by Nathan Braised
As an avid baseball and movie lover, it’s surprising how I haven’t seen the gem “A League of Their Own” sooner, but I’m glad I was able to see it for the first time when I was older so I could fully appreciate it. “A League of Their Own” is a 1992 film depicting how women took roles in professional baseball during World War II.
World War II had many effects on the American way of life, since many men served in the military overseas. Some of the biggest names in baseball enlisted in the cause, such as Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, Yogi Berra, Willie Mays, and countless others.
With this, Major League Baseball was in danger of shutting down. Walter Harvey, owner of the Chicago Cubs, proposed the creation of a women’s league to keep the game alive.
In a rural Oregon town, sisters Dottie and Kit Hinson dominated a local softball league. Talent scout Ernie Capadino attended one of the games and was immediately impressed with Dottie’s batting ability. Kit couldn’t show off her pitching talents since she threw the day before and had bad plate discipline in her at bats (I like the high ones too, I can’t blame her), so the scout wasn’t impressed with her.
Capadino recruited Dottie to play for the league, but the two sisters must come as a package deal. He agreed and they traveled to Chicago for the national tryouts. Both sisters made the cut and played for the Rockford Peaches.
The fictitious former MLB star Jimmy Dugan, played by Tom Hanks, was the manager of the Peaches. Most MLB players take up a nice hobby after retirement, such as golf, photography or coaching; but unfortunately, Jimmy took up drinking.
He’s incredibly cynical, unreliable, and hateful to his players. He’s either blackout-adjacent or passed out for most of his screen time in the first half of the film, but you come to love him by the end.
The players don’t mesh well as a team at first (to be fair, no movie’s team ever does) but became closer and closer as the season progressed.
Life then couldn’t be all fun and games; remember this is during one of the worst conflicts in history. Before one of the games, a player received a letter saying her husband was been killed in action. The scene is a real tear-jerker but could have been written way better in my opinion. They kind of draw it out and it loses that gut-punch feel.
Another tragedy hits when Dottie ends up getting Kit traded away to the team the Peaches eventually faced in the World Series. When her husband Bob returned home, Dottie planned to leave the team and return to Oregon. After a quick montage of their first six games in the World Series, Dottie made a surprise appearance for the last game. A close call, down to the wire, lead to a sentimental moment between the two sisters as the season drew to a close.
I’ve heard so many good things about this movie up until actually watching it, and I was still blown away. The writing is so well done. All of the characters have their own unique intricacies.
It’s an incredible period piece that somehow makes me nostalgic. Not to mention the score, which I thought was incredible all throughout; no wonder – it was composed by Hans Zimmer.
Baseball fan or not, “A League of Their Own” is sure to be a perfect selection for your next movie night.
