Major League

Synopsis: Rachel Phelps is the new owner of the Cleveland Indians baseball team. However, her plans for the team are rather nefarious. She wants to move the team to Miami for the warmer climate and a new stadium. To justify the move, the team has to lose, and lose badly. So she assembles the worst possible team she can. Among these are a past-his-prime catcher with bad knees, a shrewd but past-his-prime pitcher, a young tearaway pitcher (and felon) with a 100 mph fastball but absolutely no control, a third baseman who is too wealthy and precious to dive, a voodoo-loving slugger who can't hit a curve ball and an energetic-but-naive lead off hitter and base-stealer who can't keep the ball on the ground. Against the odds, and after the inevitable initial failures, they iron out some of their faults and start to win, much to Ms Phelps' consternation.
Genre: Comedy, Sport
Director(s): David S. Ward
Production: Paramount Home Video
  1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
7.2
Metacritic:
62
Rotten Tomatoes:
82%
R
Year:
1989
107 min
2,332 Views


Yeah!

Stay! Stay!

- Stay!

- I got it!

Good morning, gentlemen,

and welcome to another season

of Indians baseball.

I know it may not seem the same

without Donald here,

but I promise you,

by the end of this season,

we will have made history.

Unfortunately, there are

some in the press who feel that

"the ex-showgirl wife of Donald Phelps

"has no business being the owner

of a major league baseball team."

Spring training begins in two weeks.

Here's a list of the players

we'll be inviting to camp.

I never heard of half of these guys,

and the ones I do know

are way past their prime.

Most of these guys never had a prime.

The facts are, we lost

our two best players to free agency.

We haven't won a pennant

in over 35 years.

We haven't placed higher than fourth

in the last 15.

Obviously, it's time for some changes.

- This guy here is dead.

- Cross him off, then.

Spring training starts on the 1st.

How do you think the Indians

will do this year?

It doesn't look too good.

These guys don't look too f***ing good.

Oh, hi, Charlie. Come in, have a seat.

I'm glad you called me in.

I'm still unclear

about a couple of things.

Oh, really? Like what?

Well, if I'm the GM,

who's gonna be the manager?

I was thinking of Lou Brown.

Who's Lou Brown?

He's managed the Toledo Mud Hens

of the International League

for the last 30 years.

I think he'll fit right in

with our team concept.

What exactly is our team concept?

That's what I wanted

to talk to you about, Charlie.

I want to put together a team

that'll help us relocate to Miami.

What do you mean?

Some of these guys

are furniture movers?

I'm serious about this, Charlie.

It's no secret

I've never liked Cleveland much.

The stadium's falling apart,

we don't draw dick, the weather's lousy.

Another couple years of this,

and I'm gonna have to start

feeding Cha-Cha real dog food.

Mrs. Phelps, you just can't

up and move a team on a whim.

It's hardly a whim.

Miami's offered

to build us a new stadium:

62,000 capacity,

45 VIP boxes,

and for me, a mansion in Boca Raton,

plus free membership in

the Palm Beach Polo and Country Club.

Now, no other franchise in baseball

can match that deal.

The league will never let us

leave Cleveland.

We got a lease with the city.

The lease says

we have the right to move

if the attendance falls below 800,000

for the year.

Paragraph 40, line 17.

If we play bad enough, we should

be able to come in under that.

What are you saying?

You want us to lose?

No. We've been losing.

What I want is for us to finish dead last.

- Yeah?

- Hello, Jake?

This is Charlie Donovan,

the new GM of the Cleveland Indians.

Yeah.

We'd love for you

to come to spring training

for a shot at this year's club.

- Is that you, Talbert?

- What?

This isn't very funny, you know.

I'm hung over,

my knees are killing me,

and if you're gonna pull this sh*t,

at least you could have said

you were from the Yankees.

Tire World.

Hello, Lou? This is Charlie Donovan

of the Cleveland Indians.

How would you like to manage

the Indians this year?

I don't know.

What do you mean, you don't know?

This is a chance to manage

in the big leagues.

Let me think it over, will you, Charlie?

I got a guy on the other line

about some whitewalls.

I'll talk to you later.

Rick, we heard about your pitching

out of Portland last year.

I'm not really with them anymore.

Well, we'd still like to take a look at you

at our spring camp in Arizona,

March the 1st.

Well, I'm not sure I can make it by then.

There's Jake Taylor.

He was an all-star at Boston, wasn't he?

Yeah, wound up in the Mexican League.

Had some problems with his knees.

- Wish we had him two years ago.

- We did.

Four years ago, then.

Who is that?

Must be Cerrano.

Defected from Cuba.

Wanted religious freedom.

What's his religion?

Voodoo.

I thought you didn't have

any high-priced talent.

Forgot about Dorn,

'cause he's only high-priced.

Picked him up as a free agent

three years ago.

Still hits the ball pretty well, doesn't he?

Yeah. He just can't field it.

We'll shape him up.

Hey.

I don't recognize this guy.

Say, hey. Willie Mays Hayes here.

Play like Mays, but I run like Hayes.

How you doing?

How you doing?

- My man.

- Lou Brown. Nice to meet you, Hayes.

The parking lot is right out there.

Thanks.

Oh, and don't you guys go anywhere.

I plan to put on a hitting display.

I don't remember a Hayes on the list.

Look at this f***ing guy.

My kinda team, Charlie.

It's my kinda team.

Mr. Dorn.

Harris! How you doing?

Hey, that weave is looking good, huh?

It's better than that rug of yours.

Whoa! Another freak show candidate.

How do you cut your hair, rook?

Vegematic?

The earring's cute, too. Have you got

the matching bracelet, veg-head?

Whoa.

- Watch yourself, Rog.

- Mr. Tough Guy.

Hi. Jake Taylor.

So, you got a name,

or are you gonna settle for "veg-head"?

- Vaughn. Rick Vaughn.

- Hi, Rick.

Hey, forget about Dorn.

He's always a little tough

on the rookies.

You get a lot worse from other clubs.

Say, hey! How you doing?

Willie Mays Hayes here.

Jake Taylor here.

Rick Vaughn.

What the hell league

you been playing in?

California Penal.

Never heard of it.

Well, how'd you end up playing there?

Stole a car.

Hey, big guy. You a golfer?

Hats for bats.

Yeah. What's your handicap?

Keep bats warm.

Gracias.

Whoa, amigo, I...

You can't...

You're welcome.

This is the guy

that wasn't invited to the camp.

Let's take his ass out.

Sh*t! I've been cut already?

Who the hell is that?

Get him a uniform.

All right.

Did you get enough hay for him?

You sure?

Take good care of it, all right? All right.

Hey, Jake. How's the knees holding up?

Great. Never been better.

Mobility's good? No problem

getting off the throw to second?

No problemo.

I need a catcher, Jake,

somebody who can lead this team

on the field.

So, I want the absolute truth here.

Are you 100%?

Yeah. Would I bullshit you

about something like that?

You better,

if you wanna make this team.

Second base!

Sh*t.

Hold it. Hold it.

Well, you may run like Mays,

but you hit like sh*t.

With your speed,

you should hit the ball on the ground

and be legging them out.

Every time I see you hit one in the air,

you owe me 20 pushups.

Hey, no problem.

Sh*t.

All right, Vaughn,

they tell us you're a pitcher.

You're sure not much of a dresser.

We wear caps and sleeves

at this level, son.

Understood?

All right, let's see what you can do.

- Nice velocity.

- Sounded like it.

Jesus.

How much?

Better teach this kid some control

before he kills somebody.

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David S. Ward

David Schad Ward (born October 25, 1945) is an American film director and screen writer. He is an Academy Award winner for the George Roy Hill heist film The Sting (1973). more…

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    "Major League" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/major_league_13200>.

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