Top Ten: Greatest Baseball Movies of All Time

The other day my coach cancelled practice because of the rain, so I went to see the movie “Mama” with my Aunt. She wanted to get there really early to make sure we could get a good seat. Turns out only four other people were there to watch the 2 o’clock matinee, but during the previews this came on…

That was worth the $11.50 by itself! He needs no introduction, or review… He is a saint.

Jay-Z’s Brooklyn We Go Hard coupled with Branch Ricky’s famous line “I want a player who has the guts not to fight back” literally gave me the chills.

So you get it, my expectations for this movie are through the roof. If it’s anything short of the best baseball movie of all time I will be disappointed. So when I got home from “Mama” with my Aunt (which was ok, kind of jumpy with a weak ending) I immediately created my list of the greatest baseball movies of all time. I took it to practice the next day and asked my teammates for some input. With their help, this is my final standings.

10. The Rookie

-A true story based on a high school teacher/baseball coach whose playing career was cut short from injuries. After healing from his injuries he discovers that he can throw really hard, so his high school baseball team convinces him to sign up for a Major League tryout if they win the state championship. It’s Disneyfied but still a great story.

9. Bull Durham

-Kevin Costner’s second best baseball movie in his career gets knocked because it focuses more on romance than actual baseball. It’s still a great movie and definitely worth seeing.

8. Eight Men Out

-A great movie that tells the story of the 1919 Black Socks scandal. It’s meant for the more sophisticated baseball fan and I would recommend reviewing your baseball history book before you watch it.

7. 61*

-The story of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris chasing Babe Ruth’s single season homerun record. A must see if you haven’t already.

6. Bad News Bears

-The original and the remake are both hilarious movies with great characters and liners. An ultimate classic ranking 6^th shows that baseball movies are the best of any sport films.

5. A League of Their Own

-Tom Hanks is hilarious in a movie about the first female baseball league. A must watch for a good laugh.

4. Field of Dreams

-Kevin Costner is awesome in a classic film about a farmer who hears voices that tell him to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his struggling cornfield. It’s a definite “I can’t believe you haven’t seen that!!” if you haven’t seen it.

3. Moneyball

-Moneyball shows the origin of baseball’s saber metric revolution. The story of portrayed by Brad Pitt will go down as a big moment in baseball history.

2. The Natural

-The scene where Roy Hobbs hits a homerun off the lights, enough said.

1. The Sandlot

-The greatest baseball movie far and away. It portrays baseball at its purist form coupled with a great story line. “You’re killing me smalls”

That’s your competition Harrison Ford, don't screw this up. I will be waiting vehemently until April 12, 2013

Sincerely

-Blake Dale Lepire

Justin Upton, Less Bubble Gum More Tabacco

The Braves and the DBacks recently swapped Justin Upton and Martin Prado in a deal that seems to be a win for both sides. The thing that I couldn’t wrap my brain around is why would Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers be so insistent on trading a five tool player who found his way in the National League MVP discussion two seasons ago at the age of 23? I found my answer in Ken Rosenthal’s report on Fox Sports.

The Diamondbacks want a certain type of player — single-minded, outwardly intense, fierce. Cody Ross is that kind of player. Martin Prado is that kind of player. Upton is not, at least not in the estimation of Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson. "The problem is that he didn’t play with a high level of energy," said one of Upton’s former teammates who spoke on the condition that he would not be identified. "What I think they want is guys who play with the speed, energy and intensity of the Oregon football team — all out, all the time." Justin doesn’t have that kind of attitude; he has a quiet intensity that doesn’t fit the mold of what KT and Gibby seem to want. He plays hard but has to look suave doing it. Slamming into walls isn’t his thing, and they will accept nothing short of all-out sacrifice for the team."

So Upton’s 31 bombs and 20 stolen bases were cool and all but he needed to run into a few more things if he was going to truly embody what the Diamondbacks stand for. A GM is making his job way too difficult if he makes the desired profile of each player too specific. I can understand if Upton was causing chemistry problems in the locker-room, but to ship out one of the greatest young talents in the game because his jersey isn’t dirty enough seems a bit of a stretch. Nothing in the anonymous player’s statement suggests that Upton’s attitude can’t help a team be successful. In a sport like baseball, where the chance of a prospect panning out is much lower than other major sports, I am more of a proponent of molding a style of play around good players, rather than trying to find players to fit into a puzzle.  

I can appreciate players who personify the dirt bag mentality, however, I believe that there are many different types of personalities that can help a team be successful.

The fact of the matter is, Arizona felt the need to trade Justin Upton and assuming Martin Prado fits into their profile, both teams did well.

The logistics of the trade are as follows

Diamondbacks receive Martin Prado as well as seven other prospects from the Braves farm system and sent OF Justin Upton and 3B Chris Johnson to Atlanta.

Martin Prado is a consistent .300 hitter and averages around 180 hits a year. He happens to be one of my favorite players because he is one of the toughest outs in baseball and he has the ability to play multiple positions. 

Martin Prado was in the last year of his contract with Atlanta and they traded him for Justin Upton who still has 3 years on his contract. Upton improves Atlanta’s team speed and power numbers but Prado has the upper advantage on him in the hits and batting average department. However, the best aspect about Upton is that he is only 24 years old and it seems that his best years are still in front of him.

The Braves also improved at third base by adding Chris Johnson who was expendable because the Diamondbacks are reportedly planning on playing the versatile Prado at 3B.

The fact that the Braves were willing to give up seven prospects tells me that none of them are really blue chip guys, but if one or two of them turn out to have solid major league careers the Diamondbacks should be satisfied.

Winner Short Term: Atlanta Braves

-They improved slightly at third base and if Justin Upton stays healthy he could help the Braves pass the preseason favorite Washington Nationals.

Winner Long Term: Atlanta Braves

-Although Martin Prado is a really really really good player, and his hardnosed mentality may be what Kevin Towers is looking for, Justin Upton has more All Star seasons left in his career than Prado does

-Blake Dale Lepire

MPH Equivalency Chart

Recently my college coach asked me to calculate this for him and I figure it could help the coaches out there get their hitters ready for game day. Enjoy!

MPH Equivalency Chart

Assumptions: A pitcher throws off a mound that is 60.5 feet away from home plate, but after the pitchers stride the ball is released at 55 feet. Therefore, the “equivalency” section is the MPH when the time of a ball thrown from 55 feet crosses the plate and the time a pitch from the “controlled distance” is the same.

MPH = Miles/Hours     MPH = (x/5280)/(y/3600)      

x=Feet      y= Seconds

MPH	Distance	Equivalency
69 mph	40 feet	95 mph
68 mph	40 feet	93.5 mph
67 mph	40 feet	92.1 mph
66 mph	40 feet	90.8 mph
65.45 mph	40 feet	90 mph
65 mph	40 feet	89.4 mph
64 mph	40 feet	88 mph
63 mph	40 feet	86.8 mph
62 mph	40 feet	85.3 mph

·      

      The equivalency mph from 55 feet increases by about 1.55 mph for every one mph increase from a throw from 35 feet. Equivalency mph is rounded off to the nearest tenth.

MPH	Distance	Equivalency
61 mph	35 feet	95.9 mph
60 mph	35 feet	94.3 mph
59 mph	35 feet	92.7 mph
58 mph	35 feet	91.2 mph
57.27 mph	35 feet	90 mph
57 mph	35 feet	89.6 mph
56 mph	35 feet	88 mph
55 mph	35 feet	86.5 mph
54 mph	35 feet	84.9 mph

·      The equivalency mph from 55 feet increases by about 1.4 for every one mph increase from a throw from 35 feet. Equivalency mph is rounded off to the nearest tenth.

Between 54-69 MPH on average moving back 5 feet makes a 12.1 mph difference

The range is from 10.7 mph to 13.4 mph, the difference increasing by .155 for every one mph harder

*Any error is due to round off

-Blake Dale Lepire