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)
‘Angels in the Outfield’ or ‘Rookie of The Year’? Which of these two was your favorite baseball movie as a kid in the early 90s?
The combination of social distancing and the coronavirus pandemic killing the start of the baseball season has led many fans to turn to binge-watching movies to get their fix. Movies like “The Natural”, “Field of Dreams”, and “Bull Durham” are right at the top of every fan’s favorite baseball movie list, but baseball is a kids game.
1993 & 1994 were big years for preadolescence making an impact in the Major Leagues. In 1993, Henry Rowengartner went from the bleachers to the pitching mound to lead the Chicago Cubs to a World Series title.
The apparently not-so-strike-shortened 1994 season was highlighted by not one, but two down-to-the-wire pennant races In one version of the season, a young Billy Heywood led the Minnesota Twins to the American League Championship Series, only to be beaten by a stacked Seattle Mariners team.
In another parallel universe, the California Angels, with the help of a bit of divine intervention, would win the not-so-vacant-after-all 1994 World Series title. While history would suggest that 1994 had no World Series champion, the fictional baseball world crowned two.
“Rookie of the Year”, “Angels in the Outfield”, and “Little Big League” left a mark in the heart of every baseball fan, but which movie reigns supreme?
Unfortunately for Billy Heyward, “Little Big League” only made $12M at the box office, which is equivalent to what the real-life Minnesota Twins will be paying Nelson Cruz this year. For this reason, it will be eliminated from consideration.
That leaves us to debate “Rookie of the Year” versus “Angels in the Outfield”.
Baseball Movie Battle
‘Angels in the Outfield’ vs. ‘Rookie of The Year’
Better Plot
“Angels in the Outfield”, a story about Roger Bomman, a kid with a runaway mother and a neglectful father, living in a foster home. Roger and his foster brother, J.P. are both die-hard California Angels fans and stay dedicated to the team regardless of how bad they appear to be in the early goings of the movie. The plot really takes off thanks to Roger not totally understanding hyperbole, when his dad says that they can be a real family again once the Angels win the pennant. That sparks Roger to ask God to help the Angels out, which he does by sending real-life Angels to help the ballclub. Roger and JP become unofficial mascots and build a relationship with the team, specifically manager George Knox. The team goes on an unprecedented winning streak to set up a “no real Angels allowed” showdown with the Chicago White Sox for the right to go to the playoffs. After a sold-out crowd head fakes Mel Clark into believing that an Angel was helping him, he completes his gem to lead the Angels to victory. Oh, and Roger and JP get adopted by Knox.
In “Rookie of the Year”, Cubs super-fan Henry Rowengartner breaks his arm only to have it heal “just a little too tight”, which thanks to a strange whiplash effect, allows him to throw a triple-digit fastball. The Cubs eventually sign Rowengartner who through the tutelage of ace Chet “Rocket” Steadman (and maybe future father in law?) helps the teenager learn the in’s and out’s of being a professional Major League Baseball player. The two pitchers lead the Cubs to the playoffs, where they needed to beat the rival New York Mets to move on to the World Series. Despite slipping on a ball and losing his “power” to throw hard, and a subsequent questionable managerial decision to leave an ordinary teenager on the mound in the 9th inning of a playoff game, Rowengartner defies the odds and leads the Cubs to victory.
Tough choice, on paper the easy answer should be “Angels in the Outfield” in a landslide. It has the whole orphan angle, baseball-playing Angels, and hits all the emotional chords that you’d want in a family baseball movie. The point, however, will go to “Rookie of the Year” due to its well-timed comedy, the Cubs snapping a (at the time) nearly 100 year World Series drought, and better baseball scenes.
Pick: Rookie of the Year
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.
JP’s “it can happen” is a staple in Angels in the Outfield. It’s kind of cute at first but gets a little annoying by the end. While there are better and funnier lines in the movie, it’s certainly the one that sticks out. The aforementioned “wing-flapping” outdoes any specific line in the movie, and perhaps confirms the announcing team’s mantra that sometimes saying “less is more”.
In Rookie of the Year, the easy choice is Rowengartner’s heckling, highlighted by the cliche but effective “pitcher’s got a big butt”. That being said, pitching coach Brickman (played by Daniel Stern) supplies gem after gem, whether it be his theory about “dry-ice”, “3 R’s” (one of which is “conditioning”), his thoughts on punctuality, or comparing Henry’s mom’s arm to that of “Scuffy McGee”.
Pick: Rookie of the Year
Better Cast
Angels in the Outfield’s cast included grizzled vets Tony Danza, Danny Glover, and Christopher Lloyd while also making room for young up-and-comers Joseph Gordon Levitt, Matthew McConaughey, and Adrien Brody. That collected has gone on to win a combined two Oscar’s, two Emmy’s, six NAACP Awards, and two People’s Choice Awards. The reunion would probably prove to be too expensive for a kid’s baseball movie.
Rookie of the Year features a young Thomas Ian Nicholas, a not so young Gary Busy, and a hilarious Daniel Stern. Weak in comparison, but only until you add in the fact that the production team somehow managed to convince real-life Major League all-stars Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, and Pedro Guerrero to strike out swinging against the 12-year-old Rowengartner.
The Pick: Angels in the Outfield
Next. LAD: remembering a 5-year Rookie of the Year run. dark
The Choice
Angels in the Outfield and its storyline of Roger’s search for love and a family really pulls on all the right heartstrings, but Rookie of the Year strikes a chord because every kid who loves baseball, every spring once the snow would melt, would grab their globe and picture themselves in the big leagues. That’s what this movie offers – a lens for those kids to see themselves as a big leaguer.
