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:

Sometimes dreams come back to life.

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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:

The Rookie

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

The place they filmed the movie was not really Big Lake, Texas, but in Thorndale, Texas, northeast of Austin.

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Goofs

When warming up for his first big game Jimmy is shown in the right field bullpen with a large SONIC advertisement behind him. At the Ballpark in Arlington that is the home bullpen. The visitors bullpen is in left field. The movie was probably filmed in the right field bullpen because it is closer to the stands. The visitors bullpen is set far away from the stands, making the scene with his family impossible from this bullpen.

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Quotes

Jimmy: Anybody wanna tell me how we lost that game? Hmmm? No? How about taking a look at the numbers on that scoreboard out there? What do those numbers tell you?
Joe David West: How to get ahold of Bo's Tire Barn?
[team laughs, Jimmy pauses, obviously not amused]
Jimmy: You quit. You quit out there. You quit on me and, worse, you quit on yourselves. Now, what is it? You think we don't care about baseball around here? Think the school's gonna drop the program? You're just making it easy for 'em. Sad part is, I see it and you...

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood's Top Ten: Batter Up! (2011)

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Soundtracks

Holding Pattern
Written and Performed by Dave Hole
Courtesy of Alligator Records

User Reviews

Respectable Movie Worth A Look

Usually I review a movie just after I've seen it, but the last time I saw this one was a full 2 weeks ago. Yet it still sticks in my mind and heart.

Baseball movies are inspirational by nature and seem to have all kinds of application to life (for example, my review of Field of Dreams). Jimmy Morris challenges the losing baseball team he's coaching to not give up on their dreams and has the challenge thrown right back at him. This wouldn't make for such drama if the majority of the movie up to that point hadn't been to show how Jimmy's own dream had been systematically dismantled. Such movies anyone can write, but when I found out it was a true story, it put the movie in a higher bracket altogether.

The conflict between Jimmy and his father is played very well by both Quaid and Cox. At one point or another, you can just feel coldness of the walls built up between them. They're reaching out (Hunter's baseball glove, Jimmy's asking advice), but can they ever connect?

While some might balk (sorry) at the presence of Hunter, Jimmy's son, I think the kid adds a lot to the film. Baseball is all about kids, anyway. And it's good to see a son who looks up to and believes in his dad. That phase is over far too soon for most fathers to enjoy it enough. I think the dream is as much Hunter's as it is his father's.

The theme of the Rookie is "never give up on your dreams." That's laudable. But the affirmation of the importance of families, even through broken relationships, as well as a clean script, makes this one that families can buy to watch every now and then. Disney surprised me with this believable, down-to-earth tale. I'm definitely picking this one up on DVD.