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Baseball Movie Battle: ‘Angels in the Outfield’ vs. ‘Rookie of The Year’

By Rob Myerson

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 15: Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas attends Hilarity for Charity's 5th Annual Los Angeles Variety Show: Seth Rogen's Halloween at Hollywood Palladium on October 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Vespa/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 15: Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas attends Hilarity for Charity's 5th Annual Los Angeles Variety Show: Seth Rogen's Halloween at Hollywood Palladium on October 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Vespa/Getty Images) /
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Baseball Movie Battle

‘Angels in the Outfield’ vs. ‘Rookie of The Year’

Best Moment

Watching Roger lead the Angels roster, announcing booth, and a sold-out crowd at Angels Stadium to flap their “wings” in order to convince Mel Clark that an Angel is coming to help him out against American League MVP, Kit “Hit or Die” Kesey, is the runaway for the best moment of the movie. This all comes after George Knox was heavily criticized for managing his team based on the recommendation and visions of a teenager. Tough to keep dry eyes here.

“Rookie of the Year” throws a curveball, or even an eephus pitch when Henry realizes that it was his mother, not his deceased father who played baseball growing up. A very “avant-garde” moment for women in baseball. I can only assume that this scene was what inspired Jennie Finch and Mo’Ne Davis to pick up a baseball/softball and end up dominating the new decades.

Pick: Angels in the Outfield

Most Realistic

I’d have to believe that the Cubs break many eligibility rules when they sign a 12-year-old to pitch in the Major Leagues. The kid, younger than Danny Almonte was when he pitched illegally in the Little League World Series, isn’t even old enough to be approached by university recruiters. We’re supposed to believe that the Cubs are allowed to sign a preteen from the suburbs of Chicago? I’m not even going to get into the fact that Henry wasn’t asked to start his career in A-Ball.

While Angels in the Outfield seems outlandish, specifically real-life Angels physically lifting and maneuvering a baseball team to win after win, baseball fans have seen enough moments in real life to think that divine intervention on a baseball field isn’t all that unrealistic. What is unrealistic however is the rate at which it happens. God and “Al” seem pretty distracted and preoccupied with helping Roger out and the California Angels. They are also so beyond effective, that it makes you wonder why they’re not out fixing some much bigger world events that were happening in the summer of 1994, specifically the stopping the Rwandan Genocide or saving O.J. Simpson’s family. On a less serious note, Adrien Brody’s error-filled “infield the park home run” gets tougher and tougher to watch with each viewing.

The Pick: Rookie of the Year

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