Released 27 years ago, Major League still holds up as the best sports movie ever.

Anyone who has attended a baseball game at any level, from pee wee to MLB, hears a line of dialogue from Major League while sitting in the stands.

Harry Doyle: Juuust a bit outside.

Harry Doyle: Monte, anything to add?
Monte: Uh, no.
Harry Doyle: He's not the best colorman in the league for nothing.

Harry Doyle: Heywood leads the league in most offensive categories, including nose hair. When this guy sneezes, he looks like a party favor.

Lou Brown: Forget about the curve ball Ricky, give him the heater.

Heywood: How's your wife and my kids?

Rick Vaughn: You put snot on the ball?                 Eddie Harris: I haven't got an arm like you, kid. I have to put anything on it I can find. Someday you will too.

Roger Dorn: Let's cut through the crap, Vaughn. I only got one thing to say to you: "Strike this &%^&#* #@*$&^% out."

 

I could list fifty more, but you get the point. It's not only a timeless sports movie, it's one of the greatest comedies of all-time.

Most sports movies of the 80s and 90s used a similar formula. A rag-tag group of underdogs from different backgrounds who are expected to lose come together as a team to overcome incredible odds.

Harry Doyle bobblehead
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It's the same plot of hundreds of sports movies, but Major League tells the story better than anyone.

The cast is phenomenal. A young Charlie Sheen throwing 90 mph fastballs. Tom Berenger in his prime. Wesley Snipes' breakout role. Dennis Haysbert (the man in the All State commercials) and Jobu. A young and beautiful Rene Russo. The graspy voiced manager played by the late great James Gannon. Corbin Bernsen giving the perfect amount of @$$hole to a self-entitled player who is past his prime but eventually sees the err of his ways. And of course, real life play-by-play announcer Bob Uecker as play-by-play man Harry Doyle generates the best laughs of the movie. (Where can I get one of those Harry Doyle bobbleheads. I need it in my life.)

Perhaps the most underappreciated part of Major League is the actual baseball. Some actors can't pull off playing a sport well, while some directors can't bring a realistic feel of a game to the silver screen. Not the case in Major League, where the baseball never feels fake. Check out the dramatic final scene when the Indians win the pennant.

Yesterday on the ESPN1420 airwaves, Cody Junot and I shared our favorite sports movies, while listeners chimed in on the phone lines and social media to share their own.

While a lot of the typical sports classics were mentioned, I noticed a common theme. For many of us, our favorite sports movie is one from our childhood. I watched Major League a ton as a kid. Cody chose The Sandlot, an excellent selection.

What's your favorite sports movie of all-time? Vote in our poll and let us know.

 

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