Rookie of the Year

About the movie

12-year-old Henry Rowengartner, whose late father was a minor league baseball player, grew up dreaming of playing baseball, despite his physical shortcomings. Although he's close to his mother, Mary, he hates her latest boyfriend, Jack Bradfield. After his arm is broken while trying to catch a baseball at school, the tendon heals too tightly, allowing him to throw pitches that are as fast as 103 mph. He is spotted at Wrigley Field by Larry "Fish" Fisher, the general manager of the struggling Chicago Cubs, after he throws an opponent's home run ball all the way from the outfield bleachers back to the catcher, and it seems that he may be the pitcher that team owner Bob Carson has been praying for. At first, Manager Sal Martinella doesn't like him being on the team, but despite the rawness of his talent, he revives everyone's team spirit and reignites the enthusiasm of the fans. While money hungry Jack pulls strings behind the scenes to line his own pockets, Mary starts to fall for veteran pitcher Chet "Rocket" Steadman, whose injuries are curtailing a once sparkling career. While Henry bonds with Chet, his friends resent his star status when he arrives late to help them work on an old boat. As the Cubs head for the National League Championship series, Jack agrees to hand over Henry's contract to the New York Yankees for 25 million dollars. Mary doesn't like that, so when Jack angers her even more by stupidly saying that Henry is half his, she literally punches him out the door, with Henry cheering her on. Thinking about the idea of retiring, Henry and Chet both start performing badly, but they set out to redeem themselves at the National League Championship series.—Todd Baldridge