5 Baseball Movies Perfect for October

No matter how many times you've already seen them

Last week, with October upon us, we took a look at some baseball books that fit the chilly season well.

So I thought we’d modernize a bit this week and move on to, well, movies that combine baseball with October themes

Here, then, are five baseball films that will go just swell with your pumpkin-flavored peanuts and Cracker Jack.

(You can find most of these on lvarious streaming services but I’m including affiliate links to eBay listings below in case you want to go old-school and pick up a Betamax version.)

The Natural

You know this movie and have probably seen it at least a few times. It’s a rite of passage for baseball fans.

What makes The Natural perfect October fare, aside from just strumming all the usual diamond heartstrings, is that it’s a feature-length comeback tale.

One that culminates in a scoreboard-smashing home run off the bat of a bleeding Roy Hobbs to send his Knights to … yes, the World Series.

Buy ‘The Natural’ on eBay (affiliate link)

Frequency

Is there anything more baseball-y than father-son relationships?

I mean, for millions of Americans, this is the game that has helped generations of men relate to each other, to understand each other’s point of view … to live in each other’s worlds, even for just a few hours.

Frequency takes all that up a notch or three and will do nothing to plug up your leaky eyeholes.

Buy ‘Frequency’ on eBay (affiliate link)

Eight Men Out

This one’s straightforward — Eight Men Out brings us the story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, aka Black Sox, who alledgedly threw the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.

If you’re looking for an actual October baseball story, they don’t come much jucier than this one.

Buy ‘Eight Men Out’ on eBay (affiliate link)

Bull Durham

This one is sort of like The Natural in that the storylines all come to a head at the end of the baseball season.

In this case, though, Crash Davis realizes there’s more to life than chasing minor league home run records and sets his sights on a different sort of future. In terms of baseball as a metaphor for a man’s life, Bull Durham hits the mark on a lot of fronts.

Hard to think of a better baseball movie for celebrating the changing of seasons.

Buy ‘Bull Durham’ on eBay (affiliate link)

Murder at the World Series

This one is a lot more obscure than the others on our list, but it’s the deadest hit (pun intended) in terms of combining the World Series with other October delights — namely horror.

A seldom-seen made-for-TV movie released in 1977, Murder at the World Series is rough around the edges and not for the faint of heart, but it’s a fun alternative to other October baseball viewing.

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What baseball movies will you be watching this October?

I’d love to hear your picks.

Until next time, enjoy the remaining games … and the flicks!

Thanks for reading.

—Adam