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 have to say you did a great job putting this hub together, as I’m very impressed to see how many baseball movies were listed here. Thanks again for writing this, as I look forward to reading your third hub on this topic. By the way, are you planning on doing a movie page on boxing films too? I would love to see which films ended up in that category. 🙂
Hey Stevennix2001…the boxing hub has just been published….60 movies on that hub…..now on to soccer, racing(all kinds) and smaller sports….I think it looks like between 400 and 500 movies that will be whittled down to a Top 100. It is taking awhile…but I think the end result is going to be pretty cool.
I agree, as I’m kind of curious to see which films will be lucky enough to end up in the top 100 for the sports movie page.
Hey Stevennix2001…the movie I am concerned about is Hoosiers….it makes everybody’s Top 5….currently it is sitting 43rd on my overall list….it’s box office run was very very weak….which really hurts its score in my ranking program…..I just hope it stays in the Top 50….but it will probably not do that….we will see.
Now we are talking, Yankees at number one, number ten and number eleven. Thanks for giving the Yankees their due, I knew there was a reason I like you so much, lol. We will not mention that horrible John Goodman movie that finished 32nd. This is awesome. Go Yankees.
Just like a Yankee fan…only talking about the good stuff….meanwhile John Goodman’s The Babe is one of the worst movies ever…..and he is wearing that Yankee uniform for most of the movie…lol….thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Interesting list, you have mentioned some of the movies from the past. But where is Safe At Home with the great Mantle and Maris? In more recent times I do not see the Slugger’s Wife, which was about a Atlanta Braves slugger. Just letting you know.
Hey manwholovesbaseball….I will add the two movies you mentioned….on the first go around I did not find any box office information on Safe At Home, and I thought The Slugger’s Wife was average at best…but I will add them very shortly. Thanks for the suggestions.
Ok manwholovesbaseball….the two missing movies have been added to the hub….Safe At Home comes in at #37….while The Slugger’s Wife comes in next to last at #51….thanks for the suggestions
Hey Cogerson, you know I have heard about the Pride of the Yankees all my life, but I have never watched it, after reading this page I think that might be the final push to final watch this movie. I agree that Eight Men Out is outstanding, but 27th seems a little. It really only made 11 million dollars? Other favorites would be Bull Durham and Hardball. Thanks for an interesting page.
hey hinton1966…..if you have not seen Pride of the Yankees then I can tell you that you will not be disappointed. As for Eight Men Out….excellent movie but it did not make any money at the box office. It actually was a low budget film and has earned most of its money on DVD sales and now Blu-Ray. Thanks for the compliment and the comments.
Nice list, my favorites would be the new Bad News Bears, Eight Men Out and Summer Catch. I see Summer Catch is way down the list, but I really like that movie. I agree that Ed is one of the worst movies ever made.
Hey AlabamaGirl86…..I think Eight Men Out is an excellent retelling of the Black Soxs of 1919…..I have only seen a few minutes of Summer Catch, but I will gladly go with your recommendation on the movie. And finally Ed is indeed a horrible movie….one of the movies were you go….why did they make this movie? Thanks for your comments.