Movie Review: Major League (1989)

★★★★★

Still one of the best sports movies ever made. I watch it every spring it’s hilarious.

Nick T.

Arizona

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Major League

1989

At a glance, Major League (1989) looks like your typical underdog sports movie: a team of misfits, a ruthless owner, a last-place curse, and a Hail Mary shot at redemption. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find a sports comedy that’s not just raucously funny and instantly quotable, but also surprisingly self-aware a film that lovingly roasts baseball while celebrating everything that makes it great.

Directed by David S. Ward (who also wrote The Sting), Major League stars Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, and a scene-stealing Corbin Bernsen, among others. It’s one of those movies that doesn’t just earn cult status it deserves it.

At BoxReview.com, we’ve watched Major League more times than we can count and it still cracks us up and makes us cheer. But more importantly, it still feels like the kind of movie that gets what being a fan or an outsider is all about.

Plot in Brief (No Spoilers)

When the new owner of the Cleveland Indians (Margaret Whitton in full villain mode) tries to sabotage the team so she can move them to Miami, she fills the roster with has-beens, never-weres, and total unknowns. Her goal? Lose badly, tank attendance, and trigger the clause that lets her relocate the franchise.

What she doesn’t count on is the team actually starting to gel and once they find out they’ve been set up, they turn the season into something unforgettable. The stakes are low on paper (they just want to win the division), but the emotional payoff feels massive.

What Sets Major League Apart

Most reviews highlight Major League’s quotable lines (“Just a bit outside,” “You may run like Mays, but you hit like s***”) and Charlie Sheen’s legendary turn as Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn, and yeah that’s all great. But here’s what often gets overlooked: this is one of the few sports comedies that really nails the team dynamic.

These guys don’t just exist to feed one hero’s arc. Each player has a mini arc of their own, whether it’s Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger) trying to prove he still has a few swings left in him, Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert) trying to balance baseball with his spiritual beliefs, or Roger Dorn (Bernsen) learning to play for something more than his contract.

The team doesn't succeed because they become amazing athletes they succeed because they become a family of lovable weirdos, and you genuinely root for each one.

The R-Rated Edge That Actually Helps

One thing we at BoxReview.com love about Major League is that it wasn’t softened for mass appeal. It’s R-rated, full of salty language, locker room banter, and crude jokes but none of it feels forced. In fact, it adds to the authenticity.

This isn’t a squeaky-clean Disney underdog story. These are grown men, some of them total disasters, trying to claw their way back into relevance. And because the film leans into that gritty realism (while still being hilarious), the emotional beats feel more earned. When the team finally starts winning, it’s not just satisfying it feels like redemption for every burnout who’s ever been told they were washed up.

Charlie Sheen’s Best Role? Quite Possibly.

Let’s be honest: Charlie Sheen as “Wild Thing” Vaughn is pure lightning in a bottle. The glasses, the haircut, the walk-out music it all became iconic for a reason. But beyond the style, Sheen actually brings heart to the role.

Ricky is a juvenile delinquent with a cannon for an arm and zero control. But you can’t help but root for him because he doesn’t hide behind ego. He wants to do better. And watching him go from wild card to clutch closer is still one of the best sports movie arcs ever.

Fun trivia: Sheen was actually a high school baseball player and could throw in the 80s. That’s not a stunt double on the mound that’s just Sheen being Sheen.

Underrated MVP: Bob Uecker as Harry Doyle

Can we take a moment to appreciate Bob Uecker? His role as Indians announcer Harry Doyle might be the funniest part of the entire film. With every sarcastic line and deadpan delivery, he manages to capture the voice of every long-suffering sports broadcaster who’s been forced to call bad baseball for too many seasons.

Lines like, “In case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven’t…” still kill, even after all these years. Uecker gives Major League its unique voice, and in many ways, he is the audience stuck with this terrible team, but secretly pulling for them anyway.

A Love Letter to Baseball’s Blue-Collar Roots

While Major League is definitely a comedy first, it also serves as a love letter to working-class fans the kind of people who keep showing up to watch a losing team because it's their team. There’s something very real about the idea that greatness can come from the most unlikely group, and that sometimes, the heart of the sport isn’t in the headlines it’s in the dugout.

And yes, the film takes shots at ownership, ego, and corporate nonsense, but it never mocks the game itself. That’s what makes it feel so genuine.

Final Thoughts from BoxReview.com

At BoxReview.com, we don’t just watch movies we live with them. And Major League is one of those films that becomes part of your mental quote bank, your background noise on a lazy Saturday, and your go-to pick when you want to believe in underdogs again.

It’s profane, loud, and gloriously immature at times but it’s also honest, warm, and deeply satisfying. Whether you’re a baseball fan or not, this movie gets at something universal: that with enough grit (and a little voodoo), even the worst team can win.

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Major League

1989