Rookie of the Year (1993)

When an accident miraculously gives a boy an incredibly powerful pitching arm, he becomes a major league pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.

Director:

Daniel Stern

Writer:

Sam Harper

Stars:

Thomas Ian Nicholas, Gary Busey, Albert Hall

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thomas Ian Nicholas	...	Henry Rowengartner
Gary Busey	...	Chet Steadman
Albert Hall	...	Martinella
Amy Morton	...	Mary Rowengartner
Dan Hedaya	...	Larry 'Fish' Fisher
Bruce Altman	...	Jack Bradfield
Eddie Bracken	...	Bob Carson
Robert Hy Gorman	...	Clark (as Robert Gorman)
Patrick LaBrecque	...	George
Daniel Stern	...	Brickma
Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine	...	Becky
Kristie Davis	...	Tiffany
Tyler Ann Carroll	...	Edith
Tom Milanovich	...	Heddo
Ross Lehman	...	Dr. Kersten

Storyline

12-year-old Henry Rowengartner, whose late father was a minor league baseball player, grew up dreaming of playing baseball, despite his physical shortcomings. Although he's close to his mother Mary, Henry hates Mary's latest boyfriend, Jack Bradfield. After Henry's arm is broken while trying to catch a baseball at school, the tendon in that arm heals too tightly, allowing Henry to throw pitches that are as fast as 103 mph. Henry is spotted at nearby Wrigley Field by Larry "Fish" Fisher, the general manager of the struggling Chicago Cubs, after Henry throws an opponent's home-run ball all the way from the outfield bleachers back to the catcher, and it seems that Henry may be the pitcher that team owner Bob Carson has been praying for. At first, Cubs manager Sal Martinella doesn't like Henry being on the team, but despite the rawness of his talent, Henry revives everyone's team spirit and reignites the enthusiasm of the fans. While money hungry Jack pulls strings behind the scenes to ...

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Plot Keywords:

child protagonist | doctor | locker room | baseball | pitcher | 

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Taglines:

A kid with an impossible dream. All he needed was a lucky break!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 July 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Az év újonca

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$53,579,269

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gary Busey's mustache seen in the movie is fake.

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Goofs

Henry could not be sold outright to the Yankees (or any other team) as shown in the movie. Any contract between Henry and The Cubs couldn't be transferred to the Yankees unless he was traded. Henry would only be able to sign a contract with the Yankees until his Cubs contract expired, which would make him a free agent.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Cliff Murdoch - Announcer: Opening Day at Wrigley, and oh what a sight! The diamond, the decorations, and the dread of yet another losing season.

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks are given to "The people of Chicago who never give up"

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Connections

Referenced in Studio C: Episode #6.2 (2015)

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Soundtracks

You Don't Know What You Got
Written by Walter Kahn, Tom Uzzo, and Deborah Stevens
Performed by Karen Young
Courtesy of Sunshine Entertainment Corp.

User Reviews

Not a Bad Sports Movie!

Rookie of the Year is a pretty good sports movie even though I have seen better. I thought that Daniel Stern as the pitching coach was hilarious but in reality a guy like him would have been fired before the first pitch of the season-at least the late, great Steinbrenner would. It was also nice to see how a young teenager would adapt to the adult world of baseball.

This is about a 12-year-old who can suddenly throw a hundred miles an hour after he recovered from a broken arm. Once again, that's impossible in real life. Anyway, he is a midseason addition to the Cubs and he makes them more than the mediocre team that they were.

Overall, this is a pretty solid sports movie. There was great acting by the kids. But the ending is all to predictable. I rate this film 7/10.