After the fear of another player lockout haunted baseball fans for an entire season, America’s pastime finally went underway this season. Baseball films have a long life in Hollywood (Pride of the Yankees) and have plenty of films you could argue are in the sports movie hall-of-fame. Like the Kevin Costner classics Field of Dreams and Bull Durham. Even the likes of a kid-friendly movie like The Sandlot remains. What ultimately ties these films together was the popularity of the sport in America and also the always reliable story of being an underdog. The scrappy nature of the ballplayer and a dedication to being a sound team bring audiences in to feel connected to the sport. The majesty of baseball and the grace of being a hero on the field lends itself to being cinematic. These are the films that get to the heart and wonder of what makes baseball great.

10 Little Big League

little-big-league
Columbia Pictures

Many baseball films focus on the underdog, but not many focus on the rigidity of managerial experience and what it takes to play the chess-like matches of a 9-inning ball game. Little Big League loves baseball and takes the time to go through the fundamentals that it takes to play team ball. With a young kid in Billy Heywood (Luke Edwards) inheriting the duties of ownership because his grandfather knows how much he loves it, the film goes through a season of ups and downs. While the films also features villain like cameos from 90s baseball studs Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson.

Related: Best Sports Biopics of All Time, Ranked

9 Rookie of the Year

rookieoftheyear
20th Century Fox

A baseball film that sells you on the fantasy of becoming an overnight success because of some freak accident, Rookie of the Year is an absurd adventure through sports stardom and how that affects your family. As Thomas Ian Nichols lights up the Chicago Cubs because of the inexplicable ability to throw the ball faster than anyone, the film hits all the familiar beats of jealousy, envy, and protecting your own when success hits. But, the only film Daniel Stern directed hits every note necessary to keep its audience entertained and compelled.

8 Bad News Bears

BadNewsBears
Paramount Pictures

A tale of misfits and a drunken washed-up coach who are seemingly perfect for each other, Bad News Bears is a classic 70s comedy (that spawned a remake starring Billy Bob Thornton) full of politically incorrect humor by way of rebellious young kids. Walter Matthau plays the reprehensible coach slugging beers in the dugout while he tries to teach a group of non-athletes to field ground balls. It has the classic arc of all great underdog stories, but sets itself apart with its irreverent brand of humor.

7 Moneyball

moneyball-1
Sony Pictures Releasing 

Of a similar ilk to his previous script The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin tapped into quick-witted, fast-talking minds behind a new approach to baseball. Focusing on the brotherly bond between a superstar performance from Brad Pitt as the disgruntled General Manager of the cash-strapped Oakland Athletics Billy Beane and a number-crunching Peter Brand played by Jonah Hill. Moneyball was an instant success, giving baseball a new kind of underdog story and scoring six Oscar Nominations.

6 Everybody Wants Some!!

EverybodyWantsSome
Paramount Pictures

In the vein of his 90s cult classic Dazed and Confused, indie auteur Richard Linklater gives us another masterclass in the act of the hangout. Featuring a long line of guys just being dudes, hanging out playing baseball, hoping to make the team at a local Texas college Everybody Wants Some!! gets to the essence of the brotherly bond that brings a team to greatness and why it's pivotal to have fun. Linklater lets his cast of young actors field the diamond. Everyone, from Glenn Powell to Blake Jenner, knows how to play America’s pastime.

5 Major League

Major League
Paramount Pictures

The Indians are still a historically cursed franchise, having not won a championship in 74 years. But, the piece of movie magic that will live with them forever is Major League and the hilariously off the wall performance from once High School baseball star Charlie Sheen as the wild Ricky Vaughn, known as “Wild Thing”. Major League is a stacked cast of misfits as they hustle to baseball glory, led by Tom Berenger who gives the heroic speech at the end. The film enters the hearts of many baseball fans alike.

Related: These Are the Best Football Movies of All Time, Ranked

4 Bull Durham

BullDurham1
Orion Pictures

Marrying the romance of baseball with the hard-fought success to get to the majors, Ron Shelton’s Bull Durham gave a legendary face to a minor league ball club. With baseball film aficionado Kevin Costner at its center as he tries to yield a fiery Tim Robbins on and off the field, Bull Durham has all the heart and fun of a good romantic comedy, with a sultry Susan Sarandon playing both ballplayers for affection. The film finds its balance n baseball thrills and heart-to-heart gestures.

3 A League of Their Own

a-league-of-their-own-movie-still
Columbia Pictures

A stacked cast of Geena Davis, Madonna, and Rose O’Donnell attempting to make their own women league as WWII beckon in the background made for an unforgettable entry in a long line of baseball classics. But, it was Tom Hanks who stole the show, as an alcoholic wash-up trying to recapture the days of past glory as he wrestles this team of hard-nosed women together. A League of Their Own offered up the classic “There’s no crying in baseball!” line from a disheveled Tom Hanks.

2 Field of Dreams

fieldofdreams
Universal Pictures

A film that dads across America will pour their hearts to as well as sons raised to love the game, Field of Dreams builds a fantastical mythos to why the history of the game matters and how it can bridge a generation. With American baseball avatar Kevin Costner at the center and James Earl Jones assisting his hand in building a baseball field to bring back the ghosts, “If you build it, they will come.” became the instantly iconic line that will be tied to the film forever. The film was also recently immortalized by the MLB’s field of dreams game, showing how relevant the film still is today.

1 The Sandlot

TheSandlot
20th Century Fox

The quintessential film for any kid born in the 90s and for any parent who needs to throw on a heartwarming story of everything great about America’s pastime, The Sandlot is a tale ripe with nostalgia. Centering the story on a group of kids who dream only of the diamond and busting each other's chops, The Sandlot combines the loose nature of The Goonies with the mystique of mythology as it embraces legend Babe Ruth and the invincible “Benny The Jet” who tears up the field. While also yielding quotable lines like “You’re killing me smalls.”, The Sandlot is timeless.