July 14, 2016 | SuzyQ
Batter up! From comedy to drama, there's something for everyone on this list. If baseball history is more to your liking try one of the Library's documentaries on the national pastime. And if you just want to tweak your fastball or improve your batting stance, try one of our instructional dvds.
Matthau is a grumbling beer-guzzling former minor-league pitcher who gets roped into coaching a band of half-pint misfits somewhat loosely called a team.
An unlikely friendship ignites between two baseball players. One is the team's ace pitcher and social charmer; the other is the catcher, a farm boy from Georgia who lacks sophistication. During their last season together, the two men grow in manhood and respect for themselves and each other.
A group of independent renegade players travel around the Midwest looking for that big home run while playing baseball in the 1930's Negro League.
Veteran minor-league catcher Crash Davis is assigned to the Class A Durham Bulls to handle the team's star rookie and wild pitcher, "Nuke" LaLoosh. .
Based on the real-life scandal of 1919, the film tells the story of eight baseball players who plan to throw games for money, and the scorn and anger the scheme earned them.
The life of Boston Red Sox outfielder, Jimmy Piersall, who fought mental illness to play for 17 seasons in the major leagues.
A young woman is caught between her boyfriend and his love of the Boston Red Sox.
An Iowa farmer is inspired by a voice he cannot ignore to pursue a dream, and turns his cornfield into a baseball field so that some baseball legends can come and play.
In the small town of Norway, Iowa, the high school baseball team is led by legendary Coach Jim Van Scoyoc who has won 19 State Championships. But the small town heroes are dealt a series of unexpected blows that threaten to rob them of their 20th championship win. Talk of a school merger gets serious and Coach Scoyoc is fired and is replaced by his 24-year-old assistant coach, Kent Stock. Failure seems inevitable.
At the end of a disappointing season, legendary Detroit Tigers pitcher Billy Chapel may be at the end of his career and relationship when he plays the game of his life.
History was made in 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the professional baseball race barrier to become the first African American MLB player of the modern era.
In 1943, a washed-up ballplayer is hired to coach in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League while the male pros are at war. Reluctant at first, he finds himself drawn back into the game by the heart and heroics of his team. Based on a true story.
When a woman inherits the Cleveland Indians, she hires what she thinks will be a losing line up so she can move the team to Miami.
Oakland Athletics general manager, Billy Beane, tried to use statistics to find better players without resorting to the larger budgets big-market teams were able to employ. Based on the book by Michael Lewis.
Nothing was going to stop Roy Hobbs from fulfilling his boyhood dream of baseball stardom. As a 14-year old he fashions a baseball bat from an oak tree, and soon impresses major league scouts with his ability. His talent also catches the eye of a sportswriter who eventually becomes instrumental in Hobbs' career. The appearance of a mysterious woman, however, shatters his dream. Years later Hobbs reappears as a rookie for the New York Knights and has an opportunity to share in their race for the pennant.
Lou Gehrig, the Yank's great first baseman and the son of poor immigrants, rose to heights of baseball fame -- only to be cut down at the peak of his career by an incurable illness known as ALS.
When a shoulder injury ended his minor league pitching career twelve years ago, Jim Morris resorted to the next best thing: coaching. But Jim's team, knowing their coach is a great ball player, makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, they want Jim to try out for a major-league organization. Going from worst to first, the team makes it to state, and Jim is forced to live up to his end of the deal.
Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. One was the Yankees' best loved players and the other was their most valuable. 1961 was about to be the summer that no one who loves baseball will ever forget. Both men find that they are approaching Babe Ruth's 1927 single-season 60 home-run record. Facing pressure from the media and the stands, both men know that there is only room for one winner. The fans make their choice, but the people's favorite isn't the favorite to win.
During the 1950's, three African Americans baseball players, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and rookie Jackie Robinson are considered to be included in the white leagues.
Story of the life and career of the White Sox baseball player Monty Stratton.
Miguel 'Sugar' Santos is a talented Dominican baseball player who longs to break into the American big league and earn the money needed to support his impoverished family. Before that happens he'll have to prove his worth in the minor leagues. Advancing in baseball's minor league system at the tender age of 19, Miguel is warmly welcomed into the small-town Iowa home of his host family. He struggles with language and cultural barriers despite the kindness of strangers. Subsequently forced to reevaluate his life's ambition after his once-trusty arm becomes unreliable, the previously single-minded pitcher gradually begins to question both the world he lives in and the role he has chosen to play in it.