Major League (1989)

The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.

Director:

David S. Ward

Writer:

David S. Ward

Stars:

Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Berenger	...	Jake Taylor
Charlie Sheen	...	Ricky Vaughn
Corbin Bernsen	...	Roger Dorn
Margaret Whitton	...	Rachel Phelps
James Gammon	...	Lou Brown
Rene Russo	...	Lynn Wells
Wesley Snipes	...	Willie Mays Hayes
Charles Cyphers	...	Charlie Donovan
Chelcie Ross	...	Eddie Harris
Dennis Haysbert	...	Pedro Cerrano
Andy Romano	...	Pepper Leach
Bob Uecker	...	Harry Doyle
Steve Yeager	...	Duke Temple
Peter Vuckovich	...	Haywood
Stacy Carroll	...	Suzanne Dorn

Storyline

An exotic dancer marries the owner of a baseball club. He does not survive the honeymoon and she is in control of his ball club. she wants to move to warmer climes where some new stadiums have been built, but her lease has only one escape clause, poor attendance. She fields the worst team she can find. The attitude of the owner gives the misfits and losers something to rally around and they fight back.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | showgirl | voodoo | watermelon | mullet haircut | 

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Taglines:

When these three oddballs try to play hardball, the result is totally screwball.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Japanese

Release Date:

7 April 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Indianer von Cleveland

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$49,797,148 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirage Enterprises, Morgan Creek Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In April 2007, due to snow in Cleveland, the real Cleveland Indians were unable to open their home season at Jacobs Field. Miller Park in Milwaukee, which had been built as the replacement for Milwaukee County Stadium in the 1990s and had been constructed with a retractable dome, was chosen to be the 'stand-in' for the Indians' home turf.

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Goofs

The Spring Training site for the Indians is in Tucson, Arizona, according to the advertisement on the taxi Jake Taylor gets out of. While it has since moved, this was correct at the time of the film.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rachel Phelps: Good morning, gentlemen, and welcome to another season of Indians baseball.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.83 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Most of All You"
Lyrics by Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman
Music by James Newton Howard
Performed by Bill Medley
Produced by James Newton Howard

User Reviews

There Once Was...

This is one of the cleverest predictable movies of all time, and for my taste the best baseball movie. A great cast, an underdog plot, and one memorable choice after another by the writers and director make this a valentine to the foot soldiers of our national pastime. (Remember, this was 15 years ago.)

The fabulous scoreboard, the hysterical radio play-by-play of Bob Uecker, even the motley occupants of Cleveland sports bars are irresistible hooks to reel us in, after we've been hooked by the motley team of colorful has-beens and never-were's. If this is a formula, it's the right one. I deeply love this movie, and regret not having seen it in its theatrical run. (I've seen it a dozen times since.) I'm sure the audience went wild during that climactic Yankees game! How about that Dorn making a bunch of clutch plays! Didn't you love Cerrano carrying his bat around the bases with him? Jake not dusting off, and pointing, twice...man, I wish I'd been there.

Then there's the little insert, early in the story, about Jake's fantasy of hitting the winning run out of the park. What happened instead when the chips were really down?

Okay, it isn't "poetry" -- it's more of a limerick, know what I mean? Just start with three words: "There once was...." and finish it yourself! I bet you'll finish with a big smile on your face!