Movie Night at The Nat presented by Oakridge Centre
The Vancouver Canadians and Oakridge Centre are proud to present another family-friendly 'Movie Night at The Nat'.
Our feature film this week is Rookie of the Year starring Gary Busey.
The big show starts at 7pm with all admittance by donation with proceeds going to our Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation.
What's the movie about?
Henry Rowengartner (Nicholas), is a 12-year-old Little Leaguer that has dreams of playing in the Major Leagues.
One day, Henry breaks his arm trying to catch a fly ball and has to wrap it in a cast. Once the arm is healed, the doctor removes the cast and discovers Henry's tendons have healed "a little too tight," thus enabling Henry to cock his arm back and fire it forward with incredible force.
In celebration of the cast's removal, Henry's mom presents him and two friends with tickets to the day's Chicago Cubs game. At the ballpark, Henry and his friends catch a home run hit by a player from the visiting team. To keep with the Wrigley Field tradition, which states that when an opponent's home run ball is caught it should be thrown back onto the field, Henry launches it from the outfield bleachers all the way to the catcher standing at home plate, which is about 435 feet. Everybody in the stadium stares in astonishment at the throw.
Henry earns a tryout at his home, and his fastball is regularly clocked in excess of 100 MPH. The Cubs sign him, making him the youngest-ever major leaguer. Henry's mother's boyfriend, Jack (Bruce Altman), whom Henry dislikes, signs on as Henry's agent. Henry is awestruck to be in the presence of some of his heroes, including his idol Chet "Rocket" Steadman (Gary Busey), an irascible pitcher in the twilight of his career.
Henry's first appearance as a relief pitcher comes against the New York Mets and it is almost a disaster. He gives up a home run on his first pitch to Alejandro "Butch" Heddo, who mocks the kid pitcher as he trots the bases. Henry hits the next batter, then throws a wild pitch, and is only able to get the game's final out when a runner tries unsuccessfully to advance to third base on the wild pitch, earning Henry the save despite his only strike being a home run.
Steadman gives him advice on becoming a better pitcher.
Henry struggles with his control in another game, so Steadman goes to the mound and gives him a nonsensical pep talk, encouraging him to "use your have-to." Henry nods as Chet talks but doesn't understand him. Regardless, Henry saves the game. As the season progresses, Henry's control improves, the Cubs keep winning, and he keeps earning saves.
Henry endorses several products, including Diet Pepsi, where he replaces Ray Charles in the popular "You Got the Right One, Baby" campaign. However, he and Jack have a falling out when Jack reveals a plot to sell his contract to the New York Yankees. As a result, Henry fires him. Henry's mother also breaks up with Jack and throws him out of the house because he is more obsessed with making money off Henry than his well-being.
The final game of the season pits the Cubs against the Mets with a division title on the line. Henry announces to the Cubs' owner that it will be his final (and only) season with the team. He also tells of Jack's and General Manager Larry Fisher's scheme to sell him to the Yankees, and eventually Larry is demoted to hot dog vendor.
It also proves to be Steadman's last game. At first he pitches like he hasn't pitched in years. However, his arm is blown out on his last pitch of the sixth inning. Henry completes the seventh and eighth innings. However, as the boy walks out to the field in the ninth, he trips on a baseball and falls on his arm. He is all right, but he can no longer throw a 100-mile-per-hour fastball. His arm strength has essentially returned to that of a normal 12-year old.
After letting his teammates know what happened, Henry must rely on his wit and their help. He intentionally walks two consecutive Mets batters but gets the first runner out by doing a hidden ball trick.
Henry finally must face "Butch" Heddo again. Henry can no longer throw fast, so his pitch is effectively an eephus pitch. Heddo, expecting a much faster pitch, swings very early and misses for the first strike. Heddo is not fooled by Henry's next slow pitch and sends it skyrocketing toward the fence. It has enough distance, but barely curves foul, leaving Heddo with two strikes.
A rattled Henry bides his time and walks around on the mound. After pulling at some tape he discovers that his baseball glove belonged to his mother. She mouths to him from the stands: "Float it." Henry lobs a palm-down underhanded floater pitch.
Everyone watches as the ball flies high in the air and then down toward home plate. Heddo is surprised, then swings wildly and misses for the final out, throwing a tantrum in frustration. The Cubs and their fans celebrate.
Henry tosses the game ball toward his mother's seat. We then see him winning a Little League championship game, with his mother and Chet Steadman cheering him on. Henry flashes a ring with blue stones, the Cubs' team color. The inscription reads: WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS.
Source: Wikipedia.com