romanorum1 Jack Elliot (Tom Selleck), former World Series MVP for the New York Yankees, is traded to the Chunichi (Nagoya) Dragons of Japan. Although Elliot is on the downside of his career, he has not lost all of his playing skills. Now the trade doesn't stir well with the drinking, smoking, and womanizing egomaniac. Knowing little about Japanese culture, cuisine, and mannerisms, the gaijin (foreign) Elliot's awful attitudes form the basic plot of this not unlikeable movie. You just know that the American will quickly butt heads with unflappable Dragon manager Uchiyama (Ken Takakura). Meanwhile, as athletes attract attractive woman, Hiroko Uchiyama (Aya Takanashi) will become Elliot's love interest. But Hiroko, who is no bimbo, is an advertising professional who makes commercials for Japanese television. So can the love interest last? Along the way Elliot would do well to heed the advice of new Dragon teammate Max "Hammer" Dubois (Dennis Haysbert), not a Frenchmen but an African-American. Dubois, earlier traded to the Dragons, had the gumption to learn Japanese ways and some of the language. Fitting in as well as he can, Dubois is resigned to his challenging situation. Conversely, as Elliot is green in Japan, he is accompanied by an interpreter, Yoji Nishimura (Toshi Shioya), who is wise enough to clean up the American's sardonic comments for the Japanese press. Overall, the movie does well in depicting the Japanese sports culture: manager-player interaction, the fanfare of the large crowds (which appear genuine), umpire esteem, corporate pressure on the managers, and the voracious sports media. Also note the importance placed on saving face, which means that certain on-field events are sometimes compromised. The climax involves the big game between the Dragons and their traditional rivals who always seem to beat them, the Yomiuri Giants. Will Elliot find redemption? Watch and find out! PS: Know that the Japanese certainly love their baseball, and have played it a long time. The sport was introduced in Japan in the late 19th century! In 1934 Manager Connie Mack, Babe Ruth (called "Beibu Rusu"), Lou Gehrig, Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx, OSS spy Moe Berg, and other Major League Baseball all-stars visited and were greeted by huge and enthusiastic crowds.

RoseNylan This film is a different twist on the baseball comedy genre. Here, MLB player Tom Selleck is traded to a Japanese team. Predictably, there is culture clashes as the Japanese do things much different than the way its done in America. As always, there is also a love interest for Selleck in a Japanese commercial agent. Corny jokes and generally predictable situations make this film a forgettable one. The one bright spot here is the accurate portrayal of the Japanese culture.Unless you for some reason really love Tom Selleck and his style of humor or the game of baseball(which I do not), skip this film.

xbrad68 Mr Baseball was a fun video rental with my Fiancé Susan Nauss. Susan said that she had been looking forward to seeing the movie. Ken Takakura Oda as a tough yet Honorable Manager makes sense. Ken Takakura has made so many wonderful Asian movies, I correct the one reviewer and say Takakura is still a Cinematic Presence with films like Hotari. Of course everyone likes Tom Selleck yet Ken Takakura is the better dramatic actor of the two. Today someone accused me of being Yakuza, well I say that My Great Uncle Shadow President Jack F Kennedy myself and others are part of the legitimate Human leadership in our Universe and thanks to our coCreators Humans are free people fighting all the parts of adversity that President Kennedy talked about in his inaugural address. To be honest someone has kept food prices very low in Canada on things like bread. In honor of our CoCreators please stop eating amphibians reptiles and eggs. I hope that there will one day be a sequel to Mr Baseball with Father Ken Takakura Oda still as Manager. Thank you to IMDb for supporting freedom of speech like the kind President George W Bush and I support. Support IMDb.

Pepper Anne Mr. Baseball is probably saved from status as a total strikeout thanks to the charm that Tom Selleck emits as the aging baseball player traded to a Japanese team. This one was released several years after Ron Howard's 'Gung Ho,' which explores the differences in American and Japanese work ethic in the story of a Japanese company taking over a Midwestern auto plant.The theme is the same, but the situation here is obviously a little different. Selleck's character after a less-than-average career game is sent to Japan to play on a team of both Japanese and other exiled American ballplayers. His contempt for his situation and expectations that he will soon enough be playing in the states again does not make for an easy adjustment. He especially grows impatient with the overabundance of rules and work ethic that turn potentially good players into athletes who are reluctant to show off their skills because of fear of disrespecting some superior or symbolic notion. And, Selleck's attempts to ignore this or call attention to it only furthers the rift between he and the stern team manager. Of course, when Selleck unwittingly starts dating the manager's daughter, she plays the go-between who tries to create this understanding among the two and essentially, close this culture gap through a compromise between the stubborn ballplayer and the equally stubborn manager, and soon between the team and the traditions that get in the way of a good game.There is something here, however, that makes this film a particularly weak one, as far as feeling and believability. Selleck does have his usual sly humor and charm that is probably best compared to his character in the Three Men and a Baby Series. But, it is perhaps for lack of truly funny moments like those in Gung Ho that make this more of a forgettable than memorable baseball film or even as one from the culture clash genre.