Rookie of the Year

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Rookie of the Year

PG

Released Jul 7, 1993

1h 43m

Kids & Family

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

41%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

53%

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50,000+ Ratings

A freak accident causes 12-year-old Little League player Henry (Thomas Ian Nicholas) to become such a powerful and accurate pitcher that the Chicago Cubs sign the junior high student to a contract. Unprepared for such a high-pressure environment, Henry falters until aging fastballer Chet Steadman (Gary Busey) takes him under his wing and teaches him how to play in the big leagues. Meanwhile, his mother's venal boyfriend (Bruce Altman) tries to sell Henry's contract to a hated opposing team.

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Critics Consensus

Rookie of the Year gets some laughs from its novel premise, but a high strikeout rate on jokes and sentimental fouls keeps this comedy firmly in the minor leagues.

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Hollis Chacona

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 3/5

Jan 1, 2000

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

This movie is not likely to make my list of the year's best, but I can remember those miserable Little League games and so in a modest way I'm grateful for this film. It is pure wish-fulfillment, 40 years after I needed it.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Rookie of the Year may feature a preposterous premise but it still remains an entertaining baseball comedy three decades later.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 23, 2023

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Preston Barta

Fresh Fiction

‘Rookie of the Year’ doesn’t deserve the critical bench after 30 years. It’s an ace family sports movie!

Mar 7, 2023

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Malcolm Johnson

Hartford Courant

Inning after inning, Rookie of the Year goes down swinging, ignominiously. It's strictly bush league stuff.

Jun 4, 2018

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Quentin Curtis

Independent on Sunday

If you don't know baseball, you won't understand the climax. If you do, you'll find it preposterous.

Dec 6, 2017

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Its abe S

I dont understand the hate! I didn't think it was that bad!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/21/25

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Jerod S

It's a cheese-ball family baseball film where a kid gets a phenomenal arm for a few games.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/18/25

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Stephen C

Funny in 1 hour and 43 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $53,100,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/20/25

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Joey G

This is such an underrated movie! I loved it!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/17/25

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Audience Member

Fun family movie and a timeless classic. It's been three decades since I first watched it and it's every bit as enjoyable to me now as it was when I was a kid.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/25

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Jacob B

Very much a film meant to appeal to young audiences with some of the overacting from Daniel Stern and some of the minor characters and its funky, buttlovin' dialogue as well as its premise but the acting is sincere, some of the jokes work and it isn't without its moments of charm. True, at the end of the day, Rookie of the Year is just a standard baseball film released back during that trend's early '90s heyday that's notable nowadays for having its star be one of the main characters from American Pie but it's still a more compelling watch than Angels in the Outfield.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/08/25

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Daniel Stern

Director

Thomas Ian Nicholas

Henry Rowengartner

Gary Busey

Chet Steadman

Albert Hall

Sal Martinella

Amy Morton

Mary Rowengartner

Dan Hedaya

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Synopsis

A freak accident causes 12-year-old Little League player Henry (Thomas Ian Nicholas) to become such a powerful and accurate pitcher that the Chicago Cubs sign the junior high student to a contract. Unprepared for such a high-pressure environment, Henry falters until aging fastballer Chet Steadman (Gary Busey) takes him under his wing and teaches him how to play in the big leagues. Meanwhile, his mother's venal boyfriend (Bruce Altman) tries to sell Henry's contract to a hated opposing team.

Director: Daniel Stern
Producer: Robert Harper
Screenwriter: Sam Harper
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 7, 1993, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $53.1M
Runtime: 1h 43m

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