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The game of baseball lends well to storytelling, so it's no surprise that some of the best sports movies ever take place on the diamond.
From sappy rom-coms to the classics, we used Metacritic, along with other review sites, to rank the most memorable baseball films of all time.
Credit: 20th Century Fox
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Prior to 1957, no team outside the U.S. had ever won the Little League World Series. Then came along a barefooted, rag-tag team of boys from Mexico who defied the odds and became the first team to do so.
Starring Cheech Marin, The Perfect Game is based on the inspiring story of that team and their journey into the history books.
Metacritic score: 42
Credit: Prelude Pictures
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This 2001 comedy based on the book "Hardball: A Season in the Projects," stars Keanu Reeves as a gambler who must coach a Little League baseball team to pay off his debts.
While the flick received less than stellar reviews, it's hard not to become emotionally invested in this group of troubled fifth graders.
Metacritic score: 48.
Credit: Paramount Pictures
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This 2005 romantic comedy starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore is a classic tale of relationships versus sports.
The film follows a successful businesswoman who falls in love with a die-hard Red Sox fan.
Fever Pitch had to be re-written when Boston miraculously broke the "Curse of the Bambino," and won the team's first World Series title in 86 years.
Metacritic score: 56
Credit: Darren Michaels
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Every baseball fan knows that the hit threshold to make the Hall of Fame is 3,000 hits. But what if you're just shy of that number?
That's exactly what the comedy Mr. 3000, investigates. Bernie Mac stars as Stan Ross, who is three hits short of 3,000 after a clerical error. Ross then returns to the game at 47 to try to reach the milestone.
Metacritic score: 57
Credit: Buena Vista Pictures
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In this 1992 comedy, Tom Selleck plays an aging MLBer who gets dealt to a team in Japan.
The all-American Selleck shines in his role as a fish-out-of-water foreigner struggling to deal with a totally different culture.
IMDb score: 58
Credit: Universal Pictures
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This 1993 comedy brings a 12-year-old boy's dream to life by playing for a professional baseball team.
After a freak accident, Henry Rowengartner has the ability to throw unbelievably hard. So hard that he's recruited to play for the Chicago Cubs.
IMDB score: 59
Credit: 20th Century Fox
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Here's another film from the '90s about a 12-year-old who becomes a major part of an MLB team.
Following his grandfather's death, Billy Heywood is gifted the Minnesota Twins. In turn, he appoints himself manager of the last-place squad.
Cameos from some of the biggest stars of the era, including Ken Griffey Jr., helped make this film a little more believable.
IMDB score: 60
Credit: Castle Rock Entertainment
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Danny Glover and a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in the 1994 remake of the 1951 film by the same name.
After a young boy -- played by Gordon-Levitt -- prays for a chance to save his family, divine intervention descends from above to offer a helping hand. Hey, it could happen!
IMDb score: 60
Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
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Chadwick Boseman stars as Jackie Robinson in the biography about the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues.
The film does a fantastic job of shining a spotlight on the deep racism Robinson faced as he broke the color barrier.
Metacritic score: 62
Credit: D. Stevens
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This is the first of three appearances on this list by the legend Kevin Costner. In this flick, Costner stars as Billy Chapel, an aging star pitcher who is forced to reconcile a lifetime of questionable decisions.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the film is Vin Scully's play-by-play announcing throughout Chapel's perfect game.
IMDb score: 65
Credit: Universal Pictures
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The 1992 blockbuster A League of Their Own follows a women's professional baseball league formed during World War II.
The star-studded cast includes Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell.
Metacritic score: 67
Credit: Columbia Pictures Corporation
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Mad Men's Jon Hamm stars as an aging baseball agent in this 2014 biographical drama.
The film is based on the true story of two pitchers from India who were discovered by winning a reality-show competition.
One of the pitchers, Rinku Singh, continues to play for the Pirates organization today.
IMDb score: 71
Credit: John Johnson
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This 2002 film is based on the brief yet historic career of Jim Morris.
Morris, played by Dennis Quaid, is a former baseball player who gets a shot at his life-long dream: The MLB. At 40, Morris was the oldest rookie in 40 seasons.
Metacritic score: 72.
Credit: Buena Vista Pictures
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This hilarious 1989 comedy starring Charlie Sheen centers around a Cleveland Indians team whose owner attempts to tank the season in an effort to move the club to another city.
When the nefarious plot is uncovered, the players get inspired and start winning just to spite her.
IMDb score: 72
Credit: Paramount Pictures
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This 1988 romantic comedy stars Kevin Costner as "Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher playing in the minor leagues.
After signing with the Durham Bulls to teach a rookie about the game, Davis encounters baseball groupie Annie Savoy -- played by Susan Sarandon -- and suddenly finds himself in a love triangle.
Metacritic score: 73
Credit: The Mount Company
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John Cusack and Clifton James star in this drama based on Eliot Asinof's 1963 book Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series.
The movie tells the story of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox team, which accepted bribes to deliberately lose the World Series. The scandal stands to this day as one of the biggest to ever hit a major sporting league.
IMDb score: 73
Credit: Orion Pictures Corporation
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In this 1976 classic comedy, an alcoholic, washed up ex-pro agrees to coach a Little League team full of the worst players in the city.
Realizing the team is outmatched, Bears coach Morris Buttermaker -- played by Walter Matthau -- recruits a talented girl (Tatum O'Neal) and a delinquent (Jackie Earle Haley), and orchestrates a turnaround.
The success of The Bad News Bears led to two sequels and a 2005 remake.
IMDb score: 73
Credit: Paramount Pictures
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Robert Redford, Glenn Close, and Robert Duvall star in the 1984 drama based on the novel by the same name.
The story centers around the fall and redemption of Roy Hobbs -- played by Redford -- and takes you through his epic season.
IMDb score: 76
Credit: Tristar Pictures
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"If you build it, he will come."
Inspired by voices only he can hear, Iowa corn farmer Ray Kinsella -- played by Kevin Costner -- sets out on a mission to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield.
The purpose for the field reveals itself at the end of the film, in one of the best payoffs in any sports film.
IMDb score: 76
Credit: Universal Pictures
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A movie that every Little Leaguer should see at least once, The Sandlot tells the story of a group of teenagers whose lives revolve around baseball.
The 1993 coming-of-age comedy has developed a cult following, with DVD sales totaling over $76 million and counting.
IMDb score: 78
Credit: 20th Century Fox
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Brad Pitt stars as Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane in the film based on Michael Lewis' 2003 nonfiction book of the same name.
With his revolutionary use of advanced analytics, Beane puts together a competitive, entertaining A's team on a shoestring budget.
Metacritic score: 87
Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon
