Rookie of the Year (1993)

• Year: 1993
• Released: 07 Jul 1993
• Country: United States
• Adwords: 1 win & 1 nomination
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107985/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rookie_of_the_year
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rookie-of-the-year
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
• Runtime: 103 min
• Writer: Sam Harper
• Director: Daniel Stern
• Cast: Thomas Ian Nicholas, Gary Busey, Albert Hall
• Keywords: sports, baseball,

	6.0/10
	53/100
	35% – Critics
	52% – Audience

Rookie of the Year Storyline

12-year-old Henry Rowengartner, whose late father was a minor league baseball player, grew up dreaming of playing baseball, despite his physical shortcomings. Although he’s close to his mother, Mary, he hates her latest boyfriend, Jack Bradfield. After his arm is broken while trying to catch a baseball at school, the tendon heals too tightly, allowing him to throw pitches that are as fast as 103 mph. He is spotted at Wrigley Field by Larry “Fish” Fisher, the general manager of the struggling Chicago Cubs, after he throws an opponent’s home run ball all the way from the outfield bleachers back to the catcher, and it seems that he may be the pitcher that team owner Bob Carson has been praying for. At first, Manager Sal Martinella doesn’t like him being on the team, but despite the rawness of his talent, he revives everyone’s team spirit and reignites the enthusiasm of the fans. While money hungry Jack pulls strings behind the scenes to line his own pockets, Mary starts to fall for veteran pitcher Chet “Rocket” Steadman, whose injuries are curtailing a once sparkling career. While Henry bonds with Chet, his friends resent his star status when he arrives late to help them work on an old boat. As the Cubs head for the National League Championship series, Jack agrees to hand over Henry’s contract to the New York Yankees for 25 million dollars. Mary doesn’t like that, so when Jack angers her even more by stupidly saying that Henry is half his, she literally punches him out the door, with Henry cheering her on. Thinking about the idea of retiring, Henry and Chet both start performing badly, but they set out to redeem themselves at the National League Championship series.

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Rookie of the Year Movie Reviews

Not a Bad Sports Movie!

Rookie of the Year is a pretty good sports movie even though I have seen better. I thought that Daniel Stern as the pitching coach was hilarious but in reality a guy like him would have been fired before the first pitch of the season-at least the late, great Steinbrenner would. It was also nice to see how a young teenager would adapt to the adult world of baseball.

This is about a 12-year-old who can suddenly throw a hundred miles an hour after he recovered from a broken arm. Once again, that’s impossible in real life. Anyway, he is a midseason addition to the Cubs and he makes them more than the mediocre team that they were.

Overall, this is a pretty solid sports movie. There was great acting by the kids. But the ending is all to predictable. I rate this film 7/10.

“Pitcher’s got a big butt”

Young Thomas Ian Nicholas gets a once in a lifetime chance to play for the Chicago Cubs and lead them to a pennant in 1993 the year Rookie Of The Year came out. At the time the Cubs had not won a pennant since 1945 and no World Series victory since 1908.

It happens quite by accident because the young man wasn’t the most talented of players. An accident where he broke his arm and some ribs had him in a most uncomfortable cast. But it tightened the tendons in his pitching arm. So when at a game at Wrigley Field where Nicholas is sitting in the bleachers and the bleacher bums who occupy it tell him to throw the opposing ball back, Nicholas unlooses a throw that Carl Furillo would have envied, a perfect strike on the fly to home plate.

With nothing else to lose the Cubs sign the 12 year old up. The wartime Cincinnati Reds signed Joe Nuxhall at 15 to their roster. In real life that record still has to be broken.

Tommy John surgery never gave anyone in real life speed like young Nicholas has.

Young Nicholas is surrounded with a good cast of adults such as Amy Morton as his mom, Gary Busey as a washed up pitcher hoping for a comeback, Eddie Bracken as the Cubs eccentric owner and John Candy who is unbilled and was a famous Cubs fan as their play by play announcer.

No story would be complete without villains and two real good ones are here. Dan Hedaya as the Cubs GM and Bruce Altman who specializes in smarmy villains is at his smarmiest as a talent agent. Both are looking to exploit young Nicholas to the max without considering him.

The finale includes a playoff with the Mets and young Nicholas uses some sandlot savvy in the crucial moments.

In 2016 the Cubs finally did it, but this film Rookie Of The Year is still a delightful baseball fantasy.

Wholesome family fun

Henry Rowengartner is a 12 year old boy who got injured in school trying to catch a ball. When the cast comes off, his arm becomes a rocket launcher. On his day in the Cubs bleachers, he takes a HR ball from the opposition and throws a clothsline to the plate. The desperate Cubs immediately tracks him down and signs him as a pitcher.

This is Daniel Stern’s only directorial full length movie. He’s done some Wonder Years episodes before this. There isn’t any glaring directing problems. It’s a relatively good effort. Stern must be a long suffering Cubs fan. Only a Cubs fan could come up a 12 year old savior for the long suffering club.

Thomas Ian Nicholas is a charming little boy. He encompasses the innocence and the wonder that this movie absolutely requires. The final 3 outs are the stuff of teen boys’ fantasy. That’s the kind of wholesome entertainment this is all about.