Tiger Town

This film begins with a man named "Buddy" (Ron McLarty) and his young son "Alex" (Justin Henry) watching a baseball game at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Remarkably, such is their allegiance to their team that, even though the Tigers are in last place midway through the season and 16 games behind the first place Baltimore Orioles, both of them remain steadfast fans. Not only that, but Alex idolizes the right-fielder "Billy Young" (Roy Scheider) in spite of the fact that he is having a terrible season and will be retiring after it is all over. But then one day, without warning, tragedy strikes as Buddy dies. Needless to say, this completely devastates Alex who subsequently turns to the only things that he has left to fill this terrible void-the Detroit Tigers and his idol Billy Young. And even though they remain in last place the young boy remains convinced that the Tigers-and Billy Young-can turn their season around. If only he truly believes it. Sure enough, the very next day, at Tiger Stadium and in front of Alex's eyes, Billy Young magically recaptures his hitting prowess and lifts the Tigers to an incredible come-from-behind victory. Not only that, but with each game that Alex attends both Billy Young and the Tigers continue their improbable rise through the standings. And with each victory Alex becomes more and more convinced in the power of of his belief. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this turned out to be a decent made-for-television sports-drama which managed to capture the essence of baseball to a young boy who needed something to fill a huge void in his life. The fact that this film incorporated the city of Detroit during its time of decline was also noteworthy. In any case, although I would have preferred a bit more action and less drama, I still enjoyed this film for the most part and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.