Little Johnny Barrows Jr is a kid from Cleveland, who lives with his loving Mom and Stepfather, but who is heading down the wrong path in life.
He doesn't get along with his Stepdad too well, so he's fallen in with a young hoodlum named Daniel, who idealizes a gang leader named Mac...who runs a crime syndicate of child thieves.
One day, Johnny runs away from home and uses his abilities as a con man to sneak in to the Cleveland Indians stadium, where he convinces the brass that he's an orphan.
They take pity on him and give him an oppourtunity to meet the players and take in a World Series game against the Boston Braves.
The team loses the game, but goes on to win the World Series. And this encourages Johnny to keep visiting the man who helped him that day...Mike Jackson, the teams radio announcer.
Despite conning Mike and even stealing from him, he never gives up on the boy...and goes on to become Johnny's mentor.
Johhny's real father died in World War II, and this new relationship with all his childhood heroes only makes him more antagonistic towards his stepfather, who is just a baker, and can't offer him that same sort of lifestyle.
So, when Johnny runs away for a second time to visit Mike, earning himself a job as a junior sportswriter and batboy for the Indians during spring training in Arizona...he feels that all his dreams are destroyed when his stepfather shows up to bring him back to Cleveland.
This leads Johnny to fall back in with Daniel, and a life of crime...landing him in detention at the Juvenile Court.
That is, until one day the Indians come to visit, reuniting him with all his old friends from the team...including Mike.
Mike is driven to help the boy- never having had a son of his own- and tries to help get him out of this seemingly hopeless situation...even going as far as offering to adopt him.
Johnny wants to be adopted by the well-to-do family...but his Mother and Stepfather are not willing to just give him out without a fight.
So the matter goes to court, where the Truth about the whole situation really comes out.
The court rules in his Mother's favour, but this does not mean that Mike, his wife, and his "30 Godfathers" from the team are just going to throw him away...so they promise to retain their friendship and relationship with him as the team's batsboy.
So Johnny ends up with 2 families, one that keeps him in touch with his heroes, and the other who help him work toward achieving his goal of becoming an architect.
Now, a boy who might have ended up in San Quentin, like his friend, has been directed down a more positive path in life.
This is a great story, that offers hope to kids who dream, but may not have been given all the prospects that life has to offer.
The acting and direction is solid, and the film features a whole load of real ball players from the Indians...including the now infamous Satchel Page.
It is certainly one of the best- and most inspiring- baseball films to have ever been made in the history of American Cinema.
All around, it's an entertaining and enjoyable film with a positive message, that will have you clapping at the end.
7.5 out of 10.
