Mr. Baseball
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Mr. Baseball is also the self-applied nickname of Bob Uecker, who appears in the Major League movies.
| Mr. Baseball | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Fred Schepisi |
| Produced by | Fred Schepisi Doug Claybourne |
| Written by | Theo Pelletier (story) John Junkerman (story) Gary Ross (screenplay) Kevin Wade (screenplay) Monte Merrick |
| Starring | Tom Selleck Ken Takakura Dennis Haysbert |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Distributed by | Universal |
| Release date(s) | October 2, 1992 |
| Running time | 108 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Mr. Baseball is a 1992 American film that starred Tom Selleck and was directed by Fred Schepisi.
[edit] Plot
Jack Elliot is an aging American baseball player who's put on the trading block by the New York Yankees in favor of a younger player (played by former Chicago White Sox legend Frank Thomas), and there's only one taker: the Nagoya Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
Right away, the arrogant Elliot clashes with the Japanese culture and he soon alienates his new teammates. He believes the rules and management style of his new skipper, Uchiyama (Ken Takakura) are ludicrous and continues to do things his way, which leads his already dwindling performance to suffer more. His only ally on the team is another American ballplayer, Max "Hammer" Dubois (Dennis Haysbert), but even he's fed up with Jack's attitude and lack of respect for the game and his team.
At the same time, Elliot's developing a relationship with the beautiful Hiroko (Aya Takanashi), whom he later finds out is Uchiyama's daughter.
After one too many outbursts, Elliot is suspended. He later has to swallow his pride and admit his deficiencies. In a rare show of humility, he apologizes to the team, who rally around him and teach him the value of sportsmanship and respect for hard work. Uchiyama lifts his suspension and begins to work with Elliot on improving his play. The reinvigorated Jack Elliot's enthusiasm for team play is contagious and the mediocre Dragons become contenders for the Central League pennant. Eventually, Elliot gets the opportunity to break Uchiyama's record of seven consecutive games with a home run. His new-found respect for team play becomes apparent in a crucial game against the Yomiuri Giants. With the potential winning run at third base, Uchiyama tells him to swing away, knowing that a home run would break his record. But Elliot sees the Giants' infield is playing deep and bunts. The Giants are caught off guard and the suicide squeeze is successful.
With the Dragons winning the pennant, Max and Jack return to Major League Baseball. With Max signing a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, ending his five year career in NPB, and Jack, who is still romantically involved with Hiroko, now presumbly a coach with the Detroit Tigers.
[edit] Trivia
- Tom Selleck is an avid baseball fan and a former minority owner of his hometown team, the Detroit Tigers.
- Mr. Baseball was based on Leron Lee who played for the Lotte Orions from 1977 to 1987. Although discrimination is touched upon in the film, it ignores the racism against African Americans that Lee faced. He was the first foreign player to marry a Japanese woman and retains the highest lifetime batting average amongst both Japanese and American players in Japanese history.
- Jack's arrival in Japan, eschewing the Nippon style of play, and poor performance at the plate echoes former Yankee Joe Pepitone's behavior in 1973.
- The scene where a frustrated Jack Elliot turns his bat upside down in protest of the opposing team not pitching to him was inspired by a real incident involving American ballplayer Daryl Spencer of the Hankyu Braves. In 1965, Spencer was close to becoming the first American winning the Pacific League home-run title. However, as Spencer closed in on the championship, many teams began refusing to pitch to him and walking Spencer became a fad. During a game, he batted with his bat upside down out of frustration. [1]
- Noted Japanese baseball historian Matthew Jacobs was consulted to ensure authenticity of several aspects of the league and style of the game.
[edit] References
- ^ Whiting, Robert The Chrysanthemum and the Bat. Dodd, Mead & Co.: New York, 1977
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