The Folder of Fun, as I like to call it, has been in the works for about three years. That's about the time I stopped buying retail and hobby packs and began tracking down cards which fit a certain general description: FUN. Here's a link to the first post in this series if you'd like to go back and catch up.
Page 4 brings the final cinematic installment within the
Folder of Fun. Today we take a look at the 2014 5"x7" Topps
Major League cards done up in the 1989 design.
Major League is my favorite baseball movie and it's largely because it does such a great job of showing you the personalities inside a clubhouse and how they piece to together. The over-the-top quirkiness of some of the players certainly helps its case in my eyes.
The old saying goes, "You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your
family teammates." Watching this group of baseball misfits mesh together to bring Cleveland a winner is classic.
Exhibit A: Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn
Vaughn made the team straight out of prison and had the personality to match.
Jake Taylor, the leader of the team, was the veteran and problem solver for the band of miscreants. His ordering of a bucket of fried chicken for Pedro Cerrano to sacrifice was brilliant!
Eddie Harris was the perfect example of a pitcher doing everything possible to hang on to the last rung of the ladder before succumbing to retirement. Bonus: He didn't see eye-to-eye with Cerrano and/or Jobu.
Roger Dorn, what a materialistic pretty boy. I still accuse my players of o'laying a baseball when they play one off to the side.
Every movie needs a villain and Rachel Phelps was just that.
Jobu. Someday I'll pony up for a Jobu bobblehead. That'll be a good day!
I wish Cerrano and Willie Mays Hayes would have made the checklist, but otherwise I'm really happy with this set, even if the cards are much larger than most, at 5" by 7".
What's your favorite baseball movie?
The next post I'll reveal a page of more traditional baseball cards, but they'll still have that "fun" quality to them.
Thanks for reading!
I bought one of these 5x7 sets too back in the day. Loved the wax pack wrapper it came in. When I reviewed the set back in 2014, I mentioned that I wish they had Willie Mays Hayes and Pedro Cerrano too. I would have been cool had they included Lou Brown and Harry Doyle too.
ReplyDeleteBy the way... my favorite baseball movie is Pride of the Yankees.
DeleteOh, Lou and Harry would have been excellent additions as well!
DeleteLike yourself, Major League is one of my favorite baseball movies. As an Indians fan, this movie gave me some hope. One of my collecting goals is to add this set to my collection since I do not have any of them.
ReplyDeleteI see Trevor Bauer in Eddie Harris. I can't un-see it.
ReplyDeleteHahaha yes!
DeleteOne of the few movie series where I like the second film just as much as the first! Although this set feels incomplete without Willie Mays Hayes.
ReplyDeleteMajor League was a good comedy. I do agree that Snipes and Haysbert should be in there (rights issue, I'm guessing).
ReplyDeleteMy favorite baseball movie is A League of Their Own, closely followed by Moneyball.
A League of Their Own is my favorite baseball movie by a large margin, with Major League likely being #2 ahead of Little Big League. The sexism angle is a little too pronounced and has definitely aged poorly, which loses it some points for me. The characters are brilliantly-written, though. Lou Brown might be my favorite on-screen manager, so it is a little disappointing that he was omitted from this set.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Brett, my favorites are A League of Their Own and Moneyball. Major League is OK, never has been my favorite, fun though.
ReplyDeleteI love "Major League" - it's just wacky and fun.
ReplyDelete