Major League (film)
Encyclopedia
Major League is a 1989 American satire
comedy
film written and directed by David S. Ward
, starring Tom Berenger
, Charlie Sheen
, Wesley Snipes
, James Gammon
, and Corbin Bernsen
. Made for US$
11 million, Major League grossed nearly US$50 million in domestic release. The film deals with the exploits of a fictionalized version of the Cleveland Indians
baseball
team and spawned two sequel
s (Major League II
and Major League: Back to the Minors
, which were released by Warner Bros.
), neither of which replicated the success of the original film.
showgirl
, has inherited the Cleveland Indians
baseball team from her deceased husband. She wants to move the team to the warmer climate of Miami. In order to do this, she must reduce the season's attendance at Municipal Stadium
to under 800,000 tickets sold, which will trigger an escape clause in the team's lease with the city of Cleveland. After she moves the team, she would also be able to release all the current players and replace them with new ones. She instructs her new General Manager
Charlie Donovan to hire the worst team possible from a list she has already prepared. The list includes veteran catcher Jake Taylor, who has problems with his knees, and was last playing in Mexico
; incarcerated pitcher Ricky Vaughn; power-hitting outfielder
Pedro Cerrano, who practices voodoo to try to help him hit curve balls; veteran pitcher Eddie Harris, who no longer has a strong throwing arm and is forced to doctor his pitches
; and third baseman
Roger Dorn, a one-time star who is under contract but has become a high-priced prima donna
. As manager, Phelps hires Lou Brown, a tire salesman who "has managed the Toledo Mud Hens
for the last 30 years".
At spring training
in Tucson, Arizona
, the brash but speedy center fielder
Willie "Mays" Hayes crashes camp uninvited, but is invited to join the team after displaying his running speed. Spring training reveals several problems with the new players. Vaughn has an incredible fastball but lacks control. Hayes is able to run the bases quickly but hits only pop flies
, and Cerrano, despite his tremendous power, cannot hit a curveball
. The veterans have their own problems: Dorn refuses to aggressively field ground balls, afraid that potential injuries will damage his upcoming contract negotiations, and it becomes clear that Taylor's bad knees will be a season-long concern. On the final day, when Brown is to cut the team down to 25 players, Dorn plays a practical joke
on Vaughn, making him believe he was cut, resulting in a locker-room brawl.
After the team returns to Cleveland for their opening game, Taylor takes Vaughn and Hayes out to dinner but comes across his ex-girlfriend Lynn, who is dining with her current beau. Taylor believes he can try to win her love again but is disappointed to hear that she is already engaged
.
The Indians' season starts off poorly with Vaughn's initial pitching appearances ending in disaster, his wild pitches earning him the derogatory title "Wild Thing." On a rare occasion when Vaughn does throw one for a strike, it is hit well over 400 feet by the New York Yankees
' best hitter, Clu Haywood. Brown discovers that Vaughn's eyesight is poor, and after Vaughn is given glasses he becomes very accurate. "Wild Thing" remains Vaughn's nickname, and he becomes the team's ace. The team begins winning and is able to bring their win-loss percentage to .400. Phelps realizes this is not bad enough to stall attendance and decides to demoralize the team further by removing luxuries, such as replacing their team jet airplane with a dilapidated prop-plane, later replacing that with a bus. However, these changes do not affect the Indians' performance and the team continues to improve. Donovan reveals Phelps' plan to Brown who then relays the same news to the players, telling them that if the team plays too well for Phelps to void the lease, she will bring in worse players who will. Taylor says that, since they have nothing to lose, the team should get back at Phelps by winning the pennant. Brown gives the team an incentive by removing one portion of a dress on a cardboard cut-out photo of Phelps taken during her showgirl days for every win the team achieves.
The team plays very well down the stretch of the season, and eventually clinch a tie for the division by beating the Chicago White Sox
on the last day of the season. This forces a one-game playoff
with the division's co-leaders, the Yankees. Prior to the playoff, Taylor continues to try to woo Lynn back and they share a night together. Vaughn learns that he will not be the starting pitcher for the game and goes to a bar to mope, where he encounters Suzanne Dorn. On the television broadcast of the Indians' victory party, Suzanne had seen her husband leave the team's hotel lobby with another woman; she retaliates by luring Vaughn to sleep with her. Vaughn is unaware of who she is until she tells him when she leaves Vaughn and Taylor's shared apartment.
Taylor advises Vaughn to keep his distance from Dorn for most of the game by staying in the bullpen. The game remains scoreless until the seventh inning when Harris gives up two runs. Cerrano comes to the plate in the bottom of the seventh and misses badly on two curveballs. He angrily threatens his voodoo god Jo-bu and proclaims "If you not help me now. I say Fuck you Jo-Bu, I do it myself," then hits a two-run home run
off a curveball on the next pitch to tie the game. (Ironically, Harris -- a devout Christian -- now keeps Cerrano's voodoo doll at his side while warming up.) In the top of the ninth, the Yankees are able to load the bases and Vaughn is called in to relieve Harris, with the crowd going crazy. Vaughn and Taylor are concerned when Dorn comes over to the pitcher's mound, but he only urges Vaughn to strike the next batter out. Vaughn strikes out his nemesis
Haywood on three straight fastballs and ends the inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Hayes manages to single to first and subsequently steals second. Taylor is next to bat, and after signaling back and forth with Brown, points to the bleachers, calling his shot
. However, Taylor bunts instead, catching the Yankees infield off-guard. Despite his weak knees, Taylor gets to first base. Instead of stopping, Hayes rounds third and heads for home plate, catching the Yankees off-guard again. Hayes slides safely into home, giving the Indians the win on a walk-off single. As the team celebrates, Dorn punches Vaughn in the face but then helps him up to continue the celebration. Jake finds Lynn in the stands, who raises her left hand to show that she is no longer wearing an engagement ring.
Phelps made up the Miami scheme and adopted a catty, vindictive persona to unify and motivate the team. As the players believed that she wanted the Indians to fail, she was able to conceal that the team could not afford basic amenities such as chartered jet travel behind a veil of taking them away to spite the players.
Lou does not resign, and Phelps reasserts her authority by saying that if he shares any part of their conversation with anyone, she will fire him.
Producers said that while the twist ending worked as a resolution of the plot, they scrapped it because test screening
audiences preferred the Phelps character as a villain.
on the television
series 24
.
The film also featured former Major League players, including 1982
American League Cy Young Award
winner Pete Vuckovich
as Yankees first baseman Clu Haywood, former Milwaukee Brewers
pitcher Willie Mueller
as the Yankees pitcher known as "The Duke", and former Los Angeles Dodgers
catcher Steve Yeager
as third-base coach Duke Temple. Former catcher and longtime Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker
played the Indians' broadcaster Harry Doyle. The names of several crewmembers were also used for peripheral players.
Charlie Sheen himself was a pitcher on his high school's baseball team. At the time of filming Major League, his own fastball topped out at 85 miles per hour. (In 2011, Sheen said that he had used steroids
for nearly two months to improve his athletic abilities in the film.)
's "Burn On": an ode to the infamous night in Cleveland when the heavily polluted Cuyahoga River
caught fire.
Within five years of the film's release, however, the real life Indians had a new stadium (Jacobs Field, now Progressive Field) and had entered into a period of success. From 1995
to 1999
, they won five division titles (with two more in 2001
and 2007
) and two American League
pennants. The Indians lost the 1995 World Series
to the Atlanta Braves
in six games, and they came within two outs of winning the 1997 World Series
against the Florida Marlins
, but ultimately fell in extra innings in Game 7.
Despite being set in Cleveland, the film was principally shot in Milwaukee because it was cheaper and the producers were unable to work around the schedules of the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Browns
. Milwaukee County Stadium
, then the home of the Brewers, doubles as Cleveland Municipal Stadium for the film, although several exterior shots of Municipal Stadium were used, including some aerial shots taken during a sellout game. Both facilities have since been demolished
: the playing field of County Stadium is now a Little League
baseball field known as Helfaer Field
, while the rest of the former site is now a parking lot for the Brewers' new home, Miller Park; the new Cleveland Browns Stadium
, a football-only facility owned by the City of Cleveland and used by the Browns, sits on the site of its predecessor.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film written and directed by David S. Ward
David S. Ward
David Schad Ward is an American film director and screen writer.-Life and career:Ward was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Miriam and Robert McCollum Ward. Ward has degrees from Pomona College , as well as both USC and the UCLA Film School...
, starring Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
, Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
, Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
, James Gammon
James Gammon
James Richard Gammon was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series.-Early life:...
, and Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
. Made for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
11 million, Major League grossed nearly US$50 million in domestic release. The film deals with the exploits of a fictionalized version of the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team and spawned two sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
s (Major League II
Major League II
Major League II is a 1994 sequel to the 1989 film Major League. Major League II stars most of the same cast from the original, including Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, and Corbin Bernsen. Absent from this film is Wesley Snipes, who played Willie Mays Hayes in the first film and who by 1994 had become...
and Major League: Back to the Minors
Major League: Back to the Minors
Major League: Back to the Minors is a 1998 film, distributed by Warner Bros., directed and written by John Warren, with David S. Ward taking the co-writer duties. It is the third film in the Major League series.-Cast:...
, which were released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
), neither of which replicated the success of the original film.
Plot
Rachel Phelps, a former Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
showgirl
Showgirl
A showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...
, has inherited the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
baseball team from her deceased husband. She wants to move the team to the warmer climate of Miami. In order to do this, she must reduce the season's attendance at Municipal Stadium
Cleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...
to under 800,000 tickets sold, which will trigger an escape clause in the team's lease with the city of Cleveland. After she moves the team, she would also be able to release all the current players and replace them with new ones. She instructs her new General Manager
General manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....
Charlie Donovan to hire the worst team possible from a list she has already prepared. The list includes veteran catcher Jake Taylor, who has problems with his knees, and was last playing in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
; incarcerated pitcher Ricky Vaughn; power-hitting outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
Pedro Cerrano, who practices voodoo to try to help him hit curve balls; veteran pitcher Eddie Harris, who no longer has a strong throwing arm and is forced to doctor his pitches
Spitball
A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of saliva, petroleum jelly, or some other foreign substance....
; and third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
Roger Dorn, a one-time star who is under contract but has become a high-priced prima donna
Prima donna
Originally used in opera or Commedia dell'arte companies, "prima donna" is Italian for "first lady." The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. The prima donna was normally, but not necessarily, a soprano...
. As manager, Phelps hires Lou Brown, a tire salesman who "has managed the Toledo Mud Hens
Toledo Mud Hens
The Toledo Mud Hens are a minor league baseball team located in Toledo, Ohio. The Mud Hens play in the International League, and are affiliated with the major league baseball team the Detroit Tigers, based approximately 50 miles to the north of Toledo. The current team is one of several...
for the last 30 years".
At spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, the brash but speedy center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
Willie "Mays" Hayes crashes camp uninvited, but is invited to join the team after displaying his running speed. Spring training reveals several problems with the new players. Vaughn has an incredible fastball but lacks control. Hayes is able to run the bases quickly but hits only pop flies
Types of batted balls in baseball
In baseball, a batted ball is any ball that, after a pitch, is contacted by the batter's bat. One or more of several terms are used to describe a batted ball, depending on how it comes off the bat and where in the field it lands....
, and Cerrano, despite his tremendous power, cannot hit a curveball
Curveball
The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
. The veterans have their own problems: Dorn refuses to aggressively field ground balls, afraid that potential injuries will damage his upcoming contract negotiations, and it becomes clear that Taylor's bad knees will be a season-long concern. On the final day, when Brown is to cut the team down to 25 players, Dorn plays a practical joke
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
on Vaughn, making him believe he was cut, resulting in a locker-room brawl.
After the team returns to Cleveland for their opening game, Taylor takes Vaughn and Hayes out to dinner but comes across his ex-girlfriend Lynn, who is dining with her current beau. Taylor believes he can try to win her love again but is disappointed to hear that she is already engaged
Engagement
An engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
.
The Indians' season starts off poorly with Vaughn's initial pitching appearances ending in disaster, his wild pitches earning him the derogatory title "Wild Thing." On a rare occasion when Vaughn does throw one for a strike, it is hit well over 400 feet by the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
' best hitter, Clu Haywood. Brown discovers that Vaughn's eyesight is poor, and after Vaughn is given glasses he becomes very accurate. "Wild Thing" remains Vaughn's nickname, and he becomes the team's ace. The team begins winning and is able to bring their win-loss percentage to .400. Phelps realizes this is not bad enough to stall attendance and decides to demoralize the team further by removing luxuries, such as replacing their team jet airplane with a dilapidated prop-plane, later replacing that with a bus. However, these changes do not affect the Indians' performance and the team continues to improve. Donovan reveals Phelps' plan to Brown who then relays the same news to the players, telling them that if the team plays too well for Phelps to void the lease, she will bring in worse players who will. Taylor says that, since they have nothing to lose, the team should get back at Phelps by winning the pennant. Brown gives the team an incentive by removing one portion of a dress on a cardboard cut-out photo of Phelps taken during her showgirl days for every win the team achieves.
The team plays very well down the stretch of the season, and eventually clinch a tie for the division by beating the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
on the last day of the season. This forces a one-game playoff
One-game playoff
A one-game playoff, sometimes known as a pennant playoff or play-in game, is a tiebreaker in certain sports—usually but not always professional—to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a post-season tournament...
with the division's co-leaders, the Yankees. Prior to the playoff, Taylor continues to try to woo Lynn back and they share a night together. Vaughn learns that he will not be the starting pitcher for the game and goes to a bar to mope, where he encounters Suzanne Dorn. On the television broadcast of the Indians' victory party, Suzanne had seen her husband leave the team's hotel lobby with another woman; she retaliates by luring Vaughn to sleep with her. Vaughn is unaware of who she is until she tells him when she leaves Vaughn and Taylor's shared apartment.
Taylor advises Vaughn to keep his distance from Dorn for most of the game by staying in the bullpen. The game remains scoreless until the seventh inning when Harris gives up two runs. Cerrano comes to the plate in the bottom of the seventh and misses badly on two curveballs. He angrily threatens his voodoo god Jo-bu and proclaims "If you not help me now. I say Fuck you Jo-Bu, I do it myself," then hits a two-run home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
off a curveball on the next pitch to tie the game. (Ironically, Harris -- a devout Christian -- now keeps Cerrano's voodoo doll at his side while warming up.) In the top of the ninth, the Yankees are able to load the bases and Vaughn is called in to relieve Harris, with the crowd going crazy. Vaughn and Taylor are concerned when Dorn comes over to the pitcher's mound, but he only urges Vaughn to strike the next batter out. Vaughn strikes out his nemesis
Nemesis
Nemesis may refer to:* Nemesis , in Greek mythology, a spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris* Archenemy, the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction-Literature:...
Haywood on three straight fastballs and ends the inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Hayes manages to single to first and subsequently steals second. Taylor is next to bat, and after signaling back and forth with Brown, points to the bleachers, calling his shot
Babe Ruth's Called Shot
Babe Ruth's called shot was the home run hit by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, held on October 1, 1932 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. During the at-bat, Ruth made a pointing gesture, which existing film confirms, but the exact nature of his...
. However, Taylor bunts instead, catching the Yankees infield off-guard. Despite his weak knees, Taylor gets to first base. Instead of stopping, Hayes rounds third and heads for home plate, catching the Yankees off-guard again. Hayes slides safely into home, giving the Indians the win on a walk-off single. As the team celebrates, Dorn punches Vaughn in the face but then helps him up to continue the celebration. Jake finds Lynn in the stands, who raises her left hand to show that she is no longer wearing an engagement ring.
Alternate ending
The theatrical release's ending includes Rachel Phelps, apparently unable to move the team because of increased attendance, angry and disappointed about the team's success. An alternate ending on the "Wild Thing Edition" DVD shows a very different characterization of Phelps. Lou tenders his resignation and tells Phelps that he can't in good conscience work for her after she sought to sabotage the team for her own personal gain. Phelps then tells him that, in fact, she loves the Indians and never intended to move them. However, when she inherited the club from her late husband, it was on the brink of bankruptcy. Unable to afford top flight players, she decided to take a chance on unproven players from the lower leagues, whom she personally scouted, and talented older players who were generally considered washed up. She tells Lou that she likewise felt that he was the right manager to bring the ragtag group together.Phelps made up the Miami scheme and adopted a catty, vindictive persona to unify and motivate the team. As the players believed that she wanted the Indians to fail, she was able to conceal that the team could not afford basic amenities such as chartered jet travel behind a veil of taking them away to spite the players.
Lou does not resign, and Phelps reasserts her authority by saying that if he shares any part of their conversation with anyone, she will fire him.
Producers said that while the twist ending worked as a resolution of the plot, they scrapped it because test screening
Test screening
A test screening is a preview screening of a movie or television show before its general release in order to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population, and are usually asked to complete a questionnaire or provide feedback in some form. Harold...
audiences preferred the Phelps character as a villain.
Casting
Major League was notable for featuring several actors who would go on to stardom: Wesley Snipes and Rene Russo were relative unknowns before the movie was released, while Dennis Haysbert remained best known as Pedro Cerrano until he portrayed US President David PalmerDavid Palmer (24 character)
David Palmer, J.D. is a fictional President of the United States played by Dennis Haysbert as part of the television series 24. Palmer served as the show's second-most prominent protagonist, after Jack Bauer. Throughout the series, Palmer's ex-wife Sherry and brother Wayne are both key figures in...
on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
.
The film also featured former Major League players, including 1982
1982 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series Champion: St. Louis Cardinals*World Series MVP: Darrell Porter**American League Championship Series MVP: Fred Lynn**National League Championship Series MVP: Darrell Porter...
American League Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
winner Pete Vuckovich
Pete Vuckovich
Peter Dennis Vuckovich is a retired American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who came across as an intimidating presence on the mound with his 6'4" 220 lb frame and Fu Manchu moustache. Vuckovich was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1974...
as Yankees first baseman Clu Haywood, former Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
pitcher Willie Mueller
Willie Mueller
Willard Lawrence Mueller Jr. is an American former Major League Baseball Pitcher, actor, and baseball coach. He spent his entire baseball career with the Milwaukee Brewers organization .-Early years:Mueller was born in West Bend, Wisconsin...
as the Yankees pitcher known as "The Duke", and former Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
catcher Steve Yeager
Steve Yeager
Stephen Wayne "Steve" Yeager is an American right-handed former major league baseball catcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from through , with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last year, , he played for the Seattle Mariners...
as third-base coach Duke Temple. Former catcher and longtime Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker
Bob Uecker
Robert George "Bob" Uecker is an American former Major League Baseball player, later a sportscaster, comedian, and actor. Uecker was given the title of "Mr. Baseball" by Johnny Carson...
played the Indians' broadcaster Harry Doyle. The names of several crewmembers were also used for peripheral players.
Charlie Sheen himself was a pitcher on his high school's baseball team. At the time of filming Major League, his own fastball topped out at 85 miles per hour. (In 2011, Sheen said that he had used steroids
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
for nearly two months to improve his athletic abilities in the film.)
- Tom BerengerTom BerengerTom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
... Jake Taylor - Charlie SheenCharlie SheenCarlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
... Ricky Vaughn - Corbin BernsenCorbin BernsenCorbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
... Roger Dorn - Margaret WhittonMargaret WhittonMargaret Whitton is an American stage, film, and television actress, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Whitton did her primary film work between 1986 and 1993. Her most visible roles were that of baseball team owner Rachel Phelps in Major League and its sequel Major League II, and as...
... Rachel Phelps - James GammonJames GammonJames Richard Gammon was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series.-Early life:...
... Lou Brown - Rene RussoRene Russo- Early life :Russo was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Shirley , a factory worker and barmaid, and Nino Russo, a sculptor and car mechanic who left the family when Rene was two. Her father and maternal grandfather were of Italian descent. Russo grew up with her sister, Toni, and their...
... Lynn Wells - Wesley SnipesWesley SnipesWesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
... Willie Mays Hayes - Charles CyphersCharles CyphersCharles Cyphers is an American actor who has starred in many films and on television. He is known in the horror movie community for his work in the films of John Carpenter, especially his role as Sheriff Leigh Brackett in Carpenter's 1978 hit horror movie Halloween. He reprised this role in the...
... Charlie Donovan - Chelcie RossChelcie RossChelcie Claude Ross is an American character actor. He served in Vietnam as an officer in the United States Air Force, and earned an MFA from the Dallas Theater Center.-Filmography:*Skokie *On the Right Track...
... Eddie Harris - Dennis HaysbertDennis HaysbertDennis Dexter Haysbert is an American film and television actor. He is known for portraying baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the Major League film trilogy, President David Palmer on the American television series 24, and Sergeant Major Jonas Blane on the drama series The Unit, as well as his work...
... Pedro Cerrano - Andy RomanoAndy RomanoAndy Romano is an American actor, known for playing "J.D." in the 1960s Beach Party movies ....
... Pepper Leach - Bob UeckerBob UeckerRobert George "Bob" Uecker is an American former Major League Baseball player, later a sportscaster, comedian, and actor. Uecker was given the title of "Mr. Baseball" by Johnny Carson...
... Harry Doyle - Steve YeagerSteve YeagerStephen Wayne "Steve" Yeager is an American right-handed former major league baseball catcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from through , with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last year, , he played for the Seattle Mariners...
... Duke Temple - Peter Vuckovich ... Clu Haywood
- Stacy Carroll ... Suzanne Dorn
Background
The film's opening montage is a series of somber blue-collar images of the Cleveland landscape synchronized to the score of Randy NewmanRandy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
's "Burn On": an ode to the infamous night in Cleveland when the heavily polluted Cuyahoga River
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
caught fire.
Within five years of the film's release, however, the real life Indians had a new stadium (Jacobs Field, now Progressive Field) and had entered into a period of success. From 1995
1995 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was the Major League Baseball season that led to the Indians returning to the World Series for the first time since . In a season that started late by 18 games - giving it just a 144 games - the Indians finished in first place in the American League Central Division...
to 1999
1999 Cleveland Indians season
The 1999 Cleveland Indians became the first team in the modern era of major league baseball to score over 1,000 runs during the regular season. They were shut out only 3 times in 162 games. Five Indians scored at least 100 runs and four drove in at least 100 runs...
, they won five division titles (with two more in 2001
2001 Cleveland Indians season
-Offseason:* December 28, 2000: Fausto Carmona was signed by the Indians as an amateur free agent.* January 9, 2001: Juan González was signed as a free agent by the Indians.-Regular season:...
and 2007
2007 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians' 2007 season saw the Indians win the AL Central title for the first time since 2001 and play for American League title before losing to the Boston Red Sox in seven games....
) and two American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
pennants. The Indians lost the 1995 World Series
1995 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 21, 1995 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta ace Greg Maddux pitched a two-hit complete game victory in his first World Series appearance ....
to the Atlanta Braves
1995 Atlanta Braves season
The 1995 Atlanta Braves season was the 125th season in the history of the franchise and 30th season in the city of Atlanta. The team finished the strike-shortened season with a record of 90–54, the best in the National League, en route to winning the World Series. For the sixth straight season,...
in six games, and they came within two outs of winning the 1997 World Series
1997 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 18, 1997 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, FloridaThe first World Series game in the state of Florida, Game 1 featured a youngster and a veteran facing each other on the mound...
against the Florida Marlins
1997 Florida Marlins season
The 1997 Florida Marlins season started off with the team trying to improve on their record from 1996. Their manager was Jim Leyland. They played home games at Pro Player Stadium...
, but ultimately fell in extra innings in Game 7.
Despite being set in Cleveland, the film was principally shot in Milwaukee because it was cheaper and the producers were unable to work around the schedules of the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Milwaukee County Stadium
Milwaukee County Stadium
Milwaukee County Stadium was a ballpark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1953 to 2000. It was primarily used as a baseball stadium for the Milwaukee Braves and Brewers, but was also used for football games, ice skating, religious services, concerts and other large events...
, then the home of the Brewers, doubles as Cleveland Municipal Stadium for the film, although several exterior shots of Municipal Stadium were used, including some aerial shots taken during a sellout game. Both facilities have since been demolished
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
: the playing field of County Stadium is now a Little League
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
baseball field known as Helfaer Field
Helfaer Field
Helfaer Field, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a Little League baseball field that is located directly next to Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Home plate at Helfaer Field lies where the former Milwaukee County Stadium home plate was. Helfaer Field has dimensions of 200' to left, center,...
, while the rest of the former site is now a parking lot for the Brewers' new home, Miller Park; the new Cleveland Browns Stadium
Cleveland Browns Stadium
-See also:* List of current National Football League stadiums* Chronology of home stadiums for current National Football League teams* List of American football stadiums by capacity* List of U.S. stadiums by capacity* List of North American stadiums by capacity...
, a football-only facility owned by the City of Cleveland and used by the Browns, sits on the site of its predecessor.