Little Big League facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Little Big League
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andrew Scheinman
Produced by	Steven Nicolaides Andrew Bergman Mike Lobell
Written by	Gregory K. Pincus
Starring	Luke Edwards Timothy Busfield John Ashton Ashley Crow Kevin Dunn Jason Robards
Music by	Stanley Clarke
Cinematography	Donald E. Thorin
Editing by	Michael Jablow
Studio	Castle Rock Entertainment Lobell/Bergman Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures Triumph Releasing Corporation
Release date(s)	June 29, 1994 (1994-06-29)
Running time	119 minutes
Country	United States (Minnesota)
Language	English
Money made	$12 million (US)

Little Big League is a fun American family sports film from 1994. It's all about a 12-year-old boy who suddenly becomes the owner and manager of a professional baseball team called the Minnesota Twins! The movie stars Luke Edwards, Timothy Busfield, and Dennis Farina. It was the first and only movie directed by Andrew Scheinman.

Story of Little Big League

The movie follows Billy Heywood, a 12-year-old boy who loves baseball. His grandpa, Thomas Heywood, owns the professional baseball team, the Minnesota Twins.

Billy Becomes Owner and Manager

When Grandpa Thomas passes away, Billy gets a huge surprise. He learns that he is now the new owner of the Minnesota Twins! His grandpa's will says that the team's leaders should help Billy until he's old enough to run things himself.

Billy quickly has problems with the team's manager, George O'Farrell. Billy thinks O'Farrell is too hard on the players. O'Farrell, on the other hand, doesn't like the idea of working for a kid. After O'Farrell keeps insulting Billy, Billy decides to fire him.

Since no other managers want to work for a kid, and with his summer break starting soon, the baseball-smart Billy decides to become the new manager himself! He gets approval from the Commissioner of Baseball and his mom, Jenny.

Managing the Team

The players are not sure about having a kid as their manager. But Billy promises that if he doesn't improve the team's last-place standing in a few weeks, he will quit. The team quickly starts winning and moves up in the standings.

However, not everything is easy for Billy. His friend and star player, Lou Collins, starts to like Billy's mom, Jenny. This makes things a bit awkward for Billy.

Billy also picks up some bad habits while traveling with the team. He even gets kicked out of a game and "suspended" by his mom for swearing at an umpire! He also has to make a tough decision to let go of his favorite Twins player, Jerry Johnson, who is getting older. Billy feels bad about how he handles this.

Challenges and Decisions

The pressure of managing a professional team starts to wear Billy down. It takes up all his free time. His friends don't like that his manager duties keep him from hanging out with them. Even when he's home, he's often busy with team business.

After his mom, Jenny, spends her birthday with Lou instead of him, Billy gets upset. He uses Lou's small hitting slump as an excuse to bench him. This causes the Twins to start losing many games.

Later, Billy tells his mom that he's tired of being a "grown-up." He decides to quit as manager after the season ends. He also puts Lou back in the starting lineup.

The Final Game

With only four games left in the season, the Twins are behind the Seattle Mariners in the race for a playoff spot. The Twins win their last four games, and the Mariners lose four straight. This forces a special one-game playoff at the Twins' home stadium to decide who goes to the postseason.

The game is very exciting, with both teams hitting home runs. It goes into extra innings. The Mariners eventually take the lead. With only one out left for the Twins, Lou Collins is about to bat. He tells Billy that he asked Jenny to marry him, and she said, "Ask Billy." Billy promises to give his blessing if Lou hits a game-winning home run. But then he quickly says he'll give his consent no matter what.

Facing a tough pitcher, Randy Johnson, Lou hits a long ball to center field. But Ken Griffey Jr. makes an amazing leaping catch at the wall, stopping the home run and ending the game. The Twins lose.

After the Season

Even though they lost, Billy tells the players he is officially stepping down as manager. The pitching coach, Mac MacNally, will take his place. Billy also brings back Jerry Johnson to be the third base coach and hitting instructor.

The players are sad to see Billy go, but he reminds them that he will still be the team owner. He even jokes that he might come back as manager if junior high doesn't work out! When he's told that the fans haven't left, Billy and the team return to the field to receive a standing ovation.

Cast of Characters

Some of the actors in the film were real baseball players! Kevin Elster was an active MLB player when the movie was made. Two of his fictional teammates were played by former MLB players Leon Durham and Brad Lesley. John Gordon, who plays the announcer Wally Holland, was actually the radio announcer for the Minnesota Twins from 1987 to 2011. He was even put into the team's Hall of Fame in 2016!