Little Big League (1994)

A young boy is bequeathed the ownership of a professional baseball team.

Director:

Andrew Scheinman

Writers:

Gregory K. Pincus (story), Gregory K. Pincus (screenplay)

Stars:

Luke Edwards, Timothy Busfield, John Ashton

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luke Edwards	...	Billy Heywood
Timothy Busfield	...	Lou Collins
John Ashton	...	Mac Macnally
Ashley Crow	...	Jenny Heywood
Kevin Dunn	...	Arthur Goslin
Billy L. Sullivan	...	Chuck
Miles Feulner	...	Joey
Jonathan Silverman	...	Jim Bowers
Dennis Farina	...	George O'Farrell
Jason Robards	...	Thomas Heywood
Wolfgang Bodison	...	Spencer Hamilton
Duane Davis	...	Jerry Johnson
Leon Durham	...	Leon Alexander
Kevin Elster	...	Pat Corning
Joseph Latimore	...	Lonnie Ritter

Storyline

When the owner of the Minnesota Twins dies suddenly, his will bequeaths the team to his grandson Billy, a devotee of baseball who, although only 12, has devoured voluminous lore, knows the team intimately, and has shown an uncanny sixth sense of what they need to improve. They hate their manager, so Billy quickly fires the SOB, winning their instant approval. However, this turns to dismay when he announces their new manager: Billy Heywood. How will Billy convince a gang of proud, tough men to stick around and take orders from a kid? On the other hand, what's to lose-- the team has nowhere to go but up.

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Plot Keywords:

comiskey park chicago | metrodome minneapolis | minnesota twins | baseball | boy | 

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Taglines:

The Minnesota Twins Have a New Owner.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kleiner Trainer ganz groß

Filming Locations:

Edina, Minnesota, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,105,618, 4 July 1994

Gross USA:

$12,267,790

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,267,790

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Lobell/Bergman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby DTS SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Thomas Heywood was depicted as being very similar to Carl Pohlad, the real life owner of the Minnesota Twins at the time of the film. This includes both holding large financial fortunes. Pohlad owned the Twins from 1984 until his death in 2009, after which family heirs took inheritance of the team.

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Goofs

After he strikes out Paul O'Neill, McGrevey looks to the dugout on the first base side, and the catcher heads to that dugout. At Yankee Stadium, the visiting team uses the third base dugout.

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Quotes

Joey: You what you should do? You should start Webman!
Billy Heywood: I had a feeling you were going to say that.

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Connections

Referenced in Seinfeld: The Secretary (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Booker T. & the M.G.s
appear courtesy of COLUMBIA RECORDS

User Reviews

Realism Makes This A Winner

I thought this was a perfectly nice family film and almost canned it after the first 15 minutes, but I was glad I didn't because it turned to be a good movie.

The first 15 minutes including two GDs by Dennis Farina and some uncalled-for vulgarity by Jason Robards, but everything settled down after those two exited the film soon after and it wound up being a "cute" baseball movie and very impressive in its realism.

The last comment about "realism" was the most impressive aspect of the film to me. I had grown up seeing every baseball movie and never seeing any actors who knew what they were doing until Kevin Costner came along with his "Field Of Dreams" (and later with "For Love Of The Game"). So I appreciate the more modern-era of movie-making where at least we see actors who can throw and hit. This movie is about as close to seeing real baseball as you're going to get: very realistic diamond action.

The story was outlandish - an 11-year-old managing a Major League baseball team, but the baseball was so good and a good mix of comedy and drama made it turn out to be a satisfying film to watch. There are some nice shots of Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium in here, too.

Luke Edwards, as the kid, was just fine and a kid you could root for, not a wise- guy. He was aided by adults John Ashton and Timothy Busfeld. This is a nicer role for Ashton ("Midnight Run") and Busfeld, couldn't have played a more likable ballplayer. He was great to watch.

This a good film for adults, not just kids, and especially if you enjoy baseball.