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A 1989 movie about a [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]. In this case, they're the Cleveland Indians, a team that hadn't made a playoff appearance in over 30 years. No one in Cleveland knew who was on the team, which was a calculated move by Rachel Phelps ([[Margaret Whitton]]), the [[Rich Bitch]] owner of the team, wanting them to fail badly so she could move them to Florida (three years before the Florida Marlins were born, and seven years before the Cleveland ''Browns'' were moved to Baltimore). The characters included:
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Throughout the movie, all of the new Indians' various quirks are revealed. Dorn's rookie pranks on Vaughn earn him more than a few fights, and Vaughn later sleeps with Dorn's wife (though he didn't know who she was at the time); Taylor fights to get his ex back from her new socialite boyfriend; Cerrano prays to Jobu many times, but doesn't get any closer to hitting a curveball; and Lou tries to get Hayes to hit like a leadoff man rather than a cleanup hitter.
Eventually, the owner's scheme is revealed to the team, and they go from worst to first (well, tied for first) with visual aid help from her... showgirl days. They're forced into a one-game playoff with the Yankees for the American League East title, and the ending is one of the more inventive [[Down to
The film spawned a sequel in 1994, changing leadoff men (Hayes is still there; he's just played by Omar Epps) and leading men (Berenger for Sheen). Here, Vaughn has let the fame of the previous year go to his head, mostly seeking lucrative endorsement deals. This is elaborated by having to choose between two [[Love Interests]], publicist Rebecca Flannery ([[Allison Doody]]), and philanthropist Nikki Reese ([[Michelle Burke]]). One wants to build his image, the other to keep him down-to-earth.
The other team members have their own subplots. Taylor is cut from the team for the new rookie Rube (a country boy who can't throw the ball back to the pitcher) and big offseason acquisition Jack Parkman (a no-nonsense guy who is pretty much the epitome of "clubhouse cancer", but is a very good hitter), but is retained as one of Lou's assistant managers; Dorn is retired and has bought the team, but has to sell it back to the [[Rich Bitch]] after financial troubles force him to trade Parkman; Cerrano, having converted to Buddhism, is now a happy guy who's lost his edge until he's challenged by Japanese acquisition Taka Tanaka; Hayes, like Vaughn, let the previous year go to his head; he shot a movie with Jessie Ventura in the offseason and lost his edge on the basepaths. Another worst-to-first comeback ensues, though under the guidance of Taylor after Lou has a heart attack; the [[Down to
In 1998, another sequel, ''Major League: Back to the Minors,'' came out, which focused on a minor league team (The Salt Lake Buzz) with a new manager (played by Scott Bakula) and a pretty much all new cast of characters. The only carryovers from the original movies are Dorn (who now owns the Minnesota Twins, who the Buzz are the AAA farm team), Cerrano, Tanaka, Baker (who are players on the team), and Harry Doyle (Bob Uecker, the announcer). This one focuses mostly on Bakula's manager, especially with his teaching methods with a hot batting prospect and a pitching prospect who has a blazing fastball but no other pitches, and his battles with the manager of the Twins (played by [[Ted McGinley]], signifying the series' [[Jump the Shark]] moment).
A [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/charlie-sheen-play-mentor-role-160412 fourth movie] is reportedly in the works.
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* [[Artistic License]]: 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.).
* [[Badass Grandpa]]: Lou. He pulls this [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]] into a [[Badass Crew|badass ball team]]. He's a tough disciplinarian but clearly loves the colorful and crazed players he's got.
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* [[Bald of Awesome]]: Cerrano. We even see him shaving for the coolness... ''using a big-ass knife''.
* [[Big Game]]: An [[Enforced Trope]] in all three films.
* [[Bowdlerise]]: Sits with ''Die Hard 2'' and ''The Big Lebowski'' as maybe the funniest dubbed-over-cussing TV edits in existance (for example, Dorn's [[I Have Just One Thing to Say]] speech below replaces "motherfucker" with "guy" in a completely different inflection, sort of like what you got from the announcers in the early [[Madden NFL
* [[California Doubling]]: The scenes set in the Indians' home park were actually filmed in Milwaukee's County Stadium, then-home of the Brewers.
** In the second movie, Oriole Park at Camden Yards doubled as Cleveland Stadium.
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* [[Captain Ersatz]]: Averted quite refreshingly. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a sports movie that used real teams instead of obvious stand-ins?
* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Juuuuuuust a bit outside." Though it was only said once, it's now all Bob Uecker's.
* [[Check, Please!]]: Vaughn uses it when Dorn's wife seduces him
* [[Cleveland Rocks]]: Phelps chose the Indians based on their mediocrity at the time
* [[Defictionalization]]: Uecker was in the middle of his long solid career as a [[Real Life]] game announcer for the Brewers. After the first movie came out he did more national games and World Series coverage during [[The Nineties]].
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** Many [[Real Life]] relief pitchers now have a [[Theme Song]] that plays when they come in, in imitation of Rick Vaughn's ''Wild Thing'' intro.
** Mitch Williams of the Philadephia Phillies, known for his lack of control much like Ricky Vaughn, acquired the nickname "Wild Thing" not long after this movie. He also switched his jersey number to 99... just like Vaughn.
* [[Down to
* [[Father to His Men]]: Lou proves to be a solid coach - demanding when needed, defending his players when it becomes known the bitch owner is screwing the team.
* [[Foreign Cuss Word]]: When Rachel Phelps buys back the team in the sequel and taunts her way through the locker, Tanaka is able to toss some vicious insults at Phelps in his native Japanese. Since he does it with a polite smile and bow, Phelps thinks he's complimenting her.
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** He also takes a dummy's head off with a pitch.
* [[Hollywood Heart Attack]]: Averted with Lou's. One, he doesn't actually die from it; two, no one actually knows he's having one because he's in the middle of chewing out his players at the time.
{{quote|
'''Jake''': Who used heart attack?
'''Lou''': Me. ''(collapses)'' }}
* [[I Have Just One Thing to Say]]: "Strike this motherfucker ''out''!"
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* [[Miracle Rally]]: Straight from Worst to First in all three movies.
* [[Nerd Glasses]]: Rick Vaughn was fitted with them in the first movie.
* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Harris, the old pitcher who uses an assortment of hidden greases and gels (and occasionally his own snot) to load the ball, is clearly based on famed spitballer [
* [[Opposing Sports Team]]: The New York Yankees in the first movie, the Chicago White Sox in the second, and the Minnesota Twins in the third.
* [[Overly Narrow Superlative]]: In the intro to the second film, Vaughn is described as setting a record for strike-outs in one season by an ex-con.
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* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]: In the first movie, the team was literally built to lose. Dang, huh?
* [[Religious Russian Roulette]]: Pedro Cerrano threatens to leave Jobu unless he helps him hit a curveball. Then he does in his last at-bat:
{{quote|
* [[Reset Button]]: Obviously the team had to suck again and find a way to drag themselves back to success for the sequel... a sequel about an already successful team continuing to win would be [[Boring Invincible Hero|kinda dull]]. However, the sequel manages to avoid this trope in full by having the team suck largely because of entirely new problems that arose ''because of'' the success they had in the first movie.
* [[Rich Bitch]]: Rachel Phelps
* [[Rousing Speech]]: Lampshaded in the second movie, when Brown (in the hospital pending heart surgery) tells Taylor (who will be managing the team in the decisive playoff game that night) not to do it; Taylor does it anyway, complete with a thick layer of [[Narm]]. Subverted in the third movie, when Cantrell says how he hates the Rousing Speech, but it's "in my contract"... then tells his team to "win this one... for me."
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[[Category:Sports Stories]]
[[Category:Major League]]
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