The crack of the bat. The roar of the crowd. The smell of ballpark franks, and we’re not just talking of the Thomas variety. At Rotten Tomatoes, we’ve cleared the benches and rushed the field with the best-reviewed baseball movies of all time!
From sentimental favorites (Field of Dreams, The Natural) to inside documentaries (The Battered Bastards) to wild comedies (The Sandlot, A League of Their Own) we’ve got a murderer’s row of heavy hitters. And because we know baseball fans trend towards being stat geeks, here’s ours: We listed Certified Fresh films first, which includes sports classics like Bull Durham and Moneyball. That’s followed by Fresh films like The Bad News Bears, and Rotten movies after that (with quite a few featuring positive Audience Scores, including For Love of the Game, Hardball, and The Benchwarmers.
Most recently: We added The League, the documentary tribute to the Negro League’s journey and legacy.
Batter up! It’s time to go to bat with the best baseball movies ever!
#1
Adjusted Score: 99122%
Critics Consensus: Essential viewing for baseball fans and just as captivating for the uninitiated, Facing Nolan pays persuasive tribute to one of the sport’s greatest characters.
#2
Adjusted Score: 101574%
Critics Consensus: Kevin Costner is at his funniest and most charismatic in Bull Durham, a film that’s as wise about relationships as it is about minor league baseball.
#3
Adjusted Score: 98999%
Critics Consensus: The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is an affectionate, often very funny portrait of a baseball pioneer.
#4
Adjusted Score: 104101%
Critics Consensus: Director Bennett Miller, along with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, take a niche subject and turn it into a sharp, funny, and touching portrait worthy of baseball lore.
#5
Adjusted Score: 96796%
Critics Consensus: Sugar is an exceptionally-crafted film — part sports flick, part immigrant tale — with touching and poignant drama highlighted by splendid performances.
#6
Adjusted Score: 92994%
Critics Consensus: You don’t have to be a baseball fan to be entertained by the absurdities, obsessions, and greed on display in this documentary.
Starring:
#7
Adjusted Score: 92507%
Critics Consensus: Field of Dreams is sentimental, but in the best way; it’s a mix of fairy tale, baseball, and family togetherness.
#8
Adjusted Score: 96255%
Critics Consensus: Nostalgic in the best sense, Everybody Wants Some!! finds Richard Linklater ambling through the past with a talented cast, a sweetly meandering story, and a killer classic rock soundtrack.
#9
Adjusted Score: 90103%
Critics Consensus: Perhaps less than absorbing for non-baseball fans, but nevertheless underpinned by strong performances from the cast and John Sayles’ solid direction.
#10
Adjusted Score: 88631%
Critics Consensus: A heart-warming sports flick, The Rookie greatly benefits from understated direction and the emotional honesty Dennis Quaid brings to the role of Jim Morris.
#11
Adjusted Score: 85516%
Critics Consensus: Though heavy with sentiment, The Natural is an irresistible classic, and a sincere testament to America’s national pastime.
#12
Adjusted Score: 85391%
Critics Consensus: Major League may be predictable and formulaic, but buoyed by the script’s light, silly humor — not to mention the well-built sports action sequences and funny performances.
#13
Adjusted Score: 88312%
Critics Consensus: 42 is an earnest, inspirational, and respectfully told biography of an influential American sports icon, though it might be a little too safe and old-fashioned for some.
#14
Adjusted Score: 86820%
Critics Consensus: Sentimental and light, but still thoroughly charming, A League of Their Own is buoyed by solid performances from a wonderful cast.
#15
Adjusted Score: 80818%
Critics Consensus: Powerfully acted and emotionally affecting, The Phenom proves a baseball movie can step away from the mound and still deliver a heater down the middle.
#16
Adjusted Score: 95945%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#17
Adjusted Score: 99690%
Critics Consensus: The Bad News Bears is rude, profane, and cynical, but shot through with honest, unforced humor, and held together by a deft, understated performance from Walter Matthau.
#18
Adjusted Score: 97378%
Critics Consensus: While taking full advantage of its subject’s colorful baseball career, No No: A Dockumentary also imparts broader, thought-provoking messages that should resonate with viewers who aren’t sports fans.
#19
Adjusted Score: 97151%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#21
Adjusted Score: 67514%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#22
Adjusted Score: 92732%
Critics Consensus: Bang the Drum Slowly is a touching melodrama that explores the inner workings of a baseball club and its players’ personalities with remarkable depth.
#23
Adjusted Score: 90200%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#24
Adjusted Score: 76201%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#25
Adjusted Score: 89493%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#26
Adjusted Score: 86194%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#27
Adjusted Score: 86222%
Critics Consensus: Gripping and surprisingly nuanced, Ballplayer: Pelotero is a frank exploration of the nature of corruption in baseball recruitment.
#28
Adjusted Score: 88327%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#29
Adjusted Score: 84893%
Critics Consensus: Based on the true story of troubled baseball star Jimmy Piersall, Fear Strikes Out is an emotionally compelling drama featuring excellent performances from Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden.
#30
Adjusted Score: 81657%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#31
Adjusted Score: 23987%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#32
Adjusted Score: 79360%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#33
Adjusted Score: 36896%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Starring:
#34
Adjusted Score: 66780%
Critics Consensus: Nick Nolte shines in his role as an irascible high school umpire, imbuing this indie coming-of-age dramedy with heft and true-to-life warmth.
#35
Adjusted Score: 72100%
Critics Consensus: While not a home run, Fever Pitch has enough charm and on-screen chemistry between the two leads to make it a solid hit.
#36
Adjusted Score: 65808%
Critics Consensus: Tommy Lee Jones’s searing performance helps to elevate Cobb above your typical sports biopic; he’s so effective, in fact, that some may find the film unpleasant.
#37
Adjusted Score: 69416%
Critics Consensus: Pleasant to a fault, Million Dollar Arm is a middle-of-the-plate pitch that coasts on Jon Hamm’s considerable charm without adding any truly original curves to Disney’s inspirational sports formula.
#38
Adjusted Score: 69259%
Critics Consensus: It may be shamelessly derivative and overly nostalgic, but The Sandlot is nevertheless a genuinely sweet and funny coming-of-age adventure.
#39
Adjusted Score: 64132%
Critics Consensus: The Broken Hearts Club often feels like an amalgam of 70s sitcoms — though a hunky lead and a sweet central romance provide soapy delights.
#40
Adjusted Score: 58469%
Critics Consensus: Bernie Mac demonstrates he can play the game even if the movie’s a few innings short of a complete game.
#41
Adjusted Score: 58957%
Critics Consensus: Though predictable and somewhat dramatically underwhelming, Trouble with the Curve benefits from Clint Eastwood’s grizzled charisma and his easy chemistry with a charming Amy Adams.
#42
Adjusted Score: 20184%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#43
Adjusted Score: 53771%
Critics Consensus: This too-faithful remake aims low for laughs, turning off the easily offendable; despite another lovably irascible contribution by Thornton, it lacks the ensemble strength and originality of the 1976 version.
#44
Adjusted Score: 47428%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#45
Adjusted Score: 49337%
Critics Consensus: Baseball wins, romance loses.
#46
Adjusted Score: 43793%
Critics Consensus: Everyone’s Hero is such a predictable and bland tale that it’ll appeal mostly to little kids; others seeking something in Pixar’s league are looking in the wrong ballpark.
#47
Adjusted Score: 44887%
Critics Consensus: Although Hardball contains some touching moments, they are not enough to transcend the sports formula.
#48
Adjusted Score: 42870%
Critics Consensus: Baseketball isn’t just a succession of fouls thanks to the comedic zip of David Zucker’s direction, but sophomoric gags and a lack of performance hustle by Trey Parker and Matt Stone makes this satire a clumsy bunt.
#49
Adjusted Score: 38841%
Critics Consensus: Rookie of the Year gets some laughs from its novel premise, but a high strikeout rate on jokes and sentimental fouls keeps this comedy firmly in the minor leagues.
#50
Adjusted Score: 35973%
Critics Consensus: With Richard Pryor’s trademark ribald humor tamped down, Brewster’s Millions feels like a missed opportunity to update a classic story.
#51
Adjusted Score: 35309%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#52
Adjusted Score: 33227%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#53
Adjusted Score: 12573%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#54
Adjusted Score: 32909%
Critics Consensus: A queasy mishmash of poignant drama and slapstick fantasy, Angels in the Outfield strikes out as worthy family entertainment.
#55
Adjusted Score: 28704%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#56
Adjusted Score: 16418%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#57
Adjusted Score: 26159%
Critics Consensus: The Final Season recycles clichés we’ve seen in countless other sports movies, making for an unoriginal and uninspiring addition to the genre.
#58
Adjusted Score: 16124%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#59
Adjusted Score: 15487%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#60
Adjusted Score: 14874%
Critics Consensus: A gross-out comedy that is more sophomoric than funny, The Benchwarmers goes down swinging.
#61
Adjusted Score: 8011%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#62
Adjusted Score: 10867%
Critics Consensus: A cliched and predictable sports comedy that’s mostly devoid of excitement or laughs, Summer Catch is strictly bush-league.
#63
Adjusted Score: 6609%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#64
Adjusted Score: 5432%
Critics Consensus: Striking out on every joke, Major League II is a lazy sequel that belongs on the bench.
#65
Adjusted Score: 28%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.