HH Favorite Baseball Movie Round 1: The Natural vs. Bang the Drum Slowly

Note: If you haven’t voted on the first matchup (Major League v. Moneyball), vote HERE

The American pastime has lent itself to countless films. But which one is the consensus favorite among the HH faithful? Let’s find out.

For this exercise, I’ve set up a 16 film bracket. To determine the films and seeding, I’ve crowdsourced rankings from Rotten Tomatoes, Ranker, and the ultimate authority on everything, Stirrups. Then I’ve added a dash of my own influence to include a couple of Angels-centric titles and make a bracket that makes sense.

A match up of more classic films awaits us today.

The Natural is a beloved baseball classic about a young Robert Redford, a bat he forges and calls Wonderboy, and an ending quite dramatically different than the book from which is was derived. The iconic ending of Redford’s character hitting the game winning shot, the scoreboard exploding, and the music we all know will be indelibly linked to baseball for all time.

Bang the Drum Slowly is rated surprisingly lower on most lists than the robust critical acclaim might suggest. Featuring a great turn by Robert De Niro as a catcher battling Hogdkin’s disease, this film simmers with nuance and personal touch in an understated, yet truly effective way.

Sadly, one of these 70s favorites will need to go the way of disco today. Which will it be?