History Film / MajorLeague

* SpringtimeForHitler: Rachel's scheme to move the Indians to Miami in the first movie involves putting together a team so bad it drives away fans and causes attendance at the stadium to plummet so much she get the team out of its contract with the city of Cleveland.

* HesBack: Vaughn ditches the new haircut and personality at the end of the sequel. Someone in the booth even recognizes the change and plays "Wild Thing" for him.

The success spawned a LighterAndSofter sequel in 1994, ''Major League II'', which brought back most of the cast in one capacity or another, sans now-a-superstar Snipes, with Creator/OmarEpps replacing him in the role. Several new characters -- naive farmboy Rube Baker, Japanese import Isuro "Taka" Tanaka, and arrogant superstar Jack Parkman (who is briefly a teammate but is swiftly traded and becomes a bitter rival to the team) -- entered the fold, while the plot deals with the team letting the success of the previous year go to their heads and having to find their way back to their winning ways once more and take care of unfinished business.

''Major League II'' faltered with critics and at the box office, but another sequel, ''Major League: Back to the Minors'', was released in 1998. ''Minors'' switches the franchise from the Indians to the Minnesota Twins and follows their (fictional) AAA team, the Buzz. The main character of the film is player-turned-manager Gus Cantrell (Creator/ScottBakula), who tries to fix the various issues within his team while settling an old score with the manager of the Twins, Leonard Huff (Creator/TedMcGinley, signifying that the series was JumpingTheShark). Some old faces also returned in Cerrano, Baker, Taka, Dorn (now the Twins owner), and Harry Doyle, but the movie was a massive bomb, setting a then-record for the worst opening weekend ever for a film opening in over 2,000 screens. A fourth film has languished in DevelopmentHell ever since, but the original film is still regarded in most circles as a sports-film classic.

The film was a critical and commercial success, with many of its memorable quotes worming its way into the baseball lexicon ("Juuuust a bit outside!"). Longtime baseball man Creator/BobUecker, an announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers who was also an actor and played the Indians' snarky play-by-play man Harry Doyle, became a truly iconic, humorous figure within the sport in large part to this movie. The Indians' fanbase (along with the rest of Major League Baseball) embraced it as the best thing to happen to the franchise in decades, and was a precursor to their winning ways in the 1990s, while the film popularized Rick Vaughn's climactic PowerWalk out of the bullpen to a now-common practice in [=MLB=].

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/majorleague1989.jpg]]

In this case, the misfits in question are the Cleveland Indians,[[note]] now the Cleveland Guardians [[/note]] a Major League Baseball team that hasn't made a postseason appearance in over three decades and is arguably the most moribund franchise in the sport (which, at the time, was TruthInTelevision). After the team's elderly owner suddenly expires, ownership passes to his much younger, ex-showgirl TrophyWife Rachel Phelps (Creator/MargaretWhitton), who's a RichBitch and CorruptCorporateExecutive. Despising both the dreary city of Cleveland and the terrible reputation of the team, Phelps dreams of moving the Indians to a sunnier, more glamorous location – and it turns out that she can make this dream come true, as a clause in team's contract with the city states that if attendance falls low enough she will have the right to unilaterally relocate the team.

To accomplish this goal, she assembles the sorriest bunch of ballplayers she can find. This includes aging, past their best veterans like catcher Jake Taylor (Creator/TomBerenger) whose knees and career are hanging by a thread, former star Roger Dorn (Creator/CorbinBernsen), who now pays much more attention to managing his investments than to baseball, and Eddie Harris (Chelcie Ross), a pitcher who doesn't have much life left in his arm but makes up for it with a combination of cunning and various ''thoroughly'' illegal tricks and substances which he uses to give a little extra juice to his pitches. The veterans are joined by off-the-street rookies with no experience or reputation, like hot-headed, ex-con pitcher Rick Vaughn (Creator/CharlieSheen), who has serious control issues with both his pitches and his personal life, and the voodoo-practicing slugger Pedro Cerrano (Creator/DennisHaysbert), who can't hit a curveball to save his life. Lastly there's the brash and fast Willie Mays Hayes (Creator/WesleySnipes), who just sort of shows up at the team's training camp despite not being invited and wows the staff enough to earn a spot. All of the above players wind up under the gruff but caring guidance of new manager Lou Brown (James Gammon), who's spent his entire career with the minor league Toledo Mud Hens [[note]]a real-life AAA farm team for the Detroit Tigers[[/note]] and has never managed a game at the big-league level.

In this case, the misfits in question are the Cleveland Indians,[[note]] now the Cleveland Guardians [[/note]] a Major League Baseball team that hasn't made a postseason appearance in over three decades and is arguably the most moribund franchise in the sport (which, at the time, was TruthInTelevision). After the team's elderly owner suddenly expires, ownership passes to his much younger, ex-showgirl TrophyWife Rachel Phelps (Creator/MargaretWhitton), a RichBitch and CorruptCorporateExecutive. Despising both the dreary city of Cleveland and the terrible reputation of the team, Phelps dreams of relocating the Indians to a sunnier, more glamorous location – and it turns out that she can make this dream come true, since a clause in team's contract with the city states that if attendance falls low enough she will have the right to unilaterally move the team.

To accomplish this goal, she assembles the sorriest bunch of ballplayers she can find. This includes aging, past their best veterans like catcher Jake Taylor (Creator/TomBerenger) whose knees and career are hanging by a thread, former star Roger Dorn (Creator/CorbinBernsen), who now pays much more attention to managing his investments than to baseball, and Eddie Harris (Chelcie Ross), a pitcher who doesn't have much life left in his arm but makes up for it with a combination of cunning and various ''thoroughly'' illegal tricks and substances that he uses to give a little extra juice to his pitches. The veterans are joined by off-the-street rookies with no experience or reputation like hot-headed, ex-con pitcher Rick Vaughn (Creator/CharlieSheen), who has serious control issues with both his pitches and his personal life, and the voodoo-practicing slugger Pedro Cerrano (Creator/DennisHaysbert), who can't hit a curveball to save his life. Lastly there's the brash and fast Willie Mays Hayes (Creator/WesleySnipes), who just sort of shows up at the team's training camp despite not being invited and wows the staff enough to earn a spot. All of the above players wind up under the gruff but caring guidance of manager Lou Brown (James Gammon), a coach who has spent his entire career in the minor league system and has never coached a game at the major league level.

A 1989 comedy, written and directed by David S. Ward, about a RagtagBunchOfMisfits.

In this case, the misfits in question are the Cleveland Indians (now the Cleveland Guardians), a baseball team that hadn't made a playoff appearance in over 30 years and is arguably the most moribund franchise in the majors (which at the time was TruthInTelevision). After the sudden death of the team's elderly owner, ownership of the team has passed to his much younger wife, Rachel Phelps (Creator/MargaretWhitton), a RichBitch and CorruptCorporateExecutive. Despising both the dreary city of Cleveland and the terrible reputation of the team, Phelps dreams of moving the team to a sunnier, more glamorous location... and it turns out that she can make this dream come true, as a clause in team's contract with the city states that if attendance falls low enough she will have the right to unilaterally move the team.

In this case, the misfits in question are the Cleveland Indians, a baseball team that hadn't made a playoff appearance in over 30 years and is arguably the most moribund franchise in the majors (which at the time was TruthInTelevision). After the sudden death of the team's elderly owner, ownership of the team has passed to his much younger wife, Rachel Phelps (Creator/MargaretWhitton), a RichBitch and CorruptCorporateExecutive. Despising both the dreary city of Cleveland and the terrible reputation of the team, Phelps dreams of moving the team to a sunnier, more glamorous location... and it turns out that she can make this dream come true, as a clause in team's contract with the city states that if attendance falls low enough she will have the right to unilaterally move the team.

* SchmuckBait: Cerrano's last at bat in the 2nd movie. Parkman just called a fastball that Pedro missed by a mile.
-->'''Cerrano''': That last pitch, man... that was beautiful.
** Parkman calls the same pitch... and Cerrano crushes it.
-->'''Cerrano''': YEAH! Not as beautiful as that, though!
** Hayes also does this to Parkman. Right before drawing a walk, he tells him he'll be around to score, and that he's not going to slide. Parkman, a large catcher, is amused at the leadoff man. Sure enough, a hit brings Hayes around to home, Parkman prepares for a collision... and Hayes jumps ''over'' Parkman to score.
-->'''Hayes''': [[ExactWords I told you I wasn't gonna slide]]!

In this case, the misfits in question are the Cleveland Indians, a baseball team that hadn't made a playoff appearance in over 30 years and is arguably the most moribund franchise in the majors (which at the time was TruthInTelevision). After the sudden death of the team's elderly owner, ownership of the team has passed to his much younger wife, Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton), a RichBitch and CorruptCorporateExecutive. Despising both the dreary city of Cleveland and the terrible reputation of the team, Phelps dreams of moving the team to a sunnier, more glamorous location... and it turns out that she can make this dream come true, as a clause in team's contract with the city states that if attendance falls low enough she will have the right to unilaterally move the team.

--> '''Pops''': Yeah, yeah, that'll do it.

The success spawned a LighterAndSofter sequel in 1994, ''Major League II'', which brought back the cast sans now-a-superstar Snipes, with Creator/OmarEpps replacing him in the role. Several new characters -- naive farmboy Rube Baker, Japanese import Isuro "Taka" Tanaka, and teammate-turned-rival Jack Parkman -- entered the fold, while the plot deals with the team letting the success of the previous year go to their heads and having to find their way back to their winning ways once more and take care of unfinished business.

** This is, of course, was TruthInTelevision at the time for die-hard Cleveland Indians fans (as well as Atlanta Braves fans, Washington Redskins fans, and Florida State Seminoles fans.) It is ''slowly'' becoming less so as teams like Washington and Cleveland abandon Native American mascots.

** Anyone with knee problems can tell you there's ''no way'' Jake could do what he does and still be standing.

* CallingYourShots: Invoked, lampshaded and then subverted. Early in the first film when he first gets to the Indians' stadium, Jake Taylor (Creator/TomBerenger) steps up to the plate and imagines successfully calling a home run. Near the end of the movie he pulls out this ChekhovsGun during the BigGame, apparently emulating the famous occasion where Babe Ruth did this. [[spoiler:[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Then he bunts, and the Yankees are completely unprepared for it]]]].

-->'''Dorn''': Let’s cut through the crap, Vaughn. I’ve only got one thing to say to you...''STRIKE THIS MOTHERFUCKER OUT!!!''

--> "I ''hate'' this ''fucking song''..."

--> Look, I good to you, I stick up for you, and you no help me now... I say ''fuck you, Jobu. I do it myself.''

* TrashTalk: As perhaps should be expected for a bunch of macho jocks, the first film is ''overflowing'' with it. Everything from snarky comments to what are essentially challenges to fist fights flow back and forth between the various players. Perhaps the best case being a game where Jake Taylor gets into the head of the last batter by telling him how the guy will either be a hero or a choker based on what he does at that moment, then at the very last second distracts the guy by saying he saw the guy's wife dancing with another man and implying the two are having an affair. The batter, (who hit a ball that "Still hasn't landed yet" according to Vaughn during his prior at bat) hits a harmless pop fly and the Indians win the game.

->'''Jake Taylor''': Win the whole...fucking...thing.

In this case, they're the Cleveland Indians, a baseball team that hadn't made a playoff appearance in over 30 years and was arguably the most moribund franchise in the majors (which at the time was TruthInTelevision). No one in Cleveland even knows who's on the team, which is a calculated move by Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton), the [[RichBitch new team owner]]. It's all part of her ploy to get the franchise to fail so badly (and draw so little attendance) that she can void her contracts and move the team to greener pastures in Florida. To this end, she assembles the sorriest bunch of ballplayers she can find. Aging vets Jake Taylor (Creator/TomBerenger), Roger Dorn (Creator/CorbinBernsen), and Eddie Harris (Chelcie Ross) are joined by several off-the-street rookies like the brash and fast Willie Mays Hayes (Creator/WesleySnipes), hot-headed and wild flamethrower Rick Vaughn (Creator/CharlieSheen), and the voodoo-practicing slugger Pedro Cerrano (Creator/DennisHaysbert). Under the gruff but caring guidance of new manager Lou Brown (James Gammon), the team spends the season navigating personal issues, in-house rivalries, and glaring holes in their game to outperform expectations. And when the team finds out about Rachel Phelps's scheme, they can think of no better way to disrupt it than to do the unthinkable and win it all...

* ArtisticLicenseSports: Even if they are nobodies, they're playing in the big leagues, and in real life the players' union would never tolerate the indignities the Indians are subjected to (bus travel, no training equipment, etc.)

%%* BaldHeadOfToughness: Cerrano. We even see him shaving for the coolness... ''using a big-ass knife''.

* BitingTheHandHumor: True to some extent in the first film, as its US distributor, Creator/{{Paramount}}, was owned by Gulf and Western at the time of the film's release, and Gulf and Western also owned the regional sports network that began televising Yankees games in 1989, MSG Network.

* BrickJoke: Pedro's "hats for bats" are being used by him in the on-deck circle in the last game.

* ChewOutFakeOut: Dorn storms up to Vaughn on the mound before the latter is set to face Haywood in a big spot in the 9th, after [[spoiler: Vaughn unwittingly slept with Dorn's wife earlier]]:

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In the opening scene Phelps hands out the list of spring training invitees. One of the board members points out that one of them is dead. Phelps flatly tells him to just cross the name off.
* CrazyEnoughToWork: Taylor signaling to Brown for what amounts to a squeeze play with Hayes on ''second''. Brown notes that it's "a hell of an idea" and relays it to Coach Temple and Hayes. TruthInTelevision, it's been pulled off before, as seen [[http://m.mlb.com/video/v23645367/toroak-gose-scores-davis-from-second-with-sac-bunt here]]. Taylor's is more impressive, as it's with two outs in the inning, so he has to beat out the throw for Hayes to have a chance to score, and he is an old catcher with two bad knees.

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: After Dorn refuses to dive for a ground ball that nearly costs them a win, Taylor tells him that if he ever lolligags in the field again: "I'm gonna cut your nuts off and stuff them down your fucking throat!"

* FlippingTheBird: While Rachel isn't looking at them, ''the entire team'' gives her a simultaneous ''bras d'honneur'', then simultaneously drop their arms when she turns around.
** Also Hayes, after he's trying to slide into second, but skids up short. The opposing player motions him to come closer, and Hayes flips him off.

* GroinAttack: When Vaughn hits a cardboard pitching dummy during spring training. ''The dummy collapses in pain''.

** Taylor's neutering threat to Dorn.
* GutFeeling: Lou summons Vaughn to face Haywood in the ninth inning, in a tie game with runners on. Taylor questions it (Haywood had homered in the two previous times he faced Vaughn), but Lou coolly says, "I got a hunch he's due." Ricky proves him right.

* MiracleRally: Straight from Worst to First in all three movies.

* OhCrap: Rick's reaction to finding out his latest lay is [[spoiler:Dorn's wife.]]

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Level-headed team leader Taylor threatening to neuter Dorn if he ever lacks for hustle again. Dorn's prima-donna antics pretty much stop after that.

* PassiveAggressiveKombat: Jake and Lynn's fiancee Tom duel in this in front of her and a guest party, much to her embarrassment. Finally, when they're out of earshot from everyone, the passivity stops:

* ThePrimaDonna: Dorn, until Taylor roughly snaps him out of it.

* SleevesAreForWimps: Vaughn has to be reminded by Brown that "we wear caps and sleeves at this level, son". During the American Express ad in the film, he's wearing a Tux with the sleeves torn off.

* SpringtimeForHitler: Rachel's scheme to move the Indians to Miami in the first movie.

* TribalFacePaint: When the Indians are close to winning the division we see a sportscaster dressed in full (sterotypical) Indian gear including a Chief-sized feather headdress and warpaint.

The film was a critical and commercial success, with many of its memorable quotes worming its way into the baseball lexicon ("Juuuust a bit outside!"). Longtime baseball man Bob Uecker, an announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers who was also an actor and played the Indians' snarky play-by-play man Harry Doyle, became a truly iconic, humorous figure within the sport in large part to this movie. The Indians' fanbase (along with the rest of Major League Baseball) embraced it as the best thing to happen to the franchise in decades, and was a precursor to their winning ways in the 1990s, while the film popularized Rick Vaughn's climactic PowerWalk out of the bullpen to a now-common practice in [=MLB=].

* BaldHeadOfToughness: Cerrano. We even see him shaving for the coolness... ''using a big-ass knife''.

* OperationJealousy: Dorn is caught in the background of a news broadcast taking a girl up to his hotel room. His wife is watching the news at the time and retaliates by sleeping with Vaughn.

* BaldOfAwesome: Cerrano. We even see him shaving for the coolness... ''using a big-ass knife''.

* MissingTrailerScene: Vaughn is lamenting the Grand Slam he gave up to Haywood. Taylor tries to cheer him up:
-->'''Jake:''' That ball wouldn't have been out of a lot of parks.\\
'''Rick:''' Name one.\\
'''Jake:''' Yellowstone.
** This scene was redone, with Nikki in Jake's role, in a scene in the 2nd movie.
* ModestyTowel: Averted with an angry Lou (during the SpeakOfTheDevil scene below); she sees him full frontal (thankfully, we don't):
-->'''Phelps''': Don't you think you oughta cover yourself with a towel first, Mr. Brown?
-->'''Lou (arms crossed)''': We're out of towels, and I'm too old to be divin' into lockers.
-->'''Phelps''': I can take it if you can.

* RetroactiveRecognition: [[Series/{{Scrubs}} The Janitor]] is apparently a fan of the Indians.