The Rookie (2002)

A Texas baseball coach makes the major league after agreeing to try out if his high school team made the playoffs.

Director:

John Lee Hancock

Writer:

Mike Rich

Stars:

Dennis Quaid, J.D. Evermore, Rachel Griffiths

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Quaid	...	Jimmy Morris
Rachel Griffiths	...	Lorri Morris
Jay Hernandez	...	Joaquin 'Wack' Campos
Beth Grant	...	Olline
Angus T. Jones	...	Hunter Morris
Brian Cox	...	Jim Morris Sr.
Rick Gonzalez	...	Rudy Bonilla
Chad Lindberg	...	Joe David West
Angelo Spizzirri	...	Joel De La Garza
Royce D. Applegate	...	Henry
Russell Richardson	...	Brooks
Raynor Scheine	...	Frank
David Blackwell	...	Cal
Blue Deckert	...	Baseball Scout Dave Patterson
Danny Kamin	...	Durham Manager Mac (as Daniel Kamin)

Storyline

Jim Morris is a Texas high school chemistry teacher and coach of the school's baseball team. He's always loved baseball and as a way of motivating his players, he agrees to go to a professional try-out if they win the championship. He once had aspirations to be a professional baseball player but an injury brought that to an end. Sure enough, the 39 year-old father of three finds himself at a camp for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and he somehow seems to have regained his pitching arm, easily throwing a 98 mph fastball. Signed to a contract, he toils in the minor leagues while his supportive wife stays home raising their children. He soon finds himself called up to the big club and pitching for Tampa which is in Texas playing the Rangers. Based on a true story.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | texas | high school | based on true story | character appears on television | 

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Taglines:

It's never too late to believe in your dreams.

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Sport

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

El novato

Filming Locations:

Leander, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,021,684, 31 March 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$75,600,072, 29 August 2002

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$80,693,537

Company Credits

Production Co:

98 MPH Productions, Gran Via, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In real life, there were only 10 players on the team, which is shown in the movie. Four of the "talking" Owls came from LA, the other six came from Austin. They held a camp and 800 kids came out, and the producers got to pick from them.

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Goofs

During Jim Morris' pitching tryout there several close-ups of his hand holding the baseball. One close-up shows his right hand holding the ball even though he is a left-handed pitcher. But pitchers will often remove their gloves and rub the ball with the opposite hand to remove sweat or rosin from the ball.

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Quotes

TV Reporter: [interviewing Jimmy after his first major league game] What pitches did you throw to get that strikeout?
Jimmy: Fastball, fastball, and
[chuckling]
Jimmy: fastball!
TV Reporter: How did it feel, pitching in the major leagues?
Jimmy: Just like I hoped it would.
Jimmy: [to the reporters, seeing his father through the TV lights] Can you excuse me?

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Connections

Referenced in Sports Jeopardy!: Episode #1.11 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Some Dreams
Produced by The Twangtrust
Written and Performed by Steve Earle
Courtesy of Artemis Records

User Reviews

They Did This Sports Movie Right

I love it when they actually do a sports story well. So many in the past have been so hokey it was embarrassing to watch. Not this one. It's just a genuinely nice movie, an old-fashioned type of story - and based on a real-life guy to did exactly what Dennis Quaid did in this film. He plays a high school coach who is talked into trying out, late in life athletically-speaking, to become a pitcher in professional baseball. Eventually, he reaches his goal of making it to the Major Leagues, even if it was a very brief stint.

All the characters in here are nice people, the kind you root for, from Quaid to the players on his high school team, to his little boy (Angus T. Jones, now somewhat of a star on television.)

Quaid is believable in playing Jim Morris because, unlike actors in the past in sports films, he knows how to throw a baseball. He looks like a pitcher, a guy who could fire it 90-plus miles per hour. And, most of this film is true, as testified by the real-life pitcher in one the documentaries on the DVD.

So, if you're looking for a nice, inspirational true life sports film, you can't wrong with this one.