Top of the Fourth
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
In baseball, there are blocks of time during a game that are uneventful. And in this case, the third inning didn’t see anything particularly out of the ordinary and, as a result, we will continue on to the fourth inning.
Lou Gehrig’s “Farewell to Baseball Address” is one of the most famous, if not the most famous, speeches given by an athlete in sports history. According to the second video below, he learned that he was diagnosed with the disease ALS. It would later become known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Subsequently, the Yankee slugger learned he had just three years to live as a result. About a month and a half later, on July 4, 1939, Gehrig stood before a stand of microphones at or around home plate and gave an emotional speech that continues to inspire more than seven decades later. Fittingly, the Yankee organization declared it, “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day.” They scheduled the event upon first hearing of his news. The most famous line is considered to be, “Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.”
The major motion picture, “Pride of the Yankees” includes this very address. Below is the scene, as well as footage from the actual ceremony.
Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Bottom of the Second
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
Kevin Costner is one of the few actors who warrants a “must see” quality about his films. His movies range from investigating the assassination of JFK to being hired as the bodyguard to a pop sensation to some dancing with wolves… lots of ‘dancing’ (in fact, 4 hours worth!). Plus, we cannot forget about his Apple commercial. Like the product, pure genius.
Any great collection of baseball movies and classic scenes has to star Kevin Costner at least once.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the incomparable Kevin Costner…or should I say “Crash” Davis.
Top of the Second
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
In the game of baseball, there are teams that can afford to peruse through a catalog of players, glaze over their hitting percentages and “big name” status and then call them up with a single offer that would make them potentially the biggest fools on the planet if they were to reject the contract. In other words, money plays.
But what if there was a team that thought differently? What if a manager and his Ivy League educated assistant used statistics and mathematical equations to evaluate talent to determine the best value in players who would inevitably score x runs, strikeout y hitters and ultimately win z games?
And more incredibly, what if this was based on a true story involving the Oakland A’s?
“Bottom of the First” showed us how math had to be used to get the Minnesota Twins, of “Little Big League,” into the game. The first scene (and a bonus scene!) from “Moneyball” shows us the genesis of deciding to utilize statistics and math to win the game.
Bottom of the First
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
Today’s clip is brought to you by a great movie made around baseball. Fans only see their favorite ballplayers when they run onto field or step into the batter’s box. Sometimes though, it’s easier said than done for the aforementioned players. On some occasions, there are dilemmas that are so pressing that they can supercede the very game itself…
“I should know this, my uncle’s a painter.”
Jimmy's Daily Planet 