Mr. Baseball (1992)

Jack Elliot, once a great baseball player, is forced to play in Japan where his brash, egotistical ways cause friction with his new teammates and friends.

Director:

Fred Schepisi

Writers:

Theo Pelletier (story), John Junkerman (story)

Stars:

Tom Selleck, Ken Takakura, Aya Takanashi

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Selleck	...	Jack Elliot
Ken Takakura	...	Uchiyama
Aya Takanashi	...	Hiroko Uchiyama
Dennis Haysbert	...	Max 'Hammer' Dubois
Toshi Shioya	...	Yoji Nishimura
Kosuke Toyohara	...	Toshi Yamashita
Toshizo Fujiwara	...	Ryoh Mukai
Mak Takano	...	Shinji Igarashi
Kenji Morinaga	...	Hiroshi Kurosawa
Joh Nishimura	...	Tomophiko Ohmie
Norihide Goto	...	Issei Itoi
Kensuke Toita	...	Akito Yagi
Naoki Fuji	...	Takuya Nishikawa
Takanobu Hozumi	...	Hiroshi Nakamura
Leon Lee	...	Lyle Massey

Storyline

Although a one-time MVP for the New York Yankees, Jack Elliott is now on the down side of his baseball career. His batting average is low and one of his few claims to fame is that during the previous year, he led the team in 9th inning doubles in the month of August. With an up and coming slugger ready to replace him, he learns that he's been traded to the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central baseball league. Elliott is set in his ways and quite inflexible, not only in accepting Japanese culture in general, but also with the way the baseball team is managed. When he meets his very pretty PR agent, Hiroko, he begins to gain a greater appreciation that he should accept his current situation. When he realizes her other connection to the team, his attitudes begin to change at an even greater pace

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | wrapped in a towel | man wrapped in a towel | taking a bath | bathing together | 

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Taglines:

He's the biggest thing to hit Japan since Godzilla!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sensuality and language

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

2 October 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Basebalista

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$20,883,046

Company Credits

Production Co:

DENTSU Music And Entertainment, Outlaw Productions (I), Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point in the movie, when the pitchers refuse to pitch to Selleck's character because they don't want him to break the home run record, Selleck turns his bat the other way around and challenges pitchers to pitch to him as a sign of protest. This comes from a real-life incident a few years before the movie in the Japan Leagues when Hanshin Tigers slugger Randy Bass was on the verge of breaking the single season home run record there and pitchers refused to pitch to him. Bass similarly turned his bat upside down to protest.

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Goofs

When Jack and Uchiyama are drinking together, the amount in the bottle increases.

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Quotes

[during Jack's first game in Japan]
Jack Elliot: [to an opposing Japanese player] Got any naked pictures of your wife?... Wanna see some?
[player ignores him and is able to avoid being "out"ed in a pick-off move]
Jack Elliot: Never mind.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Wolverine/Ghosts of Girlfriends Past/Battle for Terra (2009)

User Reviews

big hit, happy body!

it's a silly movie. ridiculous jokes abound. but for some reason, i can't help but like jack elliot, nor can i help but enjoying his misadventures in japanese baseball. yes, it's a cheesy love story, and a cheesy inspirational sports story, but it's more than that: it's a story full of ridiculous and funny jokes. from tall men walking through too-small doors to inaccurate translators, this movie has it all for the average comedy fan. don't bother bringing your brain (to be cliche), but be prepared to be taken to the pit of ultimate darkness. i've seen this movie over 50 times.