"Little Big League" Stands as One of the Greatest 90s Sports Movies

It was my pick during date night for the movie and I went with another sports movie from the 90's that I adored. The movie was "Little Big League”. A quick synopsis of the movie, the owner of the Twins dies, gives the team to his grandson who is 11, grandson takes over as coach and after the team buys in, he leads them to a turnaround. It is your typical 90's sports movie story. But there is one big difference. And this difference is why I think this may be the best 90's kids sports movie. Let’s discuss.

First off, the movie is good on its own. It has some cliche stuff in it, but not as much as other 90's sports movies. The kids in this one aren't as precocious as other kids. The adults are funnier and looser in this movie. The baseball players, some real MLB players, don't have to actually act. They can just be themselves, and that is the best use of their talents. But the best thing about this movie is the ending. Spoiler alert for a movie that came out 30 years ago, but the Twins do not win in the end. They don't even make the playoffs.

That is what I instantly loved about this movie, even when I first saw it as a 12 year old. "Little Big League" shows everyone that you can still have a good time even if you don't win it all in the end. The fact of the matter, the way they portray the Twins at the start of this movie is that they need a miracle to even have a chance at the playoffs. And the way they show the progress, the frustration, the ups and downs of a long season, it is all about as realistic as any 90's kids sports movie that has ever been made. Major League Baseball has a grueling 162 game season. That is a ton of time. So there are going to be good times and bad times. This movie shows that.

Another this movie also shows how tough it would be for a bunch of professional baseball players to buy into an 11 year old coaching the team. I do not think any player would ever truly buy in, but in the fantastical world that this movie made up, the idea of these guys deciding to play for him, it works. The main character has a vast knowledge of baseball. He knows the game inside and out. He is smarter than some of the coaches on staff. It works. But it is that final game that makes this movie as great as it ended up being. The Twins and Mariners have to play each other to get in the playoffs. They have a deciding playoff game to see who gets the last Wild Card spot. And it goes back and forth. Ken Griffey Jr blasts a three run homer early on to give the Twins a 3-0. The Twins find their way back into the game with some base hits and then one of their players hits a three run homer to tie the score. Then it is back and forth. Neither team scores until they end up in the 12th inning. The Mariners get the go ahead run on a single. So it is 4-3 in the bottom of the 12th. The Twins come to bat and quickly get two outs. This is another thing I like about this movie. There is no pomp and circumstance. The count doesn't go to 3-2 every single time. The Twins ground out and line out on a few pitches. Then a guy gets a base hit and the Twins best batter comes up. He and the coach have a little chat and he comes up to hit, but not before the Mariners bring in Randy Johnson as a reliever. This would have been a perfect time to really milk the count and make the scene hyper dramatic, and I totally would have bought it. But this movie zigs whenever I think it will zag. The first pitch is high and tight and then Lou Collins, the Twins star player, crushes a 1-0 pitch to left center. It looks like it is going to clear the fence and put the Twins in the playoffs with a 5-4 win. All the while though, Ken Griffey Jr is chasing the ball down. They pan from Collins to Griffey Jr a few times before Griffey Jr robs the home run and ends the Twins season. It is exhilarating and unexpected. I love that. The Twins didn't have to win to make this movie as awesome as it ended up being. The crowd still loved the team. The Mariners respected their opponent. The players grew to love the 11 year old coach. They were all super bummed when he announced he wasn't coming back to coach the next year. And the crowd was still there waiting to give the coach and the team a standing ovation. Again, the Twins didn't even make the playoffs. But they rediscovered their love for the game and made the team fun to watch again.

I love this movie and I loved it even more on this rewatch. Go check out "Little Big League" and find out what makes it so incredible for a 90's sports kids movie. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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The 90's Were the Golden Age of Kid's Sports Movies

I've been on a kick lately watching kids sports movies from the 90's that I loved as a kid. With my downtime I like to watch shows and movies, and for the past couple weeks I have been craving older sports movies. It all started one afternoon when I heard some people on a podcast mention the movie "Rookie if the Year". I adored that movie as a kid. It had everything I wanted in life. Kid breaks his arm, it heals weird, he can throw super fast and he ends up on the Cubs. It was an absolute dream. From there I would endlessly watch movies like "The Sandlot", "Little Big League", "Little Giants" and "The Mighty Ducks" among many, many others. I watched them all. Even some movies that were not, by definition sports movies, like "3 Ninjas", I watched because they had a few sports scenes. I couldn't get enough.

As I got older though I kind of left those movies behind. I have become a bit snobbish when it comes to movies. RD calls some of my early reviews "Cloves and Fedoras", and he is not wrong. I prefer indie movies. I love a good documentary. I want to watch movies that make you think. But I have been craving movies that I used to enjoy. I have had these feelings of wanting to go back and see if these movies still hold any weight for me.

I am very happy to say that I still get the same feelings when watching these movies. I understand that they are fantastical and you have to remove any kind of sense when watching. That makes it more fun for me now as a father, husband and a 40 year old. I have enjoyed watching these movies with my wife and I think she has had fun too. She has said she is at the very least. But my love for these movies is not the basis of this blog today. I could go on and on and on about my love. But today I want to take the time to tell you all about the straight line each of these movies have. They all have similar plots and villains and endings. They have the old hand, the young star and the family. They are all fun and satisfying because they are all the same. You can watch any of these movies and know how it will finish. It is comforting.

Let's look at "Rookie of the Year" real quick. Kid breaks his arm, conflict. It heals weird, but he can throw hard all of the sudden, fantastical. Goes to the Cubs and learns under the veteran, Rocket, played by Gary Busey, yikes. The villain is the Mets and their slugger. Henry Rowengartner strikes him out with an underhand toss and the Cubs win. It is stupid and phony and wild and I love it. They were even able to get a love story with the mom. This is how a 90's kids sports movie goes.

Take "The Sandlot" next. Star player plays with his buddies, they beat the bullies, the nerdy kid gets the girl, the star player and the new kid are best friends into adulthood, the villain is a dog who turns out to be nice and each kid has their own happy ending. It is my favorite sports movie.

"The Mighty Ducks" have the grisled former hockey star in town deemed with coaching the rag tag misfits. He turns them into a respectable squad. He gets a team from the rival team to come play for his team. The villain is the coach's former coach. He is still a jerk. They beat them in the finals. The kid closest to the coach on the team essentially sets his coach up with his mom. It is almost too perfect.

"Little Big League" brings us a genius kid who isn't good at playing baseball, but knows the game incredibly well, he ends up coaching the Minnesota Twins. He is tasked with the job from his grandpa. He helps turn the Twins around after some skepticism from some vets. The main vet helps him out though, takes his side and that is when things turn. The villains on the team come around but this movie finds a way to make Ken Griffey Jr a villain. I couldn't believe it. The only way this movie differs, and why I still love it to this day, is that the Twins don't win in the end. But they all have fun.

"Air Bud" is the wildest of them all. This movie is about a dog who plays receiver for a local kids team and is the star. This is the most fantastical of them all and it is endlessly watchable for me.

"Little Giants" is great because it features brothers versus brothers. Ed O'Neill is the "villain", but he is actually a good dude in the end. This movie is so great because it gives the little guy the limelight. The "nerds" find a way to beat the jocks and it is a fun football movie. It is also one of Rick Moranis' last roles and he crushes it here. The movie also introduced all of us to Becky, The Icebox, O'Shea. She is a kids sports movie legend.

"Space Jam" is wildly odd and weird and not very good. But I can watch that movie time and again and be very happy.

I could list more and more movies here, but they all have the same, safe and watchable premise. These movies are by no means good, but damn are they fun. I cannot wait to watch more of these because the rewatch of the first couple has been so well remembered. I suggest you do the same if you grew up similar to me. These 90's sports kids movies still rule. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.