Want to know the best Baseball Movies? How about the worst Baseball Movies? Curious about Baseball Movies did at the box office or which Baseball Movies picked up the most Oscar® nominations and Oscar® wins? Need to know which Baseball Movies movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
This page represents part 3 in a series of pages that are trying to identify the Top 400 Sports Movies Of All-Time. This page will look at the top 59 movies of baseball. Movies are ranked by using a combination of box office results, reviews from audiences and critics and award recognition.
To be considered for the page the movie had to be released at movie theaters so movies like Long Gone and 61 were NOT considered. If you see a movie not on the list, just put the title in the comment box and I will add the movie as long as it was released in theaters. It is hard to argue that The Pride of the Yankees is not the best baseball movie. It sits on the top of the box office chart, 2nd on the critics/audience chart, on top of the Movie Score chart, and it received 11 Oscar® nominations to boot…pretty impressive
Baseball Movies Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Baseball Movies by the star of the baseball movie
- Sort Baseball Movies by actual domestic box office grosses
- Sort Baseball Movies by adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
- Sort by how Baseball Movies were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Baseball Movie received.
- Sort Baseball Movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | UMR Score | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | The Pride of the Yankees (1942) AA Best Picture Nom |
Gary Cooper & Walter Brennan |
10.5 | 389.9 | 389.90 | 9 | 84 | 11 / 01 | 99.5 | |
| 2 | The Stratton Story (1949) | James Stewart | 10.3 | 257.7 | 257.70 | 8 | 78 | 01 / 01 | 97.5 | |
| 3 | Field of Dreams (1989) AA Best Picture Nom |
Kevin Costner & Burt Lancaster |
64.4 | 175.0 | 229.30 | 19 | 76 | 03 / 00 | 96.8 | |
| 5 | A League of Their Own (1992) | Tom Hanks & Madonna |
107.5 | 279.3 | 344.00 | 10 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 96.5 | |
| 7 | The Bad News Bears (1976) | Walter Matthau | 32.2 | 163.0 | 163.00 | 18 | 87 | 00 / 00 | 96.4 | |
| 6 | Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) | Gene Kelly & Frank Sinatra |
8.3 | 208.0 | 276.10 | 16 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.3 | |
| 7 | Moneyball (2011) AA Best Picture Nom |
Brad Pitt & Chris Pratt |
75.6 | 102.8 | 149.80 | 47 | 89 | 06 / 00 | 95.1 | |
| 8 | The Natural (1984) | Robert Redford & Robert Duvall |
48.0 | 153.8 | 153.80 | 15 | 74 | 04 / 00 | 93.4 | |
| 9 | Bull Durham (1988) | Kevin Costner & Susan Sarandon |
50.9 | 133.5 | 133.50 | 18 | 83 | 01 / 00 | 93.3 | |
| 10 | The Rookie (2002) | Dennis Quaid | 75.6 | 140.5 | 150.00 | 36 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 91.8 | |
| 11 | Damn Yankees (1958) | Tab Hunter | 7.4 | 133.5 | 133.50 | 30 | 75 | 01 / 00 | 90.7 | |
| 12 | Major League (1989) | Charlie Sheen & Wesley Snipes |
49.8 | 135.2 | 135.20 | 26 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 90.5 | |
| 13 | 42 (2013) | Harrison Ford & Chadwick Boseman |
95.0 | 126.0 | 129.20 | 37 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 89.4 | |
| 14 | The Babe Ruth Story (1948) | William Bendix | 6.3 | 170.2 | 170.20 | 41 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 88.3 | |
| 15 | It Happens Every Spring (1949) | Ray Millland | 5.1 | 128.8 | 128.80 | 56 | 66 | 01 / 00 | 86.8 | |
| 16 | The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977) | Jackie Earle Haley | 35.3 | 170.9 | 170.90 | 25 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 85.6 | |
| 16 | Bingo Long's Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976) | Richard Pryor & Billy Dee Williams |
16.2 | 81.9 | 81.90 | 41 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 84.4 | |
| 18 | Angels in the Outfield (1951) | Janet Leigh | 4.2 | 90.3 | 102.60 | 85 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 82.6 | |
| 19 | The Sandlot (1993) | James Earl Jones | 32.4 | 84.5 | 84.50 | 49 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 80.6 | |
| 20 | The Pride of St. Louis (1952) | Dan Dailey | 4.5 | 88.7 | 88.70 | 70 | 63 | 01 / 00 | 78.9 | |
| 21 | Rookie of the Year (1993) | John Candy | 53.6 | 139.6 | 139.60 | 22 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 78.1 | |
| 22 | Brewster's Millions (1985) | Richard Pryor & John Candy |
40.8 | 124.0 | 124.00 | 20 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 77.7 | |
| 22 | Fear Strikes Out (1957) | Anthony Perkins & Karl Malden |
2.4 | 45.4 | 45.40 | 103 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 77.1 | |
| 22 | The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) | Jackie Robinson | 2.7 | 61.0 | 61.00 | 115 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 77.0 | |
| 25 | Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) | Robert DeNiro | 4.9 | 29.9 | 29.90 | 63 | 78 | 01 / 00 | 76.5 | |
| 26 | The Winning Team (1952) | Ronald Reagan & Doris Day |
4.0 | 78.3 | 87.40 | 86 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 75.8 | |
| 27 | The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014) Netflix |
Kurt Russell | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 405 | 87 | 00 / 00 | 74.8 | |
| 26 | Kill the Umpire (1950) | William Bendix | 2.3 | 51.3 | 51.30 | 138 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 74.1 | |
| 31 | The Benchwarmers (2006) | David Spade & Rob Schneider |
59.8 | 98.0 | 106.40 | 52 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 73.9 | |
| 32 | Angels in the Outfield (1994) | Matthew McConaughey & Joseph Gordon-Levitt |
50.2 | 132.7 | 132.70 | 26 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 73.9 | |
| 29 | Fever Pitch (2005) | Drew Barrymore & Jimmy Fallon |
42.1 | 70.9 | 85.00 | 71 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 73.5 | |
| 32 | Eight Men Out (1988) | Charile Sheen & John Cusack |
5.7 | 14.9 | 14.90 | 120 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 72.0 | |
| 31 | Sugar (2008) | Algenis Perez Solo | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.60 | 203 | 81 | 00 / 00 | 69.1 | |
| 33 | Million Dollar Arm (2014) | Bill Paxton & Jon Hamm |
36.5 | 48.1 | 51.80 | 87 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 68.1 | |
| 35 | 61* (2001) HBO Movie |
Directed by Billy Crystal | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 308 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 66.8 | |
| 36 | For Love of the Game (1999) | Kevin Costner | 35.2 | 75.0 | 98.20 | 57 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 65.6 | |
| 35 | Long Gone (1987) HBO Movie |
William L. Petersen | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 274 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 65.0 | |
| 38 | Trouble with the Curve (2012) | Clint Eastwood & Justin Timberlake |
35.8 | 48.4 | 66.30 | 86 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 64.3 | |
| 38 | Bad News Bears (2005) | Billy Bob Thornton | 32.9 | 55.4 | 55.40 | 84 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 62.5 | |
| 38 | Hardball (2001) | Keanu Reeves | 40.2 | 76.7 | 84.10 | 62 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 61.9 | |
| 39 | Running The Bases (2022) | Brett Varvel | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.50 | 112 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 57.7 | |
| 42 | The Kid From Left Field (1953) | Dan Dailey & Anne Bancroft |
2.3 | 41.9 | 41.90 | 151 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 54.7 | |
| 43 | Alibi Ike (1935) | Olivia de Havilland & Joe E. Brown |
1.3 | 56.3 | 76.70 | 107 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 53.0 | |
| 44 | The Hill (2023) | Dennis Quaid | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.70 | 103 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 52.3 | |
| 44 | Big Leaguer (1953) | Edward G. Robinson | 1.4 | 24.8 | 24.80 | 189 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 48.0 | |
| 46 | Casey At The Bat (1927) | Wallace Beery | 1.2 | 39.3 | 39.30 | 55 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 46.0 | |
| 46 | Mr 3000 (2004) | Bernie Mac & Angela Bassett |
21.8 | 37.9 | 37.90 | 101 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 45.9 | |
| 47 | Chasing 3000 (2010) | Ray Liotta | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 307 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 45.4 | |
| 48 | The Babe (1992) | John Goodman | 17.5 | 45.5 | 51.80 | 70 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 43.1 | |
| 50 | Cobb (1994) | Tommy Lee Jones & Robert Wuhl |
1.0 | 2.7 | 2.70 | 192 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 41.0 | |
| 50 | High & Outside: A Baseball Noir (2017) Film Festival Circuit Only |
Ernie Hudson | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 263 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 37.8 | |
| 52 | Game 6 (2005) | Michael Keaton & Robert Downey Jr. |
0.1 | 0.2 | 0.20 | 289 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 31.2 | |
| 52 | The Comrades of Summer (1992) HBO Movie |
Joe Mantegna | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 233 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 30.7 | |
| 54 | Calvin Marshall (2009) Film Festival Circuit Only |
Steve Zahn | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 395 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 29.1 | |
| 54 | Pastime (1990) | William Russ | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.70 | 208 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 27.7 | |
| 54 | Everyone's Hero (2006) | Robin Williams & Rob Reiner |
14.5 | 23.8 | 27.20 | 136 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 27.6 | |
| 57 | The Fan (1996) | Robert DeNiro | 18.6 | 45.4 | 103.00 | 87 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 26.1 | |
| 57 | Safe at Home! (1962) | Roger Maris | 2.0 | 28.7 | 28.70 | 97 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 24.6 | |
| 59 | The Perfect Game (2009) | Cheech Marin | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.50 | 196 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 21.1 | |
| 58 | Little Big League (1994) | Timothy Busfield | 12.3 | 32.4 | 32.40 | 101 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 19.9 | |
| 61 | Mickey (2004) | Harry Connick Jr. | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.50 | 243 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 19.0 | |
| 62 | Major League II (1994) | Charlie Sheen & Tom Berenger |
30.6 | 80.9 | 80.90 | 45 | 27 | 00 / 00 | 18.6 | |
| 63 | Blue Skies Again (1983) | Andy Garcia | 1.5 | 5.0 | 5.00 | 125 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 17.6 | |
| 64 | Talent for the Game (1991) | Edward James Olmos | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.90 | 198 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 16.1 | |
| 65 | Mr. Baseball (1992) | Tom Selleck | 20.9 | 54.2 | 54.20 | 64 | 34 | 00 / 00 | 14.1 | |
| 65 | Bottom of the 9th (2019) | Sofía Vergara | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 284 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 13.8 | |
| 67 | The Phenom (2016) | Ethan Hawke & Paul Giamatti |
0.1 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 367 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 12.9 | |
| 66 | Spaceman (2016) Film Festival Circuit Only |
Josh Duhamel | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 282 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 12.5 | |
| 68 | Chance (2020) Limited Release |
Matthew Modine | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 89 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 11.5 | |
| 68 | The Final Season (2007) | Sean Astin | 1.2 | 1.8 | 1.80 | 210 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 9.7 | |
| 71 | Trading Hearts (1988) | Raul Julia | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 297 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 9.0 | |
| 70 | Hustle (2004) ESPN Movies |
Tom Sizemore | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 332 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 6.5 | |
| 73 | The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978) | Tony Curtis | 7.1 | 32.7 | 32.70 | 73 | 31 | 00 / 00 | 4.7 | |
| 74 | Undrafted (2016) | James Belushi | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 259 | 38 | 00 / 00 | 3.0 | |
| 75 | Summer Catch (2001) | Freddie Prince | 19.8 | 37.7 | 37.70 | 100 | 25 | 00 / 00 | 2.8 | |
| 76 | The Scout (1994) | Albert Brooks & Brendan Fraser |
2.7 | 7.1 | 7.10 | 164 | 34 | 00 / 00 | 2.3 | |
| 77 | Major League: Back to the Minors (1998) | Corbin Benson | 3.6 | 8.2 | 8.20 | 157 | 31 | 00 / 00 | 1.4 | |
| 78 | Ed (1996) | Matt LeBlanc | 4.4 | 10.8 | 10.80 | 156 | 26 | 00 / 00 | 0.7 | |
| 79 | The Slugger's Wife (1985) | Michael O'Keefe | 1.9 | 5.7 | 5.70 | 145 | 26 | 00 / 00 | 0.5 |
Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Baseball Movies Table
- Twelve Baseball Movies crossed the magical $100 million mark. That is a percentage of 20.68% of his movies listed. Domestic top box office hit is The Pride of the Yankees (1942)…barely beating out A League of Their Own (1992).
- An average Baseball Movie grosses $54.80 million in adjusted box office gross.
- Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 30 Baseball Movies are rated as good movies…or 50.84% of his movies. Highest rated Baseball movie is Moneyball (2011). Lowest rated Baseball movie is Ed (1996).
- Ten Baseball Movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 16.94% of the listed movies.
- Two Baseball Movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 3.38% of his movies.
- An average Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score is 39.86. 14 of Baseball Movies’s movies scored higher that average….or 23.72% of his movies. The Pride of the Yankees (1942) got the highest UMR Movie Score….Ed (1996) got the lowest UMR Score.
My other Sports Movie Links
- Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies
- Top 100 Best Reviewed Sports Movies
- Top 400 Sports Movies
- Ranking Baseball Movies
- Ranking Basketball Movies
- Ranking Boxing Movies
- Ranking Football Movies
- Ranking Golf Movies
- Ranking Hockey Movies
- Ranking Olympics Movies
- Ranking Racing Movies
- Ranking Soccer Movies
- Ranking Other Sports Movies poker, surfing, rodeo, curling and others
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I love watching baseball although I am horrible at sports. My favourite baseball movies tend to star old actors either as the lead or supporting role, although an exception to this is Bull Durham. My favourite scene is Tim Robbins singing his own lyrics to Try a little Tenderness:
new:
“They will get weary.
Young girls, they will get weary.
Because of all the stress, yes.
When they get weary,
Try a little tenderness.”
Drives Costner crazy.
Of course, A league of Their Own is great too, but the older actors are only seen reflecting back on the time of the women’s league.
Here are my favourites in alphabetical order:
Bull Durham
Damn Yankees-ooh, another musical!
Field of Dreams
A League of Their Own
Pride of the Yankees-must be inthe proper mood or I get all teary
near misses on my list but not included because I could n’t decide on ten are: The natural, Angels inthe outfield (1951) and The Stratton Story. I love Stewart and Allyson together
Hey Flora….thanks for stopping by….knowing how much you like the classics….I am glad that the older movies did so well in the rankings….1st, 3rd and 10th…not too bad. Before doing this baseball page I was not even aware that there had been a Angels in the Outfield in the 1950s. Robbins and his singing is indeed one of the funnier parts in Bull Durham. I am wondering how I will react to Field of Dreams the next time I watch it(since my father passed away)….the main theme of that movie is sons missing fathers….should be interesting….as always thanks for the comments.
Great job! I appreciate all the work you put into this!
Thank you Radioguy….the hard work is worth it when all the numbers make the list. I appreciate you reading the baseball movie page.
Field of Dreams stands out in my memory as my favorite of this list…but I think if I ever see The Natural,I might have another favorite….taking note.Awesome stuff Cogerson.;)
Hey mentalist acer….The Natural is a pretty good movie with a great Hollywood ending. Field of Dreams is a classic as well….thanks for the compliments.
Hey cogerson this is a very creative page!! Makes me wanna go to a ballgame!! Great timing for baseball with all the talk of Jeter!! 🙂 Nice work. Thank you!
Thanks Sunshine625…..Mr. Jeter had a very good weekend……I appreciate the compliment…..and as always I appreciate you checking out the page as well
What’s keeping that “Highest Grossing Soccer Movies” page Conanson? 🙂
Whoa I never knew there were so many baseball films! Very Interesting… I have to admit it’s not one of my favourite sports and back in my school days I was more into cricket than soccer but I digress… looking at your list I’ve seen… one, two, three, four… five films out of the 50 you listed. Not bad eh?
Pride of the Yankees the best of the best is it? I have to check it out.
I suppose my favourite has to be Field of Dreams
Hey Steve….don’t worry the Highest Grossing Soccer Movies is coming….I actually think there are more Soccer movies than USA Football movies…..and we can not forget the Rugby movies…..I think you will like Pride of the Yankees….11 Oscar nominations is pretty impressive….as for your favorite Field of Dreams…4th is a pretty good showing. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my baseball page.