm really works. He never verges too far into asshole territory, and it feels very much down to his performance more so than the writing. The dynamic between Jack and Uchiyama is the main source of tension here, and the gradual evolution from frustration to mutual respect between the two is well handled and what makes the film’s climax so entertaining . The baseball scenes are solid and it offers a surprisingly authentic glimpse into Japanese baseball culture, highlighting its emphasis on discipline and teamwork that star players back then might have often struggled with. The film gives us a glimpse into things like the intense practice sessions that are common in Japanese baseball, coordinated cheering in the crowd, and the deep respect for tradition that defines the Japanese game. Oh, and don’t forget games ending in a tie! This film could have easily been played as total farce with slapstick humour and tasteless jokes, and while parts do feel dated now, it’s surprisingly big-hearted and and a very different movie then the ridiculously cheesy trailers make it out to be. Even today, the movie is occasionally used as a light introduction for foreign players heading to Japan, to prepare them for the adjustments they might face. Although I can’t imagine anyone watching Tom Selleck be amazed that he can actually eat steak in Japan (gasp!), and taking it in as research, but whatever works for you, I guess.

As much as Selleck carries the film, the supporting cast hold their own. Both the Max Dubois and Hiroko characters add quite a bit of depth to the story, particularly with Hiroko being Uchiyama’s daughter and the relationship that develops between her and Jack. I particularly liked the ways in which the two characters help Jack to adjust to life and baseball in Japan in different ways. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot of depth from the secondary characters in a 90s comedy called Mr. Baseball going in, so I was pleasantly surprised.

That said, Mr. Baseball is very much a product of its time. Some of the jokes about Japanese culture rely on lazy stereotypes, and Jack’s early behavior comes across more entitled than funny at times. As I said, it’s only Selleck’s immense like-ability that pulls it back. There's one moment early on after Jack arrives in Nagoya, and whilst being driven through the city, asks “where’s all the temples and rice paddies and stuff?”. There’s a good few moments like that, and they sort of take you out of the movie a little - but before I saw this for the first time, I was expecting much worse, and for the whole thing to be more of a silly stereotype-heavy comedy. Thankfully doesn’t really go there too much, despite there certainly being elements here that are firmly dated now. The romantic subplot with Hiroko adds a bit of heart and depth to Jack’s character, but outside of the fact that she’s the manager’s daughter, it feels a bit predictable, pulled straight from the sports movie romance playbook. Still, there’s a sincerity to the film that helps it rise above its flaws. Jack’s transformation isn’t earth-shattering - you get the sense he’s still the same old Jack by the end - but his journey is a satisfying one. And while the cultural clashes sometimes feel clumsy and dated, the film does show a genuine curiosity about Japanese baseball traditions.

Mr. Baseball isn’t a grand slam, but it’s a solid at-bat for sure. It’s very much a product of its time - a sports comedy with very broad humour that’s carried by the charisma of its lead actor. If you can forgive the occasional outdated joke and a few things that just don’t work well in 2025, there’s plenty to enjoy here - particularly Selleck, who proves that sometimes, a little charm goes a long way.

Mr. Baseball is available to rent or purchase on most digital platforms.

HALFTIME 🍿

Let’s take a break for halftime.

I’ve not actually watched all that much over the last week outside of continuing with Severance, The Pitt, Mythic Quest and my usual daily Frasier reruns. I’m off to see Mickey 17 this weekend, so I’ll share my thoughts on that next week.

There’s been quite a bit of sports movie and sports documentary/other media news this week. Let’s get into it.

The latest trailer for the upcoming F1 movie dropped yesterday, and I must say, I’m excited for this one. I’m not even much of a racing fan, but the thought of an F1 movie from the director of Top Gun: Maverick, with the action and intensity dialled up to eleven has me looking forward to an IMAX screening already.

Netflix also released the trailer for their upcoming docu-series on the Boston Red Sox. The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox promises a never-before seen look at the lives of MLB players, both on and off the field during the gruelling 162 game season. As a Yankees fan, I’d rather not watch eight hours of the Red Sox, but this looks fantastic and I’m looking forward to it. I hope Netflix continues this with even more teams.

In some upcoming sports movie news, Deadline reported this week that an upcoming Tiger Woods movie has landed at Amazon MGM, with Reinaldo Marcus Green set to direct. I loved King Richard, so I’m definitely keen to see how this turns out.

As usual, let me know what you’re watching or what you’re planning to go see. Let’s get back to Mr. Baseball!

SECOND HALF ⚾️

Let’s jump into some awards and bonus content.

BEST SCENE 🏆

The final game scene where Jack is given the chance to break Uchiyama's record, is my favourite in the movie. You’ll need to tap on the link below to go to YouTube to watch it. The quality of the clip isn’t great, but it’s the only one I was able to find.

And when the team come to Jack’s defence after he’s purposely hit by a pitch. It feels like a real turning point for him and the Dragons.

BEST LINE 🏆

Uchiyama: “But we are losing!”
Jack Eliot: “We're Behind! Big difference.”

MVP AWARD 🏆

It’s Tom Selleck. Jack Elliot is a bit of a douche at times, but Selleck always has this pure likability and still manages to make you root for him the whole time. This movie could have very easily been much more silly than it is, and a big part of that is because of how Selleck plays it.

TRIVIA HIGHLIGHT 🏆

Per IMDb:

While preparing for this movie, Tom Selleck spent time with the Detroit Tigers during 1991 spring training. He was even brought into a game as a late inning pinch hitter, managing to foul off one pitch before striking out.

BEST LETTERBOXD REVIEW 🏆

I got a good chuckle from this one.

BONUS FEATURES 💿

Rich Eisen is becoming a bit of a regular here in the bonus features section of the newsletter, and here he is again talking to Tom Selleck about getting pranked while preparing for the role.

POST-GAME ⚾️

By the time you read this, I’ll probably be a few hours into playing MLB The Show 25. The game is released today, and even though I don’t get to play video games as much as I used to, this is one that I look forward to every year and make a point of playing. I always take the day off work when it comes out, clear my day and play until my eyes can’t take looking at the screen anymore. I like to think it keeps me young, now that I’m the ripe old age of 40.

Next week, we’re going to turn to a sports movie sub-genre that we haven’t touched yet - arm wrestling! Yep, you guessed it - next week we’re going OVER THE TOP with Sylvester Stallone! I’ve actually never seen it before, so have no idea what I’m in for. I can’t wait.

See you next week! 👋🏻

~James