Summer in Texas means three things: brutal heat, ballpark nachos, and enough baseball to make your glove cry uncle. After a full weekend of select games, sometimes the only thing better than a cold Gatorade is collapsing on the couch with a baseball movie that actually gets it.

Whether you’re looking to relive your glory days, introduce your kids to the legends, or just zone out to some baseball chaos, here’s the ultimate list of summer baseball movies to keep your love of the game alive — even when the scoreboard says otherwise.

🧢 1. The Sandlot (1993)

“You’re killin’ me, Smalls!”

This is the summer baseball movie. Set in the early ’60s, it’s about pick-up games, big dreams, and battling a terrifying backyard beast. It’s nostalgic, it’s quotable, and it might just inspire your kid to break a window with a wiffle ball.

Perfect For: Backyard game kids and baseball dads reliving their golden summers.

Sandlot

• Youngsters will get a kick out of this kid's-eye-view story of what happens when a shy boy moves to a new neighborhood and becomes involved with a ragtag baseball team
• Wonderfully funny moments ensue

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🔥 2. Major League (1989)

Before there were travel teams, there was the Cleveland Indians and “Wild Thing” Vaughn. This R-rated comedy is full of profanity, bad decisions, and classic one-liners — so maybe wait until the little ones hit the hay.

Perfect For: Baseball parents who need an adult laugh after 14 innings and 5 snow cones.

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👑 3. A League of Their Own (1992)

“There’s no crying in baseball!” Except during this movie, because it’s that good. This story of women playing pro baseball during WWII is inspiring, hilarious, and all-around iconic. Plus, Madonna is in it — remember her?

Perfect For: Empowering your softball queen or reminding your son women can throw heat.

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A League of Their Own

• Tom Hanks and Geena Davis star in this big-league comedy based on the real-life exploits of the All-American Girls Baseball League

$11.04

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🧢 4. The Bad News Bears (1976)

Not the remake — the original. It’s gritty, inappropriate, and weirdly honest about youth baseball. Think: if your kid’s 8U coach was an alcoholic chain-smoker with a heart of gold.

Perfect For: Parents who secretly want to say what this coach says out loud.

The Bad News Bears (Blu-ray + Digital)

• Hilarious horsehide hoot follows the Bears, a bottom-of-the-barrel Little League team made up of some of the worst players to ever set foot on a baseball field
• The squad is raised from dead last, however, thanks to the arrival of a beer-swilling coach (Walter Matthau), a female pitcher (Tatum O'Neal), and a motorcycle-riding juvenile delinquent (Jackie Earle Haley)
• With Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten, Ben Piazza; scripted by Bill Lancaster (Burt's son)
• 101 min
• Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5

$10.95

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🌽 5. Field of Dreams (1989)

“If you build it, he will come.” This one hits different when you’ve built a backyard batting cage and still end up pitching to air because your kid’s “too tired.” It’s about fathers, baseball, and chasing dreams even when everyone thinks you’ve lost your mind.

Perfect For: Dads. And kids who don’t yet realize how much their dads love baseball.

Field of Dreams (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)

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• [CDATA[ Considered one of the most inspirational movies of all time, Field of Dreams is an incredible story starring Kevin Costner
• "If you build it, he will come
• " With these words, Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is inspired by a voice he cannot ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe
• Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true

$10.59

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📈 6. Moneyball (2011)

Less about diving catches, more about stats and spreadsheets — and it’s still awesome. If you’re the parent with a Google Sheet for every player’s OBP, you’ll eat this up.

Perfect For: Baseball nerds, number-crunchers, and travel parents tracking pitch counts religiously.

Moneyball

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👶 7. Rookie of the Year (1993)

A 12-year-old breaks his arm and becomes a flame-throwing MLB pitcher. It’s every kid’s fantasy… and somehow it works. Float it!

Perfect For: Little Leaguers dreaming of hitting 90 mph in middle school.

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Rookie of the Year

• When the cast is removed from his severely broken arm, clumsy 12-year old Henry Rowengartner (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is shocked to find his arm has become a 100 mile per-hour thunderbolt
• His throw from the bleachers directly to home plate alerts the last place Chicago Cubs and before you can shout "play ball!" he is signed as their new ace pitcher
• With a few pointers from an aging star pitcher (Gary Busey) young Henry actually manages to pull of the impossible

$7.47

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🪽 8. Angels in the Outfield (1994)

Danny Glover. Young Joseph Gordon-Levitt. A team of heavenly helpers. If your team needs divine intervention just to make a routine grounder, this one’s for you.

Perfect For: Feel-good family movie night. (Or cursed teams in a midseason slump.)

Angels in the Outfield

$7.60

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🌟 9. The Natural (1984)

Robert Redford. A homemade bat named “Wonderboy.” Slow-mo home runs that blow the lights out. This one’s got drama, old-school baseball magic, and a killer soundtrack.

Perfect For: Baseball romantics and dads who miss wood bats.

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The Natural - 4K + Blu-ray + Digital

• Robert Redford stars in the inspiring fable of a baseball player's major league dreams and the mysterious woman who shatters them

$18.54

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⚾ 10. 42 (2013)

NTX Select FAVORITE:

The powerful story of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. A must-watch for kids learning what real courage and grace under pressure looks like.

Perfect For: Teaching young players the deeper meaning of the game.

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42 (Blu-ray)

• 42 (Target/Blu-ray+DVD+UltraViolet Combo Pack/Bonus Content) History was made in 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the professional baseball race barrier to become the first African American MLB player of the modern era
• 42 tells the life story of Robinson and his history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford)
• ]]>

$12.74

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🧢 Bonus Bench Players (Still Worth a Watch):

• Eight Men Out – The Black Sox scandal for the history buffs.

• Little Big League – When a kid becomes an MLB manager. Total chaos.

• Summer Catch – Baseball and romance collide. A 2000s teen fever dream.

• Benchwarmers – For when you need something stupid after a long tourney weekend.

⚾ TL;DR:

These movies aren’t just about the game — they’re about what the game means. The friendships, the frustrations, the dreams, the dads, the dirt… all of it. Pop some popcorn, crack open a cold one, and let the game roll on.

🎯 Want to Stream These Movies?

We’ll be building a watch list with Amazon links (and maybe even a printable scorecard for your kids to rate them). Stay tuned, and check back at NTXSelectBaseball.com for updates!