Review of 61* (2001) by Dawn K — 26 Jun 2012

Rewatch: It's been a while since I first watched this. I know a lot more about baseball and the history of baseball, and I still think it's probably the best baseball movie I've seen. Not sure how accurate it is...some say spot on, others say liberties. Either way, I think the story is told, and told effectively via great portrayals from Pepper and Jane.

Growing up a huge McGwire fan, I was well-aware of this record, and I have quite a bit of McGwire memorabilia that I thought might one day be worth a lot of money. Naturally, I was quite sad to learn that even a classy guy like McGwire was not above cheating. A recent interview with one of the NY pitchers from that 61 season brought this movie back to mind and I had to rewatch.

For as soft as I think Billy Crystal is, I like some of the effort he made to bring the true characters to life. Mantle has plenty of flaws and a smart, dirty mouth. Well, that's about it. I really hope Mel Allen and Rizzuto didn't say their catch phrases as often as they do in the movie. God, that would have killed baseball for me.

In talking with the Yankee, I did remember and ask about the "X" scene. He confirmed it happened, but I just read it actually happened during 62 spring training. Oh well, still a great story. Those sports writers are bush league. Funny I was thinking that and hating on them, then Baltimore in the movie pulls a bush league move on the mound and is called on it. That's one of my favorite things to call something stupid...bush league. Sometimes I like it when something is bush league just so I can say it. But anyway, the Yankee also recalled the press really harping on and getting to Maris, then one day, one of the writers was in the dugout and Maris about kicked his ass. Hard to imagine when the press actually mattered that much, but also hard to imagine why they'd be such pricks.

Anyway, a pretty damn solid sports movie. I've seen my share and it's up there with the best of them. Given the McGwire footage and the start and end, and the way I actually felt a little bad when he broke the record, even before knowing about his cheating or the Maris story, I went ahead and purchased a copy. Good stuff.

Original: One of the better baseball movies featuring two underrated actors. Pepper is great as Maris and Jane as Mantle. Best stuff: the X and anti-Ruth comments from Mantle.