Movie #54- "For Love of the Game" (1999)

To me, baseball is a beautiful game.  Football is my preferred sport on television, but in baseball, I love the ballpark experience.  The pace of the game, the strategy, and the lack of a clock, are all elements I enjoy in the game.  There are comparable, dramatic aspects with each sport.  The excitement of bottom of the ninth inning, game winning home run... a touchdown pass as time expires... a buzzer beating three point shot in basketball.  But I couldn't think of a comparison when it comes to the perfect game.
In the modern baseball era, the perfect game has happened only 21 times.  Such big names as Cy Young, Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, and Randy Johnson have each tossed one.  But any pitcher, on any given day, could throw one.  Phillip Humber, Dallas Braden, and Len Barker are three other members of that club.  Lightning can strike at any time.
The perfect game is the premise of "For Love of the Game".  This was the remaining Kevin Costner baseball movie that I hadn't seen.  Here he pitches for the Detroit Tigers and is at the end of a Hall of Fame career.  Well, they continually imply end of career.  His numbers aren't that bad for a last place team.  As a pitcher strives for perfection, you want to know what's going through his mind.  Here, it's a boring, casual romance that we're lead to believe is more important than it actually is.  In fact, Costner seems to form a stronger bond with the woman's daughter.
Director Sam Raimi gets a blown save with this appearance, and a waste of Vin Scully (still love the man's voice).  I wish they have kept this movie in the ballpark.

Rating: 5/10
Movies I've previously seen: 4
First time viewings: 50