Five favorite baseball movies

1. "Field of Dreams." Simply the greatest baseball movie ever. My sophomore English students used to love digging into the film and debating its many ambiguities. Highlight: James Earl Jones as Terence Mann. "This field, this game, it's a part of our past. ... It reminds us of all that was once good and that could be again."

2. "Bull Durham." Worth watching for Crash Davis' "I believe" monologue alone: "I believe there should be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter." Preach it! This is the film that gets me through January.

3. "A League of Their Own." I love the grudging respect that develops between Geena Davis' character and her irascible manager. What I love even more: The filmmakers kept their eye on the ball by allowing that relationship to remain platonic instead of turning it into a romance. In the process, they allowed a great baseball movie to remain a great baseball movie instead of dragging it down with hackneyed chick-flick baggage.

4. "Moneyball." I used to build freshman algebra lesson plans around the backs of baseball cards, so I was bound to love the book, but it still blows my mind that someone could turn a nonfiction piece about geeks crunching numbers into a compelling Hollywood film.

5. "Sugar." I loved this poignant story about a young Dominican baseball player who hopes his killer knuckle curve will be his ticket to The Show. His struggles with homesickness, cultural issues, bigotry and injuries about broke my heart, but the film ends on a hopeful note.