ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (1993) *1/2 Ah, back when the Mets and Cubs were in the same division, those were the days. If you're a North American and don't love baseball there's probably no hope for you; if you aren't American and aren't hopelessly confused about the attraction the same might be said. In any event, it takes more than this to make me vote for the Cubs against the Mets, but at least the poor kid didn't have to get traded to the Yankees. The difficult part to believe isn't that a little kid had a freak recovery from a broken arm that allows him to make the major leagues, but that Thomas Ian Nicholas can get out big league hitters with only one pitch: a 103 mph fastball with no movement. Realist doctrinaires may also detect a certain failure by the umpires in the "hidden ball trick" scene. It's not brilliant cinema, in fact the funniest bits are Albert Hall's efforts to say "Henry Rowengartner." John Candy is always fun, but anything touching on the Cubs and magic cries out for the real Harry Carey; one of my all-time great baseball memories is listening to Harry try to introduce the Mets infield one day when Edgardo Alfonzo was on third, Rey Ordonez at short, Jose Vizcaino at second and...he gave up entirely before even trying Roberto Petagine at first...then there's the time that he called Mike Cubbage, "Mike Cabbage." So yeah, the Cubs will always be cool no matter what with the ghost of Harry, the incarnate spirit of baseball, hanging around Wrigley Field. Real footage of selected sluggers whiffing, including the great Barry Bonds. Is Gary Busey playing at Jerry Reuss with some success, or what?
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