All-Movie Baseball Team

With today being the opening day of the Major League Baseball season I’ve compiled my All-Movie Baseball Team roster of the greatest movie baseball players of all time. This team is very unique in that it incorporates both real-life baseball legends and fictional movie characters on the same team. Check out which movie players made the cut and let us know in the comments section below which changes you’d make to the team … 

Lineup:

1. CF- Willie Mays Hayes (Wesley Snipes) – “Major League”

You want extreme speed leading off your lineup and there might not be anybody faster in baseball movie history than the Cleveland Indians center fielder Willie Mays Hayes in “Major League.” 

2. 2B – Jackie Robinson (Jackie Robinson) – “The Jackie Robinson Story”

I’ve never had the opportunity to see Jackie Robinson star as himself in the 1950 film “The Jackie Robinson Story,” but I know with all certainty that there’s no better two-bagger in baseball film history than the legendary barrier breaker.  

3. 1B – Lou Gehrig (Gary Cooper) – “The Pride of the Yankees”

You want your best power hitting combo in the number three and four spots in your lineup and there’s never been a better power combo in baseball history than Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig of the Murderer’s Row New York Yankees. Both are featured in the Oscar-winning “The Pride of the Yankees.” I have Gehrig batting third in the order. Legendary Gary Cooper was nominated for an Oscar for portraying “The Iron Horse” in the 1942 film.

4. RF – Babe Ruth (Babe Ruth) – “The Pride of the Yankees”

Babe Ruth is considered by most baseball experts to be the greatest baseball player of all time. He’s been portrayed multiple times on film, including by John Goodman in 1992’s “The Babe.” But, why not have the real Babe himself. Ruth was featured as himself in “The Pride of the Yankees” about his teammate Lou Gehrig.

5. LF – Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) – “Field of Dreams”

The infamous “Shoeless Joe” Jackson has also been portrayed multiple times on film, in John Sayles’ “Eight Men Out” by D.B. Sweeney and in Phil Alden Robinson’s “Field of Dreams” by Ray Liotta. I’ve selected Liotta’s “Shoeless Joe” for my lineup primarily because “Field of Dreams” is my favorite baseball movie of all time.  

6. 3B – Buck Weaver (John Cusack) – “Eight Men Out”

The third bagger on my All-Movie Baseball Team was also a real life player. It’s Chicago White Sox third baseman Buck Weaver, played by John Cusack in “Eight Men Out,” who was one of the eight players banned from the 1919 Black Sox team. You really feel bad for Weaver after watching this film, because it doesn’t seem he had much to do with throwing the series.

7. C – Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) – “Bull Durham”

Catcher is the most packed position on my All-Movie Baseball Team as Kevin Costner’s minor league legend Crash Davis from Ron Shelton’s “Bull Durham” just barely edged out Rockford Peach catcher Dottie Hinson from “A League of Their Own” and Cleveland Indians catcher Jake Taylor from “Major League.”

8. SS – Benny “Jet” Rodriguez (Mike Vitar) – “The Sandlot”

Despite its popularity among people of my generation I’ve always found the children’s baseball movie “The Sandlot” to be just that … a children’s movie and overrated in general. However, because shortstop is (believe it or not) the weakest position in baseball movie history the best kid from the sandlot, who grew up to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez just barely cracks my lineup.  

9. P - Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) – “For Love of the Game”

Kevin Costner’s Billy Chapel, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, is not the first baseball movie pitcher that probably comes to mind for most people (most probably think of Ricky Vaughn from “Major League”), but he’s my starter. Can you really blame me? The dude throws a perfect game in the movie. Also, quite possibly the most interest tidbit of my All-Movie Baseball Team is that the starting battery is entirely Kevin Costner.

Bullpen:
 

Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) – “Major League”

Charlie Sheen’s Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn from “Major League” is probably the most memorable pitcher in baseball movie history. Vaughn would most likely lead my All-Movie Baseball Team in both strikeouts and suspensions.

Eddie Cicotte (David Strathairn) – “Eight Men Out”

Eddie Cicotte is another one of the unfortunate victims of the 1919 Black Sox. Everybody knows that Joe Jackson should’ve been a hall of famer if not for his banishment, but I believe Cicotte should be a hall of famer, as well. David Strathairn’s painfully torn portrayal of Cicotte in “Eight Men Out” is one of the highlights of that movie.

Chet Steadman (Gary Busey) – “Rookie of the Year”

“Rookie of the Year” is the story of a teenage boy who breaks his arm, develops a “rocket arm” as a result of his injury and becomes a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. It’s a pretty stupid scenario and movie. However, Gary Busey’s grizzled veteran pitcher Chet Steadman actually stands out as a pretty good character. I’d like to add him to my rotation.

Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid) – “The Rookie”

Jim Morris made national news in 1999 when he made his major league debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at age 35. His journey from high school baseball coach to the majors was the focal point of Disney’s 2002 film “The Rookie” with Dennis Quaid starring as Morris. Morris’ major league career was very short-lived as he only appeared in 21 games, but that’s good enough to make the All-Movie Baseball Team rotation.

Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) – “Bull Durham”
Nuke LaLoosh, played by Tim Robbins in “Bull Durham,” probably has the most talent of any of the pitchers on this All-Movie Baseball Team, but he also has the biggest ego.  

Bench:

Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) – “The Natural”

This is a crime, I know, but I’ve managed to go this far into my life without ever seeing “The Natural.” Despite this horrendous fact, I know enough about Robert Redford’s Roy Hobbs to know that he’d easily make my opening day roster.

Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) – “A League of Their Own”

Geena Davis’ Dottie Hinson has the distinct honor of being the only female baseball player on the All-Movie Baseball Team as the star of the Rockford Peaches in Penny Marshall’s 1992 film “A League of Their Own.” She’s on the bench behind Costner’s Crash Davis, but she’ll definitely see her fair share of playing time.

Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger) – “Major League”

Tom Berenger’s grizzled, hobbled veteran catcher Jake Taylor in Davis S. Ward’s 1989 comedy “Major League” is certainly not the flashiest character in that film, but he’s always been my favorite. If there was one fictional baseball movie character that I’d most like to be like it’d probably be Jake Taylor.

Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert) – “Major League”

Dennis Haysbert’s Latin, voodoo slugger Pedro Cerrano is incredibly the fourth player from “Major League” on my All-Movie Baseball Team, making that movie the most represented on my list, by far. Cerrano would make a great designated hitter, but I don’t care for that rule, so he’ll be the number one option in the late innings off the bench to knock one out of the park.

Jack Elliott (Tom Selleck) – “Mr. Baseball”

There are a ton of old dudes on this team between Jake Taylor, Billy Chapel, Roy Hobbs, Crash Davis and Chet Steadman, but I’m going to add yet another one in the form of Tom Selleck’s first baseman Jack Elliott from “Mr. Baseball.” Is it the most well-known baseball movie? No. Is it the best baseball movie on this list? No. But, I do like Selleck and his Elliott quite a lot.

Manager: Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) – “A League of Their Own”

I really love James Gammon’s skipper Lou Brown from “Major League” and believe he’d be the manager of many people’s teams if they were selecting this roster, but my favorite baseball movie manager is definitely Tom Hanks’ Jimmy Dugan from “A League of Their Own.” Dugan taught us one of the best lessons when it comes to the sport … there’s no crying in baseball.

General Manager: Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) – “Moneyball”

Upon seeing Bennett Miller’s great film “Moneyball” last year I felt the need to add a general manager for my All-Movie Baseball Team in the form of Oakland Athletics’ GM Billy Beane. Brad Pitt’s portrayal of Beane was one of the finest performances of 2011 in film and one of the greatest baseball movie performances of all time.

NASCAR Should Ban Knaus for Full Season

At Daytona to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup season Jimmie Johnson’s #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was found to have an illegal part on the car. This really came as no surprise to me personally, because every time I hear of an illegal part on a car in NASCAR I immediately think of that 48 team and Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus. Why? Because Knaus is a major repeat offender and when I say repeat, boy do I mean it.

The punishment handed down by NASCAR last week: a six race suspension for Knaus and car chief Ron Malec, Johnson docked 25 driver’s points, the team docked 25 owner’s points and Knaus receiving a $100,000 fine is the crew chief’s ninth punishment from NASCAR for rules infractions in the last decade and his fifth suspension. Hendrick Motorsports has appealed the punishment and Knaus will be allowed to be Johnson’s crew chief until the appeal is heard.

After eight previous punishments, including four suspensions Knaus still continues to push the line and do something that is considered to be cheating in the sport. It’s very obvious that Knaus hasn’t learned his lesson from NASCAR, so now I believe NASCAR should take their punishments to the next level.

A six race suspension for Knaus along with a $100,000 fine and being docked 25 driver’s and owner’s points is a fairly big punishment in the sport. However, I think that NASCAR should have finally put their foot down with Knaus and banned him for the entire season. I think that an entire season’s banishment would finally get it through Knaus’ evidently concrete thick skull that they mean business when it comes to cheating and using illegal parts in the sport.

I’m sure down the line we’ll see Knaus punished once again for stepping over the line, and maybe then NASCAR will finally take the punishment to the next level. But, if I were in charge of the sport Knaus would be packing his bags right now for a very long vacation.  

Why I Don't Like Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue ...

On newsstands now is the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue with the absolutely gorgeous Kate Upton on the cover. Even though looking at Upton in a small bikini is enough to make any straight man happy I’m still not a fan of the SI swimsuit issue. In fact, I’ve long said that I’m probably the only guy in the world who hates Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.

Why? The answer is actually quite simple.

I lose respect for a journalism publication that covers sports all year around, but for one week completely drops sports altogether to show scantily clad women. It doesn’t seem very ethical to me. In fact, it’s simply a ploy to sell as many issues as they can. I get that Sports Illustrated is a business and they are in business to sell as many issues of their magazine as they possibly can (and the swimsuit issue is their biggest selling issue of the year), but the swimsuit issue seems to go against everything that Sports Illustrated should be about, i.e. sports.

It would almost be like Playboy having one issue every year dedicated to sports instead of naked women. It just doesn’t seem right. 

There is no way that Sports Illustrated is ever going to drop the swimsuit issue and every year I’ll have to explain once again why I hate the swimsuit issue. Keep this in mind. Kate Upton is on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Ed Reed has never made the cover. Novak Djokovic has never made the cover. Manny Pacquiao has never made the cover. And the list goes on and on.

2012 Top 10 NASCAR Nationwide Series Prediction

10. Michael Annett
#43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford

9. Brian Scott
#11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

8. Cole Whitt
#88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet

7. Kenny Wallace
#09 RAB Racing Toyota

6. Sam Hornish Jr.
#12 Penske Racing Dodge

5. Trevor Bayne
#16 Roush Racing Ford

4. Justin Allgaier
#31 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet

3. Elliott Sadler
#2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2. Austin Dillon
#3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
#6 Roush Racing Ford

2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Top 10 Predictions

10. Joey Coulter
#22 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

9. Parker Kligerman
#29 Brad Keselowski Racing Dodge

8. Miguel Paludo
#TBD Turner Motorsports Chevrolet

7. Timothy Peters
#17 Red Horse Racing Toyota

6. Nelson Piquet Jr.
#TBD Turner Motorsports Chevrolet

5. Matt Crafton
#88 ThorSport Racing Toyota

4. Ty Dillon
#3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

3. James Buescher
#31 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet

2. Ron Hornaday
#9 Joe Denette Motorsports

1. Johnny Sauter
#13 ThorSport Racing Toyota

Golf is Boring? Then Don't F***ing Watch It (And Leave Me Alone)

While at work yesterday I was attempting to watch as much of Phil Mickelson’s victory at Pebble Beach as I could on a TV that sits on the far side of the room. During the afternoon I was told by three different co-workers how boring the sport was and usually asked, “How can you watch golf?” It’s a statement that I’ve heard and question that I’ve been asked many times in my life, especially in the last few years. Almost every response included the phrase: “I’d rather watch paint dry.” My typical response to that is, “well, than go watch paint dry.”

When someone tells me that golf is boring I always ask them why. They never seem to be able to tell me why they think it’s boring. Most times their answer is the very vague and ignorant, “it just is.” If you can’t tell somebody why you don’t like it or why you find it boring than it generally means that you have zero clue about what you’re talking about.

I happen to find the sport of golf incredibly exciting and it’s frankly hard for me to believe anybody who paid attention to Mickelson’s huge comeback and win yesterday at Pebble Beach could think otherwise. You have your opinions and there perfectly fine with me, but I’m sick of hearing your opinions on how boring this sport that I like is. If you find golf boring than you don’t have to watch it, but don’t act offended by the fact that I do. Once again, that’s very ignorant.   

Vet Blaney Screwed in Favor of New "Golden Girl" Patrick

Last week an alliance was formed between NASCAR Sprint Cup teams Stewart-Haas Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing in which the Stewart-Haas #10 car driven by Danica Patrick, who is set to make her Sprint Cup Series debut in the Daytona 500, purchased the drivers points of Tommy Baldwin’s #36 car driven by Cup Series veteran Dave Blaney. 

This acquisition was key for Patrick and Stewart-Haas Racing as Baldwin’s #36 ride was in the top 35 in points last season and this mean’s Patrick is locked into the Daytona 500 no matter what and doesn’t have to rely on qualifying speed or racing her way into the race via the qualifying races the Thursday before the 500. 

This also means that unfortunately Dave Blaney could be screwed. Blaney did an yeoman’s job last season driving Baldwin’s underfunded car and keeping it in the top 35 in points and now his earned spot in the Daytona 500, the sport’s Super Bowl, has been stripped from him to give the sport’s new “Golden Girl” a free spot in the race. 

Sure, Blaney could very likely still make the Daytona 500 via qualifying speed or the qualifying race, but it’s basically now a crapshoot for him when he previously didn’t have anything to worry about. 

This is how Danica Patrick has always gotten by and it, along with her attitude, is why I’ve never cared for her. She’s always been given stuff because she’s a female, she’s attractive and she’s a sponsor’s dream. Meanwhile, a vet like Blaney who’s never been given anything in the sport and has earned everything is screwed in favor of her. That’s not the way things should work in NASCAR.  That’s not the way things should work in life.