Talent For The Game (1991)

“If you want something, sometimes you’ve got to take a risk.  And if you really want something, then you’ve got to be willing to risk everything.” – Virgil Sweet

Number of Times Seen – Between 3-5 times (cable in the 90’s and 20 Mar 2016)

Brief Synopsis – A road weary baseball talent scout continues his quest of finding a Phenom – a player with good given gifts despite the fact that the team’s new owner believes that the talent scouts job is out of date.

My Take on it – Being that we are just a bit more than a week away from Baseball’s Opening Day this year, in order to get myself more into the mood, I have watched a few baseball themed movies.

This movie is a guilty pleasure of mine because I recall it very fondly from my teens.

Being a fan of the game of baseball, I am easily drawn in to the magic of the sport when watching it in a movie.

This film tries to show us some of the less glamorous aspects of the sport but for even for those with little knowledge of how the inner working of the recruitment of players and scouting work, this film can be a real eye opener.

Edward James Olmos is great as the lead here and even though, he has rarely been able to hold a movie up by himself, this is a prime example of one where he succeeded.

The story is quite predictable, but it’s still quite fun watching it play out in front of us.

The fact that so much has changed in scouting and the importance of statistics makes it even more interesting to watch.

I can’t say that everyone would like this, but this movie has a lot of heart and that, to me, counts for quite a lot.

Bottom Line – Movie with a lot of heart despite not being amazing.  Olmos is great as the lead here.  Probably a movie more dear to the hearts of baseball fans because of the magic of the game, but still worthwhile watching. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – When Virgil’s car breaks down, he is listening to a Red Sox spring training game. The play-by-play is being done by Chuck Thompson, Baseball Hall Of Fame broadcaster for the Baltimore Orioles. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy

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