Major League (film)

Major League is a 1989 movie starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen and Corbin Bernsen. It also features Keith Uchima and Kurt Uchima

Related Topics:
1989 - Movie - Tom Berenger - Charlie Sheen - Corbin Bernsen - Keith Uchima - Kurt Uchima

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The story involves the Cleveland Indians, a Major League Baseball team that has been plagued with losing season after losing season. The recent death of the franchise's owner leaves control in the hands of greedy widow Rachel Phelps (played by Margaret Whitton). Phelps dislikes living in Cleveland and sets out to create the worst major-league team possible, hoping that the Indians' lack of success will translate to rock-bottom attendance, triggering a contract clause that would allow her to break her lease at Cleveland Stadium and move the team to Florida. The team is populated by a motley mix of has-beens, raw rookies, and seemingly fatally flawed talents:

Related Topics:
Cleveland Indians - Margaret Whitton - Cleveland - Cleveland Stadium - Florida

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• Catcher Jake Taylor (Berenger), an aging veteran with two bad knees. Taylor is playing in a Mexican baseball league when he is called by the Indians and invited to training camp. Hungover, he assumes the call is one of his teammates playing a practical joke. The major sub-plot of the film involves Taylor trying to win back his ex-girlfriend Lynn Wells (Rene Russo).
• Pitcher Ricky Vaughn (Sheen) gets out of prison to join the Indians, having most recently played in the California Penal League. Early problems locating his pitches earn him the nickname 'Wild Thing', but are corrected when he wears a pair of horn rim glasses to correct his vision. The nickname sticks, however, and Vaughn's entrance into the final game while the stadium's sound system blares a cover of the Troggs' hit Wild Thing is one of the more memorable moments in the movie.
• Outfielder Pedro Cerrano, played by Dennis Haysbert, a Cuban defector, bewilders some of his teammates with his voodoo rituals which often fail to help him successfully hit curve balls.
• Infielder Roger Dorn (Bernsen), an overpaid prima donna who refuses to properly field balls hit his way for fear of facial injury.
• Willie Hays, (played by Wesley Snipes), a cocky centerfielder who sneaks into training camp uninvited. His amazing running speed impresses the coaches but his inability to hit has him doing penalty pushups throughout most of spring training.
• Manager Lou Brown (James Gammon), who previously never managed in the major leagues and spends offseason selling tires is called upon to manage the group of misfits.

Another memorable character is radio announcer Harry Doyle, played by Bob Uecker. Doyle enjoys drinking Jack Daniel's while calling the games and drolly rehashes the Indians' recent lack of success: "In case you haven't noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven't, the Indians have managed to win a few ball games, and are threatening to climb out of the cellar."

Related Topics:
Bob Uecker - Jack Daniel's

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Phelps turns to some miserly tactics to get the team to play worse, and the team soon learns her real motives. Knowing they have noting to lose, they rally together and indeed continue to win games, spoiling the owner's scheme. They finish in a tie with the New York Yankees for first place in their division and go on to face them in a one game playoff that serves as the film's climax.

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The movie chose the Indians as it's example of a notorious losing franchise because the actual Cleveland Indians had a very similar recent history at the time. The franchise was the butt of many jokes and fit in perfectly with the premise of the film. Interestingly, just five years after the film's release, the Indians had a new stadium (Jacobs Field) and entered a period of success. From 1995 to 1999, they won five division titles and two American League pennants. The Indians won another division title in 2001.

Related Topics:
Cleveland Indians - Jacobs Field - 1995 - 1999 - American League - 2001

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Despite the fact that the featured team was the Cleveland Indians, the major-league game action in the movie was shot at Milwaukee County Stadium, former home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Some exterior shots of Cleveland Municipal Stadium were used, including some aerial shots taken during a rare sellout game at the stadium.

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The movie spawned two sequels: Major League II in 1994, and ' in 1998. Neither received the worldwide critical acclaim that the first film garnered.

Related Topics:
Major League II - 1994 - 1998

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Major League was also notable for featuring early appearances of actors who would later go on to stardom; Wesley Snipes and Rene Russo were relatively unknown before the movie was released, while Dennis Haysbert remained best known for the Pedro Cerrano character before meeting success playing the president of the United States on the television series 24.

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