I'm just going to jump right into it:
As the resident baseball insider and apologist, I take my role very seriously. I like stats, and I try to find a number to use in way too many situations across life. That’s one baseball stereotype; another is about being sentimental about the history of the game. One of my favorite quotes is from Moneyball: “It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.” I think about legends like Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, or Stan the Man. I think about today’s heroes and how they will be remembered. Will Mike Trout keep up his career long enough to be one of the all timers in the same breath as Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Ruth, and the other immortals? Will Shohei Ohtani continue to dazzle and be remembered as an incredible two way player? Will anyone ever hit .400 again? I annoy my friends and family with rants similar to this pretty regularly.
Baseball us a fun game.
Nowhere is this more evident than in baseball movies. No other sport has as many incredible movies because baseball lends itself to storytelling. One of our favorite things to do at The Crossover is to rank unconventional things in unconventional ways. A traditional power rankings of 30 MLB teams is both overdone and boring, therefore, I present you with an alternative: a batting order of baseball movies that I would throw out there against any team.
My criteria is strictly based on how I felt about the movie. This lineup is based off the movie as a whole rather than the characters, for example: I have For Love of the Game in RF despite the fact that it centers on a starting pitcher.
Here is my lineup, and I will explain it below:
The Rookie- 2B
The Sandlot- 3B
Field of Dreams- CF
The Natural- 1B
Major League- C
Moneyball- SS
Trouble with the Curve- DH
A League of their Own- LF
For Love of the Game- RF
SP: 42
Leading off: The Rookie is your classic second baseman. It gets on base pretty well but won’t hit for a ton of power. Great in the clubhouse and plays solid defense. Does all the little things right, but what else would you expect from Dennis Quaid? I’d compare it to Joe Panik, but maybe even a Dustin Pedroia type.
Next, I’m batting The Sandlot. They’re exactly what you want in a two-hole hitter. While playing a solid third base, you aren’t giving anything up at the plate. Occasional power, maybe 20 bombs a year, The Sandlot won’t strike out. Lots of extra base hits in the gaps. Think about a more athletic Billy Butler that can play 3rd base like Moustakas.
Field of Dreams is your superstar, MVP caliber player. Plays a premier position in center and bats in the 3rd spot. FoD hits a ton, lots of power, but also plays great defense. Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen (in his prime), Lorenzo Cain with a few more homers
The Natural is your typical first baseman slugger. It DH’s some, but plays decent defense. It might strike out occasionally, but you live with it because it hits the ball out of the ballpark a lot. It provides protection for Field of Dreams, and can just destroy a baseball. This is Prince Fielder in Milwaukee.
Next up, Major League is catching. It’s your power hitting catcher type with good power, and a reasonable amount of strikeouts. Not super athletic, but probably hits .270 with 27 HR in a given year. Not to mention handling the pitching staff well and just being a little quirky in the clubhouse. I’d compare him to Brian McCann or to go back a little ways, A.J. Pierzynski.
Moneyball is a good shortstop batting sixth. Any team would love to have a guy with occasional pop, and good makeup. Very athletic and will hit to all fields. We’re looking at Asdrubal Cabrera or Brandon Crawford.
Trouble with the Curve is DHing and is similar to The Natural in makeup. Basically just take a couple points off the average, and a little power. Being a lefty, the overshift has really hurt the high ground ball rate. Think Trevor Story at the plate and Billy Butler in the field
I’m a fan of having some get on base types in the bottom of the order to hopefully set the table for the top of the order. With that, batting 8th is A League of Their Own. You can expect this left fielder to get on base at a high clip and play great defense. I’m comparing it to Kevin Kiermaier.
Batting 9th, For Love of the Game in right field. Not always the most consistent, it is a great teammate and plays good defense at a non premier position. A good 9 hitter, but still a 9 hitter. Think Stephen Piscotty.
Pitching is 42. You can expect this movie to go 7 innings and give up 3 about every time out, occasionally you might get 8 scoreless, but not every time out. Very reliable, well respected around the league, and a great leader for your pitching staff. This is Jon Lester (with a better pick off move).
For what it’s worth, I have Angels in the Outfield as my utility infielder and Bad News Bears as the 4th outfielder. If you're wondering where Little Big Leagues, Rookie of the Year, or Bull Durham are, you should be a bullpen coach, because that's where you'll find them.
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! See you next time and thanks for being here!