Game-changing baseball movies
The players: Chadwick Boseman stars as Jackie Robinson and Harrison Ford plays Branch Rickey, the Dodgers general manager who signed the baseball player to the team. Rickey’s great-granddaughter, Kelley Jakle, also has a small role in the film. | How it changed the game: Robinson, who wore number 42, is universally revered for breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947.
(Warner Bros.)The players: An ailing baseball scout (Clint Eastwood) takes his last recruiting trip with his estranged daughter, Mickey, (Amy Adams) acting as his eyes. The pair cross paths with Johnny (Justin Timberlake), a scout from another team and former player Gus once scouted, who catches Mickey’s attention. | How it changed the game: Eastwood returned from semi-retirement to star in his first-ever baseball movie. The Oscar-winner initially said the 2008 film “Gran Torino” would be his final acting role, although he would continue to direct.
(Warner Bros.)The players:
The players:
The players: Kevin Costner as the minor-league lifer Crash, Susan Sarandon as baseball groupie Annie and Tim Robbins as the next big thing, Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh. How it changed the game: No more Mr. Nice Guys here. “Bull Durham” showed a crueler side of the sport by focusing on the very un-romantic minor leagues.
(Orion Pictures)The players:
The players:
The players:
The players:
The players:
The players: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, left, Milton Davis Jr. and
The players: