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Major League
When Rachel Phelps inherits the Cleveland Indians from her deceased husband, she's determined to move the team to a warmer climate—but only a losing season will make that possible, which should be easy given the misfits she's hired. Rachel is sure her dream will come true, but she underestimates their will to succeed.
1989 · Directed by David S. Ward · 107 min · Comedy · Screenplay in the scene database · 12 frames
Tagline
A comedy with bats and balls.
Plot
Former Las Vegas showgirl Rachel Phelps inherits the struggling Cleveland Indians baseball team from her deceased husband. She intends to move the team to Miami by exploiting an escape clause in their contract with the city of Cleveland: if their season attendance falls below a certain number, she can terminate the lease and move the team. In an act of sabotage, she plans to create the worst team in the major leagues, instructing team executives to cut the current players from the roster and replace them with rookies and washed-up veterans. She starts by hiring Lou Brown, 30-year manager of the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.
Spring training begins in Tucson, Arizona, with Phelps' list of players likely to fail: Jake Taylor, a former all-star catcher with bad knees; veteran third baseman Roger Dorn, a prima donna more concerned with his financial portfolio than playing good baseball; aging starting pitcher Eddie Harris, who has resorted to doctoring the baseball; outfielder Pedro Cerrano, a voodoo-practicing power slugger who has trouble hitting breaking balls; speedy outfielder Willie Mays Hayes, who can steal bases but is a terrible hitter; and rookie pitcher Ricky Vaughn, an ex-con who has a 100-mile-per-hour (160 km/h) fastball but no control, earning him the nickname "Wild Thing."
The players struggle to come together as a team, with a feud developing between Dorn and Vaughn. They discover that Vaughn suffers from poor eyesight, which explains his lack of control, and once fitted with glasses, he becomes a dominant pitcher. Team morale and performance improve, so Phelps cancels several amenities, such as downgrading the team's private jet to a run-down bus, but they continue to build on their strengths. Meanwhile, Taylor reconnects with his old girlfriend Lynn and tries to rekindle their relationship, even though she is engaged to another man.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Written by: David S. Ward
- Cinematography: Reynaldo Villalobos
- Edited by: Dennis M. Hill, Tony Lombardo
- Music: James Newton Howard
- Production design: Jeffrey Howard
- Produced by: Chris Chesser, Irby Smith
Cast
- Tom Berenger as Jake Taylor
- Charlie Sheen as Rick Vaughn
- Corbin Bernsen as Roger Dorn
- Margaret Whitton as Rachel Phelps
- James Gammon as Lou Brown
- Rene Russo as Lynn Wells
- Wesley Snipes as Willie Mays Hayes
- Charles Cyphers as Charlie Donovan
- Chelcie Ross as Eddie Harris
- Dennis Haysbert as Pedro Cerrano
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Mirage Enterprises, Morgan Creek Entertainment
- Budget: $11,000,000
- Box office: $75,000,000
- Themes: sports, baseball, sabotage, sombrero, baseball field, hard hat, professional sports, comic strip, hot dog, voodoo ritual
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