Just as Robert De Niro’s film career was taking off, one early critical success that he had was the 1973 sports drama “Bang the Drum Slowly.” De Niro plays major league catcher Bruce Pearson, who is ridiculed by his teammates for his low intellectual prowess. Pearson befriends the team’s star pitcher Henry Wiggen (Michael Moriarty), later confiding in him that he has received a terminal cancer diagnosis. Wiggen and Pearson keep this a secret from the rest of the team as their friendship deepens in the face of Pearson’s impending demise.

Given its subject matter, “Bang the Drum Slowly” feels like a spiritual successor to the 1971 television movie “Brian’s Song,” albeit under a different sport. The camaraderie between Wiggen and Pearson is the emotional core of the movie and De Niro and Moriarty play that deep friendship well. This keeps the movie from veering into outright melodrama, with a surprising amount of humor present throughout the story. A strong early cinematic performance from De Niro, “Bang the Drum Slowly” blends comedy and tragedy to great effect.

Any sporting organization is going to see its fair share of misfits and this is especially true of minor league baseball leagues. The 2014 Netflix original documentary “The Battered Bastards of Baseball” chronicles the Portland Mavericks, a minor league team unaffiliated with any parent team from the major leagues. Recounting the rebellious outfit’s heyday from 1973 to 1977, the team becomes an endearing underdog squad owned by actor Bing Russell. The documentary also reveals how a brutal injury forced Kurt Russell (seen above) to start acting full-time, after his own stint playing for the team.

“The Battered Bastards of Baseball” stands as a great true underdog story, one that shines a light on an obscure part of the Russell family history. The major leagues weren’t overly fond of the devil-may-care indie team, with the documentary showing how they dealt with that adversity head-on. Of course, there’s plenty of freewheeling fun along the way, as the Mavericks enjoy the baseball lifestyle by their own rules. A fantastic documentary, “The Battered Bastards of Baseball” is interestingly the only Kurt Russell movie that has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score.

After helming the seminal ’90s coming-of-age movie “Dazed and Confused,” filmmaker Richard Linklater returned to the genre with 2016’s “Everybody Wants Some!!” This time, Linklater focused on college baseball players at Texas school in 1980 who arrive before classes for training camp. Freshman pitcher Jake Bradford (Blake Jenner) moves into the team’s house off-campus where he is greeted by a whirlwind of drunken parties. Between the string of shindigs and baseball practice, Jake finds time to romance his classmate Beverly (Zoey Deutch) as he finds himself in the college scene.

There’s a playfulness to “Everybody Wants Some!!,” with Linklater evoking a debauched college environment through youthful eyes. Baseball is the thing that brings these seemingly disparate kids together, and it’s clear that they still love playing it. And long before he became America’s latest heartthrob, this stands as one of Glen Powell’s best movies to date, with Powell playing the irascible upperclassman Finnegan. A feel-good movie about a bunch of college rascals, “Everybody Wants Some!!” brings some mischievous fun to college baseball.

One incident that haunted professional baseball for decades is the 1919 Black Sox Scandal that saw eight White Sox players collude with gamblers to intentionally throw the World Series. When the conspiracy was exposed the following year, the players involved were banned from baseball for the rest of their lives. This historical event is dramatized in the 1988 sports movie “Eight Men Out,” written and directed by filmmaker John Sayles. The movie delves into the motivations behind the players involved in the championship game fixing, including their animosity against the team’s manipulative owner Charles Comiskey (Clifton James).

A more intimate look at a young impressionable team at a moral crossroads, “Eight Men Out” is elevated by its cast. John Cusack and David Strathairn give earnest performances as the wide-eyed Buck Weaver and the jaded Eddie Cicotte, respectively, two players caught up in the fix. Given the subject matter, the movie makes for a great unintentional companion piece to “Field of Dreams,” which deals with the scandal’s emotional fallout. A labor of love for the major creative parties involved, “Eight Men Out” provides a clear-eyed look at one of the sports’ most controversial moments.

Before he was the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Panther, the late Chadwick Boseman first turned heads in Hollywood with his portrayal of Jackie Robinson in “42.” The depicts Robinson being recruited by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the ’40s, officially starting with the team in 1947 and breaking up the league’s strict racial segregation. Robinson faces aggressive persecution every step of the way, with Dodgers’ owner Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) reminding him his detractors are trying to provoke a response. Robinson’s enduring dignity and excellence on the field not only inspires his team but leads to the wider desegregation of the league.

Written and directed by filmmaker Brian Helgeland, “42” is a sports biopic that showcases how brave and noble Robinson was in the face of constant adversity. Though the movie doesn’t throw any major curveballs from the established genre formula, it incorporates them with a well-honed approach. A relative unknown at the time, Boseman makes the Robinson all his own, capturing the humanity within the iconic historical figure. A well-crafted biopic that marries its historical story with gripping sports scenes, “42” was an early sign of great things to come from Boseman.

With so many professional athletes serving in the military during World War II, organizations like the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League kept the sport alive in the United States. The 1992 dramedy “A League of Their Own” explores this overlooked aspect of baseball history, chronicling the league’s formation and following the saga of the Rockford Peaches. Married softball player Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and her sister Kit (Lori Petty) are recruited, with Dottie playing with boozy manager Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks). A growing rivalry between Dottie and Kit culminates in their teams facing off in the league’s World Series.

While led by Davis and Hanks, what makes “A League of Their Own” work is that it’s a true ensemble effort, with everyone as the hero of their own story. The movie thoroughly embraces its period piece setting, fueled by sentimentality and a constant light-hearted charm. Two short-lived television adaptations of the movie have since been attempted, airing in 1993 and 2020 respectively. But at the end of the day, “A League of Their Own” is the ultimate sports movie, something its television spin-offs never quite recaptured.

By the ’70s, Walter Matthau had become America’s favorite cinematic curmudgeon, starring in hit moves like “The Odd Couple” and “Kotch.” The perfect showcase for Matthau’s crowd-pleasing blend of grumpy and heartwarming qualities is in the original 1976 version of “The Bad New Bears.” Matthau stars as alcoholic former minor league pitcher Morris Buttermaker, who accepts a secret cash offer to coach a wealthy parent’s little league team. Buttermaker grows to begrudgingly appreciate his impressionable squad, especially his former protege and surrogate daughter figure Amanda Whurlitzer (Tatum O’Neal), the team’s star pitcher.

Just like Matthau’s character, there is a lot of heart to “The Bad News Bears” once you get past its comedically gruff exterior. O’Neal more than holds her own against Matthau as the profane Amanda, with their rapport carrying the movie. But beyond the laughs, the film is also an indictment of how much competitive parents push their children in something as seemingly escapist as little league sports. Lovingly acerbic, “The Bad News Bears” masterfully balances being simultaneously vulgar and sweet as it skewers little league baseball.

One of the biggest legends in the New York Yankees’ golden era in the 1920s and 1930s was first baseman Lou Gehrig. Gehrig voluntarily retired at the age of 36 after he was diagnosed with what has become known as ALS, dying just two years later. The life and times of Gehrig were dramatized for the 1942 movie “The Pride of the Yankees,” with Gary Cooper playing the athlete. Several of Gehrig’s Yankees teammates appear in the movie as themselves, most notably Babe Ruth, who had been retired as a player for several years.

There were sports movies before “The Pride of the Yankees,” but none that got even close to the level of quality as the baseball biopic. The movie transcends the sport to focus on the man who became an indelible part of the Yankees’ legacy, from his romance with his wife to his life-ending tragedy. That movie actually features Gehrig’s peers playing themselves is just icing on the cake of authenticity. Gary Cooper’s genre-defining sports movie set the template for sports biopics to come and still holds up over 80 years later.

If “The Bad News Bears” takes a hilariously politically incorrect and profane look at baseball for little leaguers, “Major League” does it for the pros. The 1989 sports comedy has the Cleveland Indians’ new owner (Margaret Whitton) plan to deliberately sabotage the team, so she can exploit an escape clause to relocate it to Miami. This scheme involves assembling a roster of rookies and washed-up veterans to tank the team’s performance and cause audience attendance to plummet. Once the team realizes that they’re being played, they band together to begin winning and drive attendance up to thwart these plans.

Just like their characters, the ensemble cast to “Major League” doesn’t feel like it could gel at first, until everything clicks into place and the movie starts firing on all cylinders. While leads Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen are both solid, it’s the late, great Bob Uecker as the team’s surly announcer that steals the show. The movie’s baseball sequences are also engagingly staged, giving a real sense of stakes. Launching its own trilogy, “Major League” is still one of the best sports comedies around.

A lot of enduring love for baseball comes from that initial sense of childhood wonder as people are first introduced to the sport, either as players or spectators. One movie that celebrates that distinction particularly well is the 1993 coming-of-age comedy “The Sandlot,” directed, co-written, and narrated by David Mickey Evans. Set in the summer of 1962, the movie follows introverted Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) as he moves with his family to Southern California. Scotty befriends the local kids and joins their pickup baseball games, leading to misadventures that change their lives forever.

There’s an innocent charm to “The Sandlot” that continues to hold up over 30 years after its initial release. The ensemble cast gels well together, ribbing and supporting each other in equal measure, and the movie captures a point in life when everything just felt bigger. This is evidenced in larger-than-life vignettes, including a memorable Independence Day game and the climactic attempt to retrieve a priceless baseball. Easily one of the best ’90s kids movies, regardless of sports connection, “The Sandlot” is an enduring classic.

Filmmaker Ron Shelton launched a career of successful sports movies starting with 1988’s “Bull Durham,” which was also his first collaboration with Kevin Costner. Costner plays veteran minor league catcher Crash Davis who mentors his team’s hotshot new pitcher Nuke Laloosh (Tim Robbins). As Crash shows Nuke the ropes, both men enter a flirtatious relationship with local baseball groupie Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) who takes Nuke under her wing in her own way. As Nuke prepares to transition to the majors based on Crash’s tutelage, Annie and Crash decide to strike up a romance of their own.

“Bull Durham” endured quite the road to get made with the movie rejected by nearly every studio as it made the rounds in the ’80s. On paper, that trepidation makes sense, given its uneven blend of comedy, drama, and romance, but the end result balances those elements seamlessly. It’s also worth mentioning that “Bull Durham” is a deceptively erotic movie, with Susan Sarandon’s performance scarring her children at a later screening. Sensuality aside, “Bull Durham” is a superbly crafted dramedy that explores coming-of-age at multiple ages against the backdrop of minor league baseball.

There are plenty of movies that center around playing or coaching baseball, but 2011’s “Moneyball” is a film about managing baseball. Based on the 2003 book by Michael Lewis, the movie details how the Oakland Athletics fielded a competitive team despite its limited financial resources. Frustrated general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) recruits advisor Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), using Brand’s sabermetric analysis to build the Athletics’ roster. Though baseball purists balk at the strategy and prepare to crucify Beane for ditching the sport’s traditions, the unlikely squad begins to steadily win.

Brad Pitt single-handedly saved “Moneyball,” in more ways than one, with Beane progressing from a cynic over the sport to someone who has their love of it reignited. But the movie is also sharply written and staged, with a memorable score composed by Mychael Danna that soars as the Athletics reverse their fortunes. The change of perspective makes the movie feel fresh too, exploring Beane’s management style, including how he works with the team and its manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman). As inspiring as the true story behind it, “Moneyball” takes familiar baseball movie elements and breathes new life into them.

The 1982 novel “Shoeless Joe” by W.P. Kinsella was adapted into the hit sports fantasy “Field of Dreams” in 1988, written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson. Kevin Costner stars as Ray Kinsella, who lives on a struggling corn farm with his wife Annie (Amy Madigan) and their young daughter. As Ray remains haunted by his estranged relationship with his late father, he is urged by a strange voice in the cornfield to build a baseball field. Upon doing so, he is visited by the ghosts of classic baseball players, led by Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), leading to a cross-country adventure.

All of “Field of Dreams” hinges on a leap of faith, defying all logic in an emotionally healing fantasy story. Baseball is what brings everyone in the movie together, including and especially fathers and sons, but a happy ending here never revolves around a game. Instead, this is a story about reconciliation and second chances, something that the magic of baseball can provide. A project that affected its cast as they knew it was going to be a classic, “Field of Dreams” celebrates baseball marking the time on a broader and intimate level.

If there’s one movie that captures the timeless magic of baseball and still continues to inspire beyond its established sports formula, it’s “The Natural.” An adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s 1952 novel of the same name, the 1984 movie stars Robert Redford as baseball prodigy Roy Hobbs in the early 20th century. After enduring a grievous wound at the start of his career, Hobbs returns to the game 16 years later, no less gifted even as an older man. The fate of the team hinges on Hobbs’ performance as the team’s shady owner (Robert Prosky) looks to gain full control if they fail to win the pennant.

From its soaring score composed by Randy Newman to an all-around stellar ensemble cast around Redford, every element in “The Natural” works perfectly. Without being an outright fantasy story, the movie is cinematic myth-making cementing Roy Hobbs as the greatest to ever play the game, despite his life-threatening wounds. Anchoring the whole thing is an earnestly heartfelt performance from its star, with “The Natural” as one of Robert Redford’s best movies. A dream-like quality that enhances the story’s many magical moments, “The Natural” is pure sports movie bliss that beautifully celebrates the legacy and love of baseball.