Major League: Back to the Minors (1998)

Major League: Back to the Minors. On this team they don't just throw screwballs, they put them in uniform!

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:

team | manager | league | pitcher | stadium | 

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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

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

During the final game against the twins at buzz stadium the score board says the buzz got 2 runs in the 7th inning then 1 run in the 8th inning and it should be 4-3 yet they are only credited with 2 runs making the score 4-2 yet when number 40 hits and the player from 3rd scores they are not credited with the run but are finally credited with the run from the 8th inning so now the score is 4-3 even though with the player scoring from 3rd it should be 4-4.

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Quotes

Leonard Huff: Do my eyes deceive me? Is that who I think it is?
Gus Cantrell: [not turning around] Slick guy, overdressed, helmet hair, shit-eating grin?
Maggie Reynolds: [turning around] You must have eyes in the back of your head.
Gus Cantrell: Leonard Huff, manager-slash-bullshit artist extraordinaire.

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Connections

References The Fan (1996)

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Soundtracks

Turning Japanese
Performed by Ken Tamplin for Transition Music
Written by David Fenton

User Reviews

Losing contact with the original movie

Gus Cantrell (Scott Bakula) is an aging minor league baseball pitcher who knows all the tricks. Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen) hires him to manage his minor league team with a great prospect in over-confident Billy Anderson (Walton Goggins). Rube Baker (Eric Bruskotter) is back with the same problem as before. Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert) returns to baseball after spending time away searching for something. Taka Tanaka (Takaaki Ishibashi) has opened a putt-putt golf course but he's tired of the business. He also joins this ragtag AAA team. When faced with old nemesis Leonard Huff (Ted McGinley), he gets into a challenge between his minor league team and Huff's Minnesota Twins.

I love Scott Bakula as an actor, but it's a mistake to put him in the lead. If Dennis Haysbert is willing to come back, then it would be much better to have Cerrano as a new coach. People love the franchise because of not just baseball but the characters as well. It just makes sense to have an original character as the lead. I also didn't find Walton Goggins that believable as the new young prospect. He's not that young looking, and he needs more muscle to be a big hitter. And losing the Cleveland Indians doesn't help although that may be beyond the filmmakers' control. That's not a rub against The Twins. It's just that the franchise started with the Indians and there's a history.

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)