Major League

Major League. 1989 Paramount Pictures.
Starring: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, Chelcie Ross, Dennis Haysbert, Margaret Whitton, James Gammon, Bob Uecker
Director: David S. Ward
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Filmed and released during the twilight of the Cleveland Indians' long period of futility, Major League is definitely one of the better baseball movies. Within five years of the film's release, the real life Indians became genuine pennant contenders.

Rachel Phelps (Whitton) has inherited the Cleveland Indians from her husband who died during the offseason. She already has major plans for the team: moving them to Miami as quickly as possible. To do this, she has to ensure that the attendance at Cleveland Municipal Stadium ("The MISTAKE by the LAKE!!") dips below 800,000 ticket sales, which would void the team's lease with the city. Rachel instructs her new GM Charlie Donovan (Charles Cyphers) to stock the team with the worst players available (with a list she personally compiled):

* Veteran catcher Jake Taylor (Berenger), who is old and out of shape. He's also still in love with his former flame Lynn (Russo), who is engaged to someone else, but that doesn't stop Jake from trying to win her back.
* Incarcerated picture Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn (Sheen), who has a lot of speed, but hardly any control. A simple remedy fixes that.
* Willie "Mays" Hayes (Snipes), a cocky and speedy outfielder who waltzes into training camp and makes the team despite not having been invited.
* Right fielder Pedro Cerrano (Haysbert), who can easily hit fastballs out of the park, but anything else is a guaranteed strike. He experiments with voodoo to help him hit curve balls.
* Veteran pitcher Eddie Harris (Ross), whose arm isn't as good as it once was, forcing him to doctor his pitches.
* Third baseman Roger Dorn (Bernsen), who is already under contract, but he's a high-priced prima donna, who gets into a long feud with Vaughn during spring training.
* Manager Lou Brown (Gammon), who is a tire salesman who spent several years in the minor leagues managing the Toledo Mud Hens.

This is your starting lineup for your 1989 Cleveland Indians. After a fairly lousy spring training, the season starts even worse, with Vaughn's control issues being a major issue until someone discovers that he just needs eyeglasses. Eventually, the Indians make it up to .400, so Rachel starts trying to personally sabotage the team's morale by taking away luxuries they have access to. Manager Brown has a simple tool of motivation to get the team to win: a cardboard cutout of Rachel from her showgirl days, which has a dress that has a piece cut away for every game the Indians win.

Our boys manage to tie the Yankees for first place at the end of the season, which means they need to play a one-game playoff to win the division. Before that game, Jake and Lynn spend the night together, while a vastly improved Vaughn drowns his sorrows in a bar after finding out he will not be the starting pitcher. He ends up sleeping with Dorn's wife Suzanne (Stacy Carroll) at her invitation, after she saw Roger enter a hotel with another woman during a TV broadcast. Can the Indians make it to the American League playoffs despite their internal problems?

Highly recommended movie.