‘Bull Durham’ Strikes Out

With all the hype about “Bull Durham,” how about a dissenting opinion (“An Outta-the-Ballpark look at Baseball,” by Nancy Mills and Patrick Goldstein)?

The film purports to be about minor league baseball, but it seems to be as much about sex. A wonderful lesson for young people aspiring to a sports career!

As for glitches in the movie, consider these: Susan Sarandon is supposed to be a college English teacher, but you never see her even near a classroom. All she does is spout a few lines of Walt Whitman to show her erudition. Most of her days seem to be spent either at the ballpark or in bed.

Even though Tim Robbins as the schlemiel pitcher walks batters, allows home runs and base hits, he is never pulled from the game. Apparently, the Durham Bulls have only one pitcher.

Near the end of the film, Kevin Costner, the experienced catcher who has a phenomenal season, is given his release in order to bring up an unknown rookie. Does this make any sense?

Next time let’s have a major league baseball flick, not a minor league one.

NICK NEWTON

Laguna Hills