Rewatchables Reference

• Spring training montage, the 'screw the owner' montage, Cerrano's homer, Wild Thing walk to the mound, Wild Thing striking out Haywood, and the ending bunt with Willie Mays Hayes scoring.
• Bill picks the Wild Thing walk to the mound and striking out Haywood as the best sports movie scene. Rembert loves the spring training montage.

• The opening credits capturing depressing 1980s Cleveland.
• The cast – everybody is perfectly placed in their roles.
• Young Charlie Sheen as an iconic fashion role: the glasses, earrings, haircut, and sleeveless tuxedo jacket.
• Bob Uecker as the radio announcer – a unique success that every imitator in future sports movies failed to replicate.
• The day-to-day baseball season feel and pre-'Moneyball' strategy of specialists.
• James Gammon as the manager Lou Brown.
• The fun baseball details like superstitions, Vagisil, and Jobu.
• The Yankees as the villain.
• The smart ending where Jake Taylor bunts instead of hitting a home run.
• The movie inadvertently creating closer entrance music via Wild Thing.
• The use of the word 'fuck' – really good swearing throughout.

• Charlie Sheen – one of the all-time celebrity train wrecks, hard to separate the baggage from the movie.
• The Jake Taylor stalker subplot – follows Rene Russo to her workplace, her boyfriend's dinner party, and home in the bullpen car. She literally asks 'Did you follow me again?'
• Wesley Snipes running in slow motion to fake being fast, and his overall bad athleticism.
• The Cerrano character – Bill and Rembert question whether David S. Ward had ever met a Black person. Three languages happening, voodoo, tribal background music, caveman speech patterns.
• Only two Black guys on the entire Indians team.
• The 'off the reservation' home run call.
• The freeze-frame ending with Rene Russo held up like she won the pennant despite barely being in the movie.
• All the Bob Uecker imitators in future sports movies.

• Dyan Cannon was wanted for Rachel Phelps but the studio insisted on Margaret Whitton.
• Omar Epps replaced Wesley Snipes as Willie Mays Hayes in 'Major League' II – arguably better casting since Epps was actually a good athlete.

• Clue Haywood – the Yankees batter who gets struck out by Wild Thing. Played by an actual baseball player. For the limited time he's on screen, the impact is huge.
• Also considered: Bob Uecker's broadcasting partner.

• Wesley Snipes turned down a role in Do the Right Thing to star in 'Major League'.
• Tom Berenger turned down the role of Sonny Crockett on 'Miami Vice' – funny because he dresses like Crockett in the movie.
• An alternate ending on the Wild Thing Edition DVD showed Rachel Phelps revealing the Miami move was a ruse to motivate the team. Audiences hated it.
• Despite being set in Cleveland, the film was shot at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee.
• Jeremy Piven was originally in the movie as a bench jockey but all his scenes were cut.
• Rene Russo had never acted before this movie.
• Corbin Bernsen accidentally punched Charlie Sheen for real during the celebration scene.
• Dennis Haysbert hit a 315-foot homer out of the stadium during filming. Steve Yeager told him 'that's what it's like, 162 games a year.'
• The movie created closer entrance music – Mitch Williams borrowed Wild Thing for the Cubs in 1989.
• Margaret Whitton dated Ron Shelton, claimed she helped write Bull Durham, and received $100,000 and 2% of net profits in a settlement.
• Rachel Phelps wanted to move the Indians to Miami. In real life, 9 years later the Indians lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins, based in Miami.

• Charlie Sheen – could be here or Two and a Half Men. They lean toward Two and a Half Men for sheer success.
• Tom Berenger – somewhere in the Platoon/'Major League' era.
• Definitely Apex Mountain for Margaret Whitton and James Gammon.
• Not Apex Mountain for Dennis Haysbert – that's President Palmer on 24.

• Chelcie Ross as Eddie Harris. People don't know his name but know him as 'the guy from Hoosiers' or 'the guy from 'Major League'.' Also played Dan Devine in 'Rudy'. Sports movie Hall of Famer.
• James Gammon was also a candidate but people know who he is.

Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen) fielding grounders at third base – reacting like he's being shot by snipers. Bill's 11-year-old son plays third base and has never reacted like that.

• Rene Russo says Jake Taylor 'used to be one of the best catchers in baseball.' Hard to believe given what we see.
• The game-winning bunt – Jake Taylor with bad knees probably doesn't beat that throw to first.
• Jake Taylor makes league minimum ($68K in 1989) but the movie makes him seem destitute – no hubcaps on his car, living with Wild Thing for unexplained reasons.
• Jake Taylor is supposedly a reformed horndog who just gave up sex entirely. Never tries to hook up with anyone.
• How do Jake Taylor and Ricky Vaughn end up as roommates? Why would a former All-Star catcher need a roommate?
• Roger Dorn gets caught on camera leaving a hotel with a girl and somehow doesn't notice the camera crew.
• How does Dorn's wife find Charlie Sheen alone in an empty bar? He's the most famous guy on the team.
• The batting order is wrong – Ben Lindbergh noted there are five outs between Cerrano's homer and Tomlinson's at-bat, but only four spots in the order.
• How long did it take to drive the bullpen car from the stadium to Rene Russo's house? Those things go maybe 12 mph.

Both hosts are emphatic: yes, please make this a 13-episode Netflix series. Pick the Seattle Mariners – the only team that's never won. The first question is who plays Wild Thing.

• How many steals did Willie Mays Hayes actually have that season? They estimate 60-70 range – he didn't hit 100.
• What was Cerrano's K-to-homer ratio? Maybe 32 homers and 220 strikeouts.
• Would Bull Durham have been the best movie of all time if Charlie Sheen played Nuke LaLoosh instead of Tim Robbins?

• Rembert picks Wesley Snipes despite all the revelations about his bad athleticism.
• Bill picks Charlie Sheen – every scene he's in is lights out, he's the most realistic baseball player in the movie, and the Wild Thing walk is one of the best sports movie scenes ever. Also an iconic fashion role with the glasses, earrings, and sleeveless tuxedo.