Parents' Guide to

Mr. Baseball

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Sex, cursing, stereotypes in dated baseball movie.

Movie PG-13 1992 108 minutes
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What's the Story?

In MR. BASEBALL, Jack Elliot (Tom Selleck) is a professional baseball player who has had a moderately successful career with the New York Yankees. As his career seems to be past his prime, the Yankees decide to trade Elliott, but the only taker is a team called the Dragons, a professional team based in Japan. Suddenly, Elliot finds himself in Tokyo, where the media has already christened him "Mr. Baseball." Arrogant and cocky, Elliot hopes to get back to the States as soon as his agent can find him an MLB team willing to give him a contract. Meanwhile, his translator, Yoji, tries to help Elliot by making his words seem much more diplomatic than they actually are, even as Elliot balks at the seemingly nonsensical demands his new manager, Uchiyama makes on himself and the team. Elliot also has a fellow American, Max "Hammer" Dubois (Dennis Haysbert) to help him adjust to Japanese culture both in and out of baseball. A budding romance also develops between Elliot and Hiroko, who is in charge of making sure Elliot shows up to do the endorsements that are a part of his contract. While "Mr. Baseball" initially is a hitting phenom, he soon slumps, threatening not only the Dragons' chances against their hated rival, the Giants, but also the career of Uchiyama, and maybe even Elliot himself. Elliot must learn to adjust and accept his new culture, even as he tries to get Uchiyama and his teammates to meet him halfway in other aspects of the game. But when Elliot's agent tells him that the Los Angeles Dodgers are interested in bringing him back to the States immediately, Elliot must decide what's truly important to him.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This is a surprisingly decent baseball movie, but it's quite dated. Mr. Baseball is a "fish out of water" movie in which Tom Selleck plays a Major League ballplayer whose career is on the downward trajectory, and is traded to a pro team in Japan, and must learn to accept and adjust to his new culture, both in and out of baseball. There are definitely some groan-worthy cliched jokes concerning our cocky American baseball star getting used to the culture, food, and building sizes of Japan, but its overarching themes of acceptance are surprisingly current for a movie nearly three decades old. Perhaps this will get lost amidst of Selleck's character's penchant for sex jokes and pranks involving setting players' shoes on fire, but it's there if you pay enough attention.

It's Selleck who is the biggest surprise of this movie. As someone known to have limited acting range, he brings a lively sense of humor to this role, seemingly delighted to be portraying a confident jock grappling with getting old and a new life. Best for baseball fans; anyone else is unlikely to find this dated tale very engaging.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about baseball movies like Mr. Baseball. How does this compare to other baseball movies you've seen?

  • How is Japanese life and culture depicted? Did it seem accurate and respectful, or did it seem like it was stereotyping?

  • Did the sexual jokes, references, and situations seem pertinent to the lead character's personality, or did it seem gratuitous? Why?

Movie Details

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