When the widow of the owner of the Cleveland Indians realizes that she is stuck with a small stadium in a cold climate, she decides that a move to a Southern, warmer climate is called for. Unfortunately the only way she can unload her stadium is due to low attendance, so she needs to plan for a losing and lackluster season. The team of misfits and losers that she has hired, though, decide that if they really pull through, they may not wind up in last place and not be the losers that the owner thinks that they are. This offbeat baseball comedy, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen and Rene Russo, was a surprise 1989 hit.

Cleveland Indians owner Rachel Phelps puts together the worst team she can possibly find, in the hopes that audiences will stay away and she can break her lease and move the team to Miami. Of course, the team of losers catches on to the scam and, with new-found motivation, conspire to foil her plans.

Estimated budget $10-12 million.

Filmed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Cleveland, Ohio; Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. Filming began July 18, 1988. Even though the film is set in Cleveland, only the outside of Cleveland's ballpark was used. For economic reasons, the scenes inside the ballpark were filmed in Milwaukee County Stadium.

Color by Astro; prints by Technicolor.

Rated BBFC 15 by the British Board of Film Censors.

Shot in Panavision.

Released in USA April 7, 1988. Released on video October 5, 1989.

Reviewed in the New York Times April 7, 1989.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case - Sensormatic
Widescreen - 16.9
Audio:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - English, French
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French
Mono - English, French
Closed Captioned - English

Tom Berenger: American Actor
Charlie Sheen: American actor, PLATOON/Two and a Half Men
Corbin Bernsen: American Film and Television Actor
Margaret Whitton: American Supporting Actress
Bob Uecker: Ex-Baseball Player/Actor
Wesley Snipes: Actor, BLADE

David S. Ward: Screenwriter/Director

David S. Ward: Screenwriter/Director

"...[MAJOR LEAGUE] has the wit to make fun of it[self] now and then....Wonderfully unpretentious..."
"...The cast is attractive..."
"...An amiable and amusing hot weather diversion....Ward directs his actors as adroitly as he has written from them....MAJOR LEAGUE has its own ingratiating charm..."