Fellow Oaklander here, was at "Slide Jeremy Slide!" (the rest of the world calls it the "Jeter Flip") game, the "Moneyball" game, Sonny vs. Verlander, the dropped fly game, etc., etc., etc. Hundreds since the mid-90s, when I moved here.
Two scenes in silly movies that often bring me to tears are the death of Quellek ("By Grapthar's Hammer...") in "Galaxy Quest" and Wild Thing's last entrance from the bullpen. It isn't Charlie Sheen that draws the tears - as great as he is in that role - it is the crazy song & dance reaction of the fans. The fans are something that both of those movies get right. Baseball fan or Trekkie, the devotees are connected to by both films. They work because the people that made them didn't only love baseball and "Star Trek", but loved being fans and Trekkies. I know of no other baseball film like it in that way, and that connection, that empathy, pays off.
"Major League" remains one of my "comfort films". After sixty years, thanks to Manfred and Fisher, there's little comfort in baseball anymore, but I'll still put the movie on sometimes. I loved being an A's fan and joining in with the chants and cheers that ebbed and flowed over the years: A feisty bunch, wonky crowds with long-settled traditions at their core. I can't help thinking as I've experienced the Fisher debacle that neither he nor Manfred ever felt, nor could even ever feel, any such communion. I think team is gone, but I can still hope for some humiliating raspberry at the end.
I feel your pain of being an A's fan, though to a lesser extent.
I'm a Baltimoron, a lifelong and diehard Orioles fan. In the late '60s and early '70s, the Os were the class organization of baseball. In the mid and late 70s, they were still contenders. Then, in 1979, the team was sold to what would become a succession of (three) lawyers, who owned the team for a combined 45 years. The last of these (peter Angelo's) soon after buying the team famously said something to the effect of "Baseball isn't difficult... it's not like law." THAT is when I knew the Orioles were- yet again- fucked.
It seems we finally have an owner with the means and will to put some resources (read: money) into building a winning franchise. Unfortunately, they currently have a GM who thinks that he is always the smartest guy in every room that he inhabits, yet keeps trading away strong, developing prospects for veteran rentals and then putting a roster together from the remnants of other teams' scrap heaps. Team Chemistry be damned!
So as fans, our frustration continues. However, it compares unfavorably to the prolonged, ever devolving, and now "final" misery inflicted upon A's faithful by john fisher. I feel horrible for you. Oakland deserves far better!
Steve Sax, decent guy? One would have hoped. Too many corroborate his history of poor behavior toward women, some who wont go public fearing retribution
I hope you also saw me give you and your platform a shoutout here. Really enjoy your deep dives ... as i kind if buried you in this post but used you to punctuate a point I was unraveling
I had no idea either until this interview. If he ever is on a commercial for a reverse mortgage or offering some retirement advice, maybe have it vetted.
Whenever I see a story about the best baseball movies, I'm ALWAYS disappointed that there
is never mention of what I consider the best ever, HBO's Long Gone (1987) starring
William Petersen, Virginia Madsen and Dermot Mulroney. One critic called it "the best baseball movie most of you have never seen."
I'm curious if anyone else has seen it and urge all to try and find it, though it has yet to be released on DVD for some reason. But if you find it, you'll be glad you did.
Good Lord, I loved that movie as a kid and was just thinking about it the other day and need to rewatch it (and maybe write about it). Looks like it's up on YouTube (at least for the moment).
Great to hear from you and just to let you know you're the only person I know who has ever seen this utter classic. Don't ask me why, but I've long had a fascination with lower (Class C and D) minor leagues of the post-war 40's and early 50's and
Paul Hemphill's novel captures the essence of that period perfectly. And has there ever been a better baseball couple than Stud Cantrell and Dixie Lee Boxx?
It's bizarre that Griffth was trying to move the Twins after having a brand-new stadium built 2 years earlier, the shelf life of stadiums is grotesque, the Twins only played 28 years in the Metrodome. The Mariners only played in the Kingdome for 22 years. The Miami Heat only played 11 years in the Miami Arena. A stadium or arena that is publicly financed should last at least 50 years before there's discussions about building a new one.
Major League was filmed in Milwaukee and old County Stadium, and I don't think the movie would have the life it has enjoyed all these years if the late Bob Uecker wasn't in it. MLB is actually encountering a problem it probably never foresaw; it's running out of cities.
Does one think Oakland & Montreal will ever allow themselves to be spurned by MLB Again? The list cities that can support an MLB team isn't long and these owners are burning bridges when they leave loyal fan bases.
My plan for a bio for No. 99 is Charlie Sheen/Carlos Esteves and how he through "Major League" made that popular with MLB pitchers (it's funny to see how the flick came out in '89 and Mitch Williams didn't take it until '93, as well as the nickname. Or Turk Wendell in '97.) Thanks for some reference points here. Maybe I can recruit you to help me with the impact of "Major League" in the Sheen bio (he fits into the SoCal history by being an actual pitcher at Santa Monica High). Thx.
I didn’t know the Twins connection, which is weird because Major League 3: Back to the Minors (my favorite of the franchise and how I knew about Walton Goggins YEARS before all of you) is set within and around the Twins organization.
When people ask me (because I get asked this all of the time) what I know Scott Bakula from, it’s not Quantum Leap. No sir. It’s his role as Gus Cantrell.
FJF ⚾
Fellow Oaklander here, was at "Slide Jeremy Slide!" (the rest of the world calls it the "Jeter Flip") game, the "Moneyball" game, Sonny vs. Verlander, the dropped fly game, etc., etc., etc. Hundreds since the mid-90s, when I moved here.
Two scenes in silly movies that often bring me to tears are the death of Quellek ("By Grapthar's Hammer...") in "Galaxy Quest" and Wild Thing's last entrance from the bullpen. It isn't Charlie Sheen that draws the tears - as great as he is in that role - it is the crazy song & dance reaction of the fans. The fans are something that both of those movies get right. Baseball fan or Trekkie, the devotees are connected to by both films. They work because the people that made them didn't only love baseball and "Star Trek", but loved being fans and Trekkies. I know of no other baseball film like it in that way, and that connection, that empathy, pays off.
"Major League" remains one of my "comfort films". After sixty years, thanks to Manfred and Fisher, there's little comfort in baseball anymore, but I'll still put the movie on sometimes. I loved being an A's fan and joining in with the chants and cheers that ebbed and flowed over the years: A feisty bunch, wonky crowds with long-settled traditions at their core. I can't help thinking as I've experienced the Fisher debacle that neither he nor Manfred ever felt, nor could even ever feel, any such communion. I think team is gone, but I can still hope for some humiliating raspberry at the end.
I feel your pain of being an A's fan, though to a lesser extent.
I'm a Baltimoron, a lifelong and diehard Orioles fan. In the late '60s and early '70s, the Os were the class organization of baseball. In the mid and late 70s, they were still contenders. Then, in 1979, the team was sold to what would become a succession of (three) lawyers, who owned the team for a combined 45 years. The last of these (peter Angelo's) soon after buying the team famously said something to the effect of "Baseball isn't difficult... it's not like law." THAT is when I knew the Orioles were- yet again- fucked.
It seems we finally have an owner with the means and will to put some resources (read: money) into building a winning franchise. Unfortunately, they currently have a GM who thinks that he is always the smartest guy in every room that he inhabits, yet keeps trading away strong, developing prospects for veteran rentals and then putting a roster together from the remnants of other teams' scrap heaps. Team Chemistry be damned!
So as fans, our frustration continues. However, it compares unfavorably to the prolonged, ever devolving, and now "final" misery inflicted upon A's faithful by john fisher. I feel horrible for you. Oakland deserves far better!
Steve Sax, decent guy? One would have hoped. Too many corroborate his history of poor behavior toward women, some who wont go public fearing retribution
https://www.dailynews.com/2017/07/15/tom-hoffarth-lisa-nehus-saxon-paved-the-way-for-female-sportswriters/
Thanks for posting, Tom--I had no idea. Maybe he and the A's deserve each other.
I hope you also saw me give you and your platform a shoutout here. Really enjoy your deep dives ... as i kind if buried you in this post but used you to punctuate a point I was unraveling
https://fartheroffthewall.com/2025/04/14/day-5-of-2025-baseball-book-reviews-the-war-on-dei-enters-a-new-era/
I had no idea either until this interview. If he ever is on a commercial for a reverse mortgage or offering some retirement advice, maybe have it vetted.
Whenever I see a story about the best baseball movies, I'm ALWAYS disappointed that there
is never mention of what I consider the best ever, HBO's Long Gone (1987) starring
William Petersen, Virginia Madsen and Dermot Mulroney. One critic called it "the best baseball movie most of you have never seen."
I'm curious if anyone else has seen it and urge all to try and find it, though it has yet to be released on DVD for some reason. But if you find it, you'll be glad you did.
Good Lord, I loved that movie as a kid and was just thinking about it the other day and need to rewatch it (and maybe write about it). Looks like it's up on YouTube (at least for the moment).
Great to hear from you and just to let you know you're the only person I know who has ever seen this utter classic. Don't ask me why, but I've long had a fascination with lower (Class C and D) minor leagues of the post-war 40's and early 50's and
Paul Hemphill's novel captures the essence of that period perfectly. And has there ever been a better baseball couple than Stud Cantrell and Dixie Lee Boxx?
It's bizarre that Griffth was trying to move the Twins after having a brand-new stadium built 2 years earlier, the shelf life of stadiums is grotesque, the Twins only played 28 years in the Metrodome. The Mariners only played in the Kingdome for 22 years. The Miami Heat only played 11 years in the Miami Arena. A stadium or arena that is publicly financed should last at least 50 years before there's discussions about building a new one.
Major League was filmed in Milwaukee and old County Stadium, and I don't think the movie would have the life it has enjoyed all these years if the late Bob Uecker wasn't in it. MLB is actually encountering a problem it probably never foresaw; it's running out of cities.
Does one think Oakland & Montreal will ever allow themselves to be spurned by MLB Again? The list cities that can support an MLB team isn't long and these owners are burning bridges when they leave loyal fan bases.
Hey I'm workshopping this project these days:
https://fartheroffthewall.com/2024/07/12/pick-a-number-between-0-and-99-and-help-us-write-a-book/
My plan for a bio for No. 99 is Charlie Sheen/Carlos Esteves and how he through "Major League" made that popular with MLB pitchers (it's funny to see how the flick came out in '89 and Mitch Williams didn't take it until '93, as well as the nickname. Or Turk Wendell in '97.) Thanks for some reference points here. Maybe I can recruit you to help me with the impact of "Major League" in the Sheen bio (he fits into the SoCal history by being an actual pitcher at Santa Monica High). Thx.
Absolutely, Tom. Shoot me a message or email if I can help.
I didn’t know the Twins connection, which is weird because Major League 3: Back to the Minors (my favorite of the franchise and how I knew about Walton Goggins YEARS before all of you) is set within and around the Twins organization.
I am quite certain you are the only person who has ever watched and remembered anything about this movie, Darian. Including the screenwriter.
When people ask me (because I get asked this all of the time) what I know Scott Bakula from, it’s not Quantum Leap. No sir. It’s his role as Gus Cantrell.
Don't tell me I need to educate you on Necessary Roughness...