Major League: Back to the Minors (1998)

Gus Cantrell is a major league pitcher in the twilight of his career. He contacted by Roger Dorn, General Manager of the Minnesota Twins, and offered the role of managing the Buzz, the ... See full summary »

Director:

John Warren

Writers:

David S. Ward (characters), John Warren

Stars:

Scott Bakula, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Bakula	...	Gus Cantrell
Corbin Bernsen	...	Roger Dorn
Dennis Haysbert	...	Pedro Cerrano
Takaaki Ishibashi	...	Taka Tanaka
Jensen Daggett	...	Maggie Reynolds
Eric Bruskotter	...	Rube Baker
Walton Goggins	...	Billy 'Downtown' Anderson
Ted McGinley	...	Leonard Huff
Kenny Johnson	...	Lance Pere (as Kenneth Johnson)
Judson Mills	...	Hog Ellis
Lobo Sebastian	...	Carlos Liston
Thom Barry	...	Frank 'Pops' Morgan
Peter Mackenzie	...	Carlton 'Doc' Windgate
Tim DiFilippo	...	Juan Lopez #1
Tom DiFilippo	...	Juan Lopez #1

Storyline

Gus Cantrell is a major league pitcher in the twilight of his career. He contacted by Roger Dorn, General Manager of the Minnesota Twins, and offered the role of managing the Buzz, the Twins' AAA team. Cantrell accepts but regrets it almost immediately. The Buzz is a dysfunctional no-hoper team, with an odd assortment of characters. However, Cantrell quickly sets about forging them into a winning team.

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Plot Keywords:

box office bomb | team | manager | league | pitcher | 

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Taglines:

They're Just Nine Players Short of a Dream Team

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Major League 3: Back to the Minors

Filming Locations:

Charleston Naval Base, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,087,011, 19 April 1998

Gross USA:

$3,572,443

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,572,443

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Entertainment, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The hotel in Minnesota where Gus and Maggie visit and the team stays after its game with the Twins is the Francis Marion Hotel (on the awning). The Francis Marion is actually located downtown Charleston, S.C. and is named after General Francis Marion, "The Swamp Fox"

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Goofs

When "Downtown" Anderson is shown batting for the Minnesota Twins and he strikes out, he is wearing number 14. But when he returns to the dugout and is chastised by Carlos Liston, Anderson is wearing number 16.

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Quotes

Gus Cantrell: Hey Rube.
Rube Baker: Hey Skip.
Gus Cantrell: Say Rube, I was wondering, do you have any hidden skills?
Rube Baker: Hidden skills?
Gus Cantrell: Yeah, like if my car wasn't running right, would you be able to take the carburetor apart and fix it?
Rube Baker: No. I don't know anything about carburetors.
Gus Cantrell: How about if I bought some lumber, would you be able to build me a coffee table?
Rube Baker: I don't think so.
Gus Cantrell: So your skills have primarily lend themselves to baseball. Can we say that?
Rube Baker: Yeah, we can say that.
[...]

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Connections

Spoofs Dirty Harry (1971)

User Reviews

Series hits trainwreck point.....now

"Hey Mr. Berenger! Would you like to play your character Jake Taylor in Major League 3?" "No thanks." "Please!" "Nope." "Mr. Sheen, would you consider reprising your role as Wild Thing in Major League 3?" "Nope." "Please!" "Nope." "Mr. Bernsen, would you like to reprise your role as Roger Dorn for Major League 3?" "Why not?" "Yeah, we can make an unnecessary sequel!" That my friends is quite possibly how Major League: Back to the Minors got made. Or was it the fact that around the time this film was made the Cleveland Indians were winning and making a film about a group of misfit underdogs on the same team that is really doing well in real life would be a curse? Regardless, it should've been left alone. Now we got a nice, nearly unrelated sequel leaching off of the Major League.

David S. Ward, director of both previous films, as been docked down to co writer of this mess. Something told me that even he wasn't fully on board with this film. Back to the Minors turns the tables from the Indians to the Minnesota Twins, the team Roger Dorn (Bernsen) now owns. The film focuses on Gus Cantrell (Bakula), a minor league pitcher for a team called the Fort Myers Miracle.

Roger offers Gus a job coaching the Twins' minor league affiliate the South Carolina Buzz. Two of the members from the Cleveland Indians team return. Those are Pedro Cerrano (Haysbert) and Taka Tanaka (Takaaki Ishibashi). Wonderful because I wasn't too big of a fan of Cerrano and couldn't stand Tanaka.

When you can't get the two leads who made a film what it was, don't make a sequel to a film without them. Don't think a crappy spin off is treating the fans to something special. It isn't.

Thank the lord Bob Uecker reprises his role as the alcoholic Indians announcer. But this time he is announcing the Buzz? The film doesn't even provide an answer to why Cerrano, Tanaka, and the announcer are now with the Buzz. They all looked great last season, why did the Indians trade them? Is Jake Taylor still the manager of the Indians? Did the team trade Wild Thing? Did they win the World Series? The film doesn't provide the answer to questions fans are asking.

Major League: Back to the Minors is now the big wart on the entire franchise. There never needed to be a third film. The idea should've been scrapped when Berenger and Sheen said they wouldn't return. But of course, the money is what matters. Not even James Gammon comes back as a cameo. This film is one of the most tasteless and lackadaisical sequels I've ever seen.

Though it was this film that made me realize Corbin Bernsen, Roger Dorn in the film, would later go on to play the father in I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, my favorite holiday film. It was good for that.

Starring: Scott Bakula, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert, Ted McGinley, Takaaki Ishibashi, and Bob Uecker. Directed by: John Warren.