The iconic film starring Charlie Sheen turns 35 this spring
Victor Corona a.k.a Vic, the Producer, shares his favorite baseball movie of all time. Major League hit theaters on April 7, 1989
The baseball season is upon us!
For many, the month of March is all about spring training, but for me, this time of year is about watching one of my favorite baseball movies to get ready for the season. Next month marks the 35th anniversary of the release of Major League in theaters, a baseball movie about the fictionalized regular season of the Cleveland Indians.
The plot is pretty similar to what we are seeing with the Oakland A’s and their owner John Fisher, who is on the verge of moving the team to Las Vegas. The connections don’t end there, the owner is a former Las Vegas showgirl Rachel Phelps who inherited the team from her recently deceased husband. She hates having to live in Cleveland and wants the team relocated to Florida but can’t do so without attendance being low. Her plan is to field the worst team filled with felons, misfits and losers.
What makes this movie hold the test of time is the cast of characters from Rick Vaughn, Willie “Mays” Hayes, Pedro Cerrano, Jake Taylor, Roger Dorn, Lou Brown and Harry Doyle. Let’s start with one of the best baseball movie characters in Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn, played by Charlie Sheen. Vaughn throws hard but lacks control thus his nickname is Wild Thing. You add a leather jacket, crazy haircut, his last team before joining the Indians was in the California Penal League and the nickname fits perfectly. One of the cool tidbits is Sheen himself was a pitcher on his high school team. At the time of filming, his fastball topped 85-88 miles per hour, he also admitted in 2011 to having some assistance from the steroids he took during filming.
The rest of the cast isn’t too shabby either. Wesley Snipes plays Willie “Mays” Hayes, a speedy base stealer who can’t hit yet in the movie claims, “I play like Mays, and run like Hayes.” Next up is Pedro Cerrano, the voodoo practicing Cuban refugee, who can square up a fastball with the best of them but can’t hit a breaking ball to save his life. He is played by Dennis Haysbert, who you probably have seen in Allstate insurance commercials saying the slogan “Are you in good hands?”. Hitting cleanup for this cast is Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger), he is the veteran catcher with bad knees who was playing in the Mexican League before getting the call from the Indians. He is the glue that brings this team together and also the lone character with a love interest in the film.
The best part of this film is Harry Doyle, the play-by-play announcer for the Indians played by Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker. Uecker is fantastic as Harry Doyle, he has some of the most hilarious lines in baseball movie history bar none. From “Juuuuuuust a bit outside” when the ball is clearly outside to “Take over Monty, I’m in the bag” after getting too drunk to continue calling the game. What is wild is that in every shot of him calling games, there’s a bottle of Jack Daniels. What makes him a great character is that he’s not your traditional broadcaster like Vin Scully, he was Harry Caray, the former broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. For those who might remember him, think of a grandfather that loves talking baseball and sometimes gets too hammered doing so.
Look, this isn’t a perfect baseball film. It has its flaws but we can all relate to the underdog story of a team that came together against all odds to become a winner. For me, part of the charm of this movie is that it takes from the start of spring training to the playoffs. In between it gives you enough of the baseball stuff you would see during a 162-season with characters that we can all relate to in baseball. If you look around the Major League clubhouses, you’ll still find Rick Vaughn, Pedro Cerrano, Willie “Mays” Hayes, Roger Dorn, and Jake Taylor. Do yourself a favor and go watch Major League again. And subscribe to the Compas on the Beat newsletter!