by Eden
Women have played baseball from the beginning of the sport, but as men’s leagues dominated, girls and women got pushed into softball. Professional (or even semi-professional) women’s baseball leagues all but disappeared.
Yeah, it’s a familiar story, even more so as Lung and Wai’s friendship turns into a rivalry, but it’s baseball. The usual beats of this story are comforting in a lot of ways. We watch baseball movies to see the underdogs become champions and this delivers on that.
After her father’s death, Mie (Haru) finds a batch of New Year’s cards that were never sent to his fellow high school baseball players. Mie takes it upon herself to get the team back together for the Masters Koshien, a senior baseball tournament.
Baseball loves underdogs and misfits. Regardless of how true that is or not in reality, that’s the impression the sport gives. It’s a game where everyone can find a chance to shine.
42 (2013, directed by Brian Helgeland) feels like it was made more with “prestige” in mind than any interest in Jackie Robinson’s story. While The Jackie Robinson Story has its flaws, it at least let audiences get to know who Robinson was.