Roy Hobbs' Epic Home Run and the 15 Greatest Baseball Movie Scenes of All Time

The union between baseball and Hollywood has produced many memorable movies.

Regardless of whether such films were critically successful, we'll always reminisce about certain scenes.

Any of you readers could have created this slideshow...at least those of you familiar with YouTube searches and the process of embedding video links. In other words, any of you could have easily done it.

Appreciate how each director used comedy, drama or nostalgia to set up special moments.

15. Little Big League: Pickoff Play

Preteen owner/manager Billy Heywood spends the season encouraging his Minnesota Twins to have more fun.

In need of an out, he calls for a phony pickoff play. It involves everybody on the field, including one of the Metrodome's security guards.

Perfect execution fools Ken Griffey Jr. and fires up the team.

14. Angels in the Outfield: Roger Meets 'Al'

For once, Roger and J.P. watch a California Angels game from inside the ballpark (instead of peeking through binoculars).

Their experience is disappointing until actual angels appear from above to help a player make an amazing catch.

Only Roger saw it happen. He tries discussing the play with J.P. and a middle-aged man seated next to him, but they both dismiss the theory.

Then "Al" magically appears and confirms that "the angels are out, sonny." 

13. Bull Durham: Mound Visit

Any number of things can distract players during a game.

Members of the Durham Bulls were dealing with a cursed glove, breathing difficulties and an upcoming wedding.

A brief mound visit helped them refocus.

Warning: Some coarse language.

12. Major League: 'So What Do You Think About That?'

Third baseman Roger Dorn plans to take it easy this coming season. His salary is guaranteed and retirement is on the horizon, so there's nothing motivating him to risk injury.

He even has the audacity to pull out a copy of his contract that excuses him from sit-ups.

Lou Brown reacts just as any no-nonsense manager would.

11. The Sandlot: 'You Play Ball Like a Girl!'

Kids can come up with creative insults, but Ham Porter kept it simple during this back-and-forth.

A jerky visitor didn't take kindly to being told he played ball like a girl, so he challenged the gang from The Sandlot to a game the following day.

His team couldn't back up the trash talk, however. Even flashy uniforms couldn't spare them from a thorough beating.

10. Major League: 'Just a Bit Outside'

Fresh out of spring training, the Cleveland Indians season was unfolding as lousily as expected.

Hilarious commentary from Harry Doyle is intertwined with a montage of terrible fielding, defensive swings and hittable pitching.

Understandably, he can't get through a game without sipping some alcohol.

Warning: Some coarse language.

9. Moneyball: 'What's the Problem?'

Seeking to change how the Oakland Athletics construct their roster, Billy Beane urges his scouts to embrace a small-market philosophy.

He believes that the team's tiny payroll prevents it from acquiring top prospects and signing coveted free agents.

Warning: Some coarse language.

8. Bull Durham: 'Man, That Ball Got Outta Here in a Hurry'

Crash Davis and Nuke LaLoosh are cruising through the opposing lineup until they disagree on which pitch to throw in the ninth inning. Davis suggests a fastball, but the right-hander shakes him off in favor of off-speed stuff.

To send a message to LaLoosh about respecting authority, the veteran backstop tells the batter what to expect.

The result is a mammoth home run.

Warning: Some coarse language.

7. The Natural: Hobbs Tears the Cover off the Ball

Roy Hobbs is given short notice prior to his first big league at-bat.

The old man gets off to a promising start, though, by literally tearing the cover off the ball for a triple.

That's one way to wipe a smug grin off the face of the opposing pitcher.

6. A League of Their Own: 'There's No Crying in Baseball'

Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) obviously didn't have much experience managing female players. I doubt humiliation gets the most out of them.

On the bright side, his rant gave us one of the best quotes in baseball movie history (or human history, for that matter).

Warning: Some coarse language.

5. Major League II: Vaughn vs. Parkman

In the win-or-go-home finale of the American League Championship Series, Jake Taylor entrusts Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn to clinch the pennant.

Only one problem—Vaughn, who has fared poorly for the Cleveland Indians all season, opts to face slugger Jack Parkman with the bases juiced.

The closer abandons his gimmicky, ineffective breaking balls and confidently goes after Parkman with high heat.

Warning: Some coarse language.

4. Field of Dreams: 'Go the Distance'

Mysterious voices have led Ray Kinsella to build a baseball field from scratch, drive from Iowa to Boston and kidnap author Terence Mann.

So he's crazy, right? Maybe not.

He is again contacted by the supernatural at Fenway Park, but this time, Mann also hears it.

3. The Sandlot: 'The Beast' Chases 'The Jet'

Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez and his friends went through a world of trouble just to retrieve an autographed baseball from the paws of a monstrous dog.

Too bad it didn't end there.

"The Beast" leaps over its fence—and numerous other obstacles—as it chases Rodriguez around town.

Doesn't everybody wish they could've grown up during the 1950s? There was so much fun to be had during that decade.

Warning: Some coarse language.

2. Field of Dreams: 'People Will Come'

Ray Kinsella's belief in baseball-playing ghosts is really put to the test when the bank threatens foreclosure. His family can survive financial ruin, but homelessness?

Kinsella seriously considers shutting down his fantasy operation until Terence Mann reassures him that "people will come" and pay for game tickets.

Shoeless Joe Jackson and Co. can breathe sighs of relief knowing that their field of dreams will remain intact.

1. The Natural: Roy Hobbs' Epic Home Run

Given all the pain and misfortune that Roy Hobbs endured, he deserved a triumphant moment.

It doesn't get much better than a pennant-winning home run, and striking lightning in the background is a clever tie-in to his broken bat, "Wonderboy."

Sheer awesomeness.

* Other articles I've written about baseball movies:

MLB Trade Scenarios: One Fictional Baseball Star Every Team Needs Most

Comparing Each MLB Team's Season to a Baseball Movie

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