La recrue de l'année

Young Thomas Ian Nicholas gets a once in a lifetime chance to play for the Chicago Cubs and lead them to a pennant in 1993 the year Rookie Of The Year came out. At the time the Cubs had not won a pennant since 1945 and no World Series victory since 1908.

It happens quite by accident because the young man wasn't the most talented of players. An accident where he broke his arm and some ribs had him in a most uncomfortable cast. But it tightened the tendons in his pitching arm. So when at a game at Wrigley Field where Nicholas is sitting in the bleachers and the bleacher bums who occupy it tell him to throw the opposing ball back, Nicholas unlooses a throw that Carl Furillo would have envied, a perfect strike on the fly to home plate.

With nothing else to lose the Cubs sign the 12 year old up. The wartime Cincinnati Reds signed Joe Nuxhall at 15 to their roster. In real life that record still has to be broken.

Tommy John surgery never gave anyone in real life speed like young Nicholas has.

Young Nicholas is surrounded with a good cast of adults such as Amy Morton as his mom, Gary Busey as a washed up pitcher hoping for a comeback, Eddie Bracken as the Cubs eccentric owner and John Candy who is unbilled and was a famous Cubs fan as their play by play announcer.

No story would be complete without villains and two real good ones are here. Dan Hedaya as the Cubs GM and Bruce Altman who specializes in smarmy villains is at his smarmiest as a talent agent. Both are looking to exploit young Nicholas to the max without considering him.

The finale includes a playoff with the Mets and young Nicholas uses some sandlot savvy in the crucial moments.

In 2016 the Cubs finally did it, but this film Rookie Of The Year is still a delightful baseball fantasy.