If you’re a baseball fan, chances are you spend a lot of time watching games, but what if there aren’t any games to watch on your free day? Watching a movie about baseball can be a rewarding experience, especially if that movie is good! And so many films have been made about this sport, even dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, with John D.Hancock’s De Niro-starring Bang The Drum Slowly (1973), Ron Shelton’s Bull Durham (1988), Phil Alden Robinson’s Field of Dreams (1989) and many more films standing as some of the best knowns examples in this subgenre.
If you’re looking for more recommendations, we are here to help! We made a list of 5 great movies about baseball that includes all-time classics, hidden gems, and even a new release that you should definitely check out! And of course, once you’ve finished watching these films, you can always look for a game to stream on MLB.TV – in which case, you might want to look for a VPN for MLB.tv to bypass restrictions in your area – and enjoy watching the actual game! But now, let’s talk about the films! Keep scrolling for our list of movies about baseball, in alphabetical order! Enjoy!
1. Eephus (2025)
The first movie of the list is also the newest one. Carson Lund’s Eephus hit theaters earlier this month, after a very successful World Premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival last year. The film takes place in a New England stadium that’s going to be demolished soon to make room for something new, as part of a construction project. In fact, the stadium will no longer be there the day after the events of the movie. But on the day before the demolition, an amateur baseball game is being played from morning until nightfall. It doesn’t matter if the stands are empty: it’s the team’s last match, and they’re going to give it their all.
Eephus is, quite simply, a love poem to the game, and an ode to a moment in time that no longer exists, but that still means so much to an entire community. The fact that it’s Carson Lund’s directorial debut is even more impressive, as the movie is the rare gem that’s both deeply meaningful and affecting in its themes and extremely well-shot. If you’re a baseball fan, you cannot miss it.
2. Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
You might be more familiar with writer-director Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy, and for highly successful hits like School of Rock and Boyhood, but his 2016 film Everybody Wants Some!! is just as worthy of your time. The movie takes place in 1980s Texas, where a college freshman named Jake (Blake Jenner) arrives at the University of Texas, filled with expectation about the upcoming year, and meets his new baseball teammates. And so, we follow their adventures on the last weekend before college begins, as they experience freedom and “come of age” one party after the other, finding out who they are both as men and as team players.
Even though Everybody Wants Some!! is not all about baseball, the essence of the sport is still very much in the film, which manages to capture the baseball college experience very well even by just focusing on the relationships between our characters. In the best Linklater tradition, it’s a nostalgic film, but it’s also a funny and even surprisingly deep watch, featuring one of the director’s first collaborations with star Glen Powell. As our own Claire Fulton put it in her review of the movie, the film is “littered with characters who are cool, weird and desperate, but mostly a combination of all three”. Everybody Wants Some!! is a hidden gem in this subgenre, and you should absolutely check it out.
3. Moneyball (2011)
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are you’ve at least heard of Bennett Miller’s Moneyball (2011), a fictional account of the true story of the 2002 Oakland A’s. The premise is simple: we follow the team’s General Manager, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), as he attempts to put together a baseball team with little to no budget at his disposal. But Beane has something that’s even more valuable: the ability to think outside the box. And so, one day, he realizes that, if he wants to win, he needs to outsmart everyone else and reinvent the game itself.
Teaming up with Ivy League graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), he starts recruiting players who have potential but who have been discarded by other scout because of their “flaws.” Yet it’s precisely these “flaws” that make this underdog team have so much promise, and will ultimately potentially lead them to victory. Moneyball is quite simply an underdog story told well. It may follow the formula down to the tiniest detail, but that doesn’t make it any less inspirational and compelling – not to mention, smart. Look out for another fantastic performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman, and for great turns from Robin Wright, Chris Pratt and more familiar faces.
4. The Natural
The oldest film of the list is this 1984 gem from director Barry Levinson (Sleepers, Rain Man). Though it’s certainly a product of its time, The Natural has aged better than other classic baseball movies, mainly thanks to a believable, effortless lead performance from Robert Redford. Redford stars as Roy Hobbs, who used to be a baseball prodigy as a boy before he got shot and had to put his dreams on hold. Sixteen years later, he returns to pro baseball as a rookie, trying to get into the New York Knights. We follow him as he starts to get noticed, when a winning streak puts him on the map and people realize that he’s a “natural”, just like the film’s title reads. But someone else notices him: the owner of the league, Judge (Robert Prosky), who wants him to lose.
Based on Bernard Malamud’s 1952 novel of the same name, The Natural is a classic, and it’s universally beloved by fans of the game. Yes, it’s more than a little sentimental, but it’s also epic and inspiring, featuring fantastic performances by the entire cast: Redford is joined by an array of talented stars, from Robert Duvall to Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, and more familiar names. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s about to become one of your go-to baseball movies.
5. The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1998)
We end our list with a documentary about titular baseball legend Hank Greenberg, also known as “Hammerin’ Hank,” the first major Jewish baseball star in the Major Leagues. Director Aviva Kempner explores the life of the two-time MVP winner and Baseball Hall of Fame member is explored in this film, which is hailed by many as one of the best movies about the sport. This is a documentary that was clearly made by someone who loves baseball, and who treats its subject with the respect, admiration and affection he deserves. Featuring interviews with people you’ll recognize and some impressive archival footage, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is a must-watch for Detroit Tiger fans, but it’s bound to captivate newcomers too.
The five movies listed above are diverse, notable releases that will make for fantastic watches, whether you’re looking for nostalgia, inspiration, or simply some good old escapism. Happy watching!
