Number 1 — Bull Durham (1988)
Just take a moment to reflect upon the fact that “Bull Durham” and “Field of Dreams” were released roughly a year apart and it is easy to see what a great time period the late 1980s were for baseball on the big screen.
As many quotes might still be floating out there from “Field of Dreams,” “Bull Durham” has plenty as well. I have friends who can do the entire mound visit scene from memory, saying it’s one of the best (and perhaps realistic) sports moments in movie history.
The characters in the movie (from “Nuke” LaLoosh to Annie Savoy) surrounded Costner’s Crash Davis throughout the film and gave the movie plenty of depth. Savoy also delivers one of the best closing lines in movie history: “Walt Whitman once said, ‘I see great things in baseball. It’s our game. The American game. It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us.’ You could look it up.”
Note: Whether Whitman actually ever said that or not is up for debate.
Regardless, to quote Savoy, yes, baseball has been a blessing to many of us, and it’s been something that distracted us from reality, even if for a few hours. The same can be said for movies like “Bull Durham” that transport us to another place and give us a glimpse into the lives of characters that can become a part of our vocabulary and heart.
The same can be said for Kevin Costner baseball movies, three of which have taken us from a cornfield to the minor leagues to the mound at Yankee Stadium.