Little Big League

Little Big League
Little Big League theatrical poster
Directed by	Andrew Scheinman Bill Pohlad
Written by	Gregory K. Pincus
Produced by	Steven Nicolaides Andrew Bergman Mike Lobell
Starring	Luke Edwards Timothy Busfield John Ashton Ashley Crow Kevin Dunn
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing Showtime Networks
Release dates	July 1, 1994
Running time	119 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Little Big League  is a 1994 film about an 11-year-old (later turns 12) who suddenly becomes the owner and then manager of the Minnesota Twins baseball team.

Plot

The start of the film explains about the life of Billy Heywood, a preteen son to a single mom, Jenny. He and his two friends, Chuck and Joey, play on the same Little League Baseball team. Billy's grandfather is Thomas Heywood, owner of the Minnesota Twins. They are a last-place team (the real-life Twins finished second in the American League West in 1992 and were World Series champs the year before the year principal photography was shot, but finished poorly and began an eight-year slump in the spring of 1993), but Billy and his grandfather absolutely love each other, the Twins, and the game of baseball. When Thomas dies, it is revealed that he wanted Billy to inherit the franchise and specified that if Billy was still a minor, Thomas' aides would help him along until Billy was old enough to run the team himself.

Eventually, after firing the current manager (because Billy thought the manager was too hard on the players) he decides to name himself the new manager after one of his friends points out, "It's the American League! They have the DH! How hard can it be?" The players are very skeptical of Billy as manager, but Billy promises that if he does not improve the team's standings within a few weeks, he'll resign as manager. But the team improves considerably and move up to division race contention. Unfortunately, not all is going smoothly for Billy, as he is ejected from a game (and later given a one game "suspension" by his mother) for swearing at an umpire. He also must release a Twins player who is well "past his prime" but ends up making the player feel worse about it when Billy points out that he feels bad about the release because he has his baseball card. Furthermore, Billy's friends do not like how Billy's managerial responsiblites are keeping him away from being with his friends. Billy later tells his mom that he's tired of being a "grown-up" and decides to quit as manager after the end of the season.

At the climax, they are set to play the final game of the season, against Ken Griffey, Jr. and the Seattle Mariners, with the American League Wild-Card playoff spot on the line. Eventually, with two outs in the bottom of the twelfth inning, losing by a run with a man on base, the first baseman Lou Collins tells Billy he asked his mom to marry her. He says she replied to ask Billy. Billy says if he hits a homer, he will. But then he changes his mind, and lets him marry Jenny anyway. The film strays from the traditional sports movie formula by having the Twins lose the big game thanks to Griffey taking away Lou's homerun by way of one of his spectacular catches (he is known in real life for his catching of would-be home runs). In the end, Billy lets the Pitching coach become the manager (as well as naming the player he released earlier in the season as another new coach) and goes back to school, while reassuring the players that he will still be the owner, and says that he might come back as manager if junior high doesn't work out. But not before he gets a standing ovation from everyone in Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Cast

• Luke Edwards as Billy Heywood
• Timothy Busfield as Lou Collins
• John Ashton as Mac Macnally
• Ashley Crow as Jenny Heywood
• Kevin Dunn as Arthur Goslin
• Billy L. Sullivan as Chuck
• Miles Feulner as Joey
• Jonathan Silverman as Jim Bowers
• Dennis Farina as George O'Farrell
• Jason Robards as Thomas Heywood
• Wolfgang Bodison as Spencer Hamilton
• Duane Davis as Jerry Johnson
• Leon Durham as Leon Alexander
• Kevin Elster as Pat Corning
• Joseph Latimore as Lonnie Ritter
• Bradley Jay Lesley as John 'Blackout' Gatling
• John Minch as Mark Hodges
• Michael Papajohn as Tucker Kain
• Scott Patterson as Mike McGrevey
• Troy Startoni as Larry Hilbert
• Antonio Lewis Todd as Mickey Scales
• Real-life Twins announcer John Gordon as announcer Wally Holland
• Paul O'Neill as Himself
• Ken Griffey, Jr as Himself
• Randy Johnson as Himself
• Lou Piniella as Himself
• Rafael Palmeiro as Himself
• Wally Joyner as Himself

Trivia

• Arthur Goslin's surname is a reference to legendary Washington Senators player Goose Goslin (the Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961 to become the Twins).

• Real-life Major League ballplayers Leon "Bull" Durham and Kevin Elster played for the Twins in the movie, and other real-life Major Leaguers like Randy Johnson, Ivan Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar Jr., Paul O'Neill, Tim Raines, Dave Magadan, Ken Griffey Jr., Lou Piniella, and Wally Joyner make cameo appearances as opponents.

• The trick play Bowers (Jonathan Silverman) executes towards Griffey in the final game may not be feasible. Though his feet aren't visible, it shows him 'coming set' to deliver a pitch, and faking a throw to first base (where Griffey is standing as the base runner). In reality, the rules state a throw must be made to first base during a pickoff move or it is ruled a balk. One can argue that Bowers' foot was not on the pitching rubber, thus making the play legal. However, in baseball, base-runners tend not take their lead off of first base until the pitcher places his foot on the pitching rubber. A right-handed pitcher, though, must break with the rubber (remove his back [right] leg) before throwing to first. It is entirely possible (and feasible) that Bowers 'came set,' then, in one motion, took his back leg off the rubber, and making the throw. A base-runner will be off the base once the pitcher is in the 'set position,' and dive back at the hint of motion of the back leg. When base-runners dive back to first, they normally face the outfield (as to avoid getting hit with the baseball in the face). Thus, it can be argued that, although legal, Ken Griffey Jr. Would have been able to see the ball sailing down the Right-Field line. Furthermore, it is also a balk to "come set" while off the pitching rubber. However, the play was used successfully in real life in the 1982 College World Series by Miami against Wichita State.
• In the final game against Seattle, Micky Scales homerun goes over the left field wall that also includes a glass fence. But, when Lou Collins hits the ball Ken Griffey, Jr. robs in left center, the glass fence is no longer visible.
• Historical baseball players referenced include Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, Jackie Robinson and Roger Clemens.
• Little Big League is given an obscure reference in the 1998 film Major League: Back to the Minors, which also features the Twins. A #4 Lou Collins Twins jersey hangs framed in the owner's suite at the Metrodome.
• After a disastrous attempt by Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner, it was ruled illegal for a team owner to also serve as the team's manager.
• The starting pitcher of the big game is named as Bill Wegman who was infact a Right Handed Major League Pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. When the unnamed actor pitches for the Twins he is pitching left handed

External links

• Little Big League at IMDb