Rookie of the Year

directed by Daniel Stern
Category: "Sports"
Year of Release:1993
Date Added:04/15/2009
Date Watched:04/15/2009
Description:Henry Rowengartner is a clumsy kid who lives with his single mother, likes baseball and hanging with his friends. He trips on a baseball and has to spend four months with his arm in a cast. When the cast is removed, Henry discovers that he can throw a baseball at over 100 mph. The hapless Cubs find out about him and sign him to a contract. Chet Steadman (Gary Busey), the star pitcher whose best days are behind him, befriends Henry.

Henry's heroics put the Cubs in the pennant race. The general manager of the team conspires with Henry's mom's boyfriend to sell Henry to the Yankees. When Henry and his mom find out about this, Henry decides he want to be a kid for a while longer. He pitches one last game for the Cubs. In the ninth inning, he falls and looses his throwing ability. With a variety of tricks (all of them stupid and some of them against the rules of baseball), he manages to get the last three batters out to put the Cubs in the series. At the end of the movie, Henry's back with his friends in Little League and Chet is his manager (and stepdad?)
My Rating:5

Reviews for Rookie of the Year

Review - Rookie of the Year

It would have been more bearable if any of the actors in the movie could have even pretended to know what they were doing on a baseball diamond. The movie was filmed at Wrigley, but obviously off-season because whenever anybody spoke, steam came out of their mouths. I'm somewhat surprised the Cubs allowed the movie because it certainly made the entire organization look like total idiots — just a bit too close to reality for comfort.

Reviewed by Roger on 2009-04-15 20:21:32

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