Take Me In to the Ballgame

Take Me In to the Ballgame

By Eric GildeSportsBaseball
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Take Me In to the Ballgame episodes

  • We've Moved!

    Hey guys! We have joined the Underdog Podcast Network, and so have changed over to their feed! Please check us out there and resubscribe for all of our episodes! Sorry for the inconvenience, but we hope that you join us for more baseball movie breakdowns at our new home!

    2 min
  • The Bad News Bears
    Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the 1976 classic "The Bad News  Bears," grading its tools on the 20-80 scouting scale. Eric dives in to the implications of Coach Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) citing Catfish Hunter by way of comparison, while Ellen talks in depth about the baseball accuracy of the purported break on Amanda's (Tatum O'Neal) curveball. You can guess whose curveball gets mentioned. Also includes a fun fact about ad-libs in the film, deciding which players your co-hosts were, and discussion of Denny's, Pizza Hut, and Book It.
    1 hr 48 min
  • The Jackie Robinson Story

    Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the 1950 film, "The Jackie Robinson  Story," featuring Robinson as himself in this scripted version of his life. They consider the ramifications of this film being made in the era of Jim Crow, the oddity of playing yourself in your own life story, and why the heck, in a 77 minute film, any time is spared for the comic relief character "Shorty." Amidst puzzling inaccuracies and predictable omissions, they score the film on the 20-80 scouting scale.

    1 hr 38 min
  • Rookie of the Year
    Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the 1993 film, "Rookie of the Year,"  in which young Henry Rowengartner's broken arm heals in such a way that he now throws a blazing fastball. Ellen lists all of the reasons why the Chicago Cubs clearly have no other relief pitchers, and Eric comes up with either the best or worst little league team name. Scoring this film on the 20-80 scouting scale includes discussion of Daniel Stern's extra-zany performance, Scott White's nickname for the Mets slugger, and wondering what's up with that boat. Also, we learn the name of Eric's fictional scouting director!
    1 hr 28 min
  • Sugar
    Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss "Sugar," the peerless 2008 film about a Dominican pitcher trying to make it to the majors in the United States. And generally, their scores are so high that Ellen is forced to give a name to her fictional scouting director in order to personify his incredulity. As they crush on this movie, Eric attests to the authenticity of the Iowa sequences, and Ellen compares the Amount of Baseball to 2019 Josh Bell. Stay tuned for the unprecedented moment of Ellen changing a score!
    1 hr 23 min
  • Ed

    Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde watched "Ed." They did it. That's the recap.  ...No, of course, gentle listener, we can promise more in this  discussion of the 1996 film "Ed," about a chimpanzee playing baseball. Eric is deeply unnerved by what the movie implies about Mickey Mantle, while Ellen flounders in an attempt to determine the nature of Jack "Deuce" Cooper's (Matt  LeBlanc's) pitching arsenal. On their way to scoring on the 20-80 scouting scale one of the worst baseball movies ever made, they discuss the brief foray into the horror genre that is Ed eating, and the montage device hitting rock-bottom. Ellen has a brief tirade into the naming of the "Utley rule," and, as it turns out, a timely reference to Trevor Bauer.

    1 hr 30 min
  • Eight Men Out
    Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss "Eight Men Out," the 1988 film about the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal. As they delve into the known differences  between historical records and the film's storytelling, stay tuned for Ellen's favorite fact about how a private investigator tried to get an "in" with Happy Felsch. Eric practices his turn-of-the-century sandlot urchin voice, while Ellen wonders if the child actually said something like, "Pardon me, Mr. Jackson, please tell me that these alleged incidents did not occur." All hail use of the flyswatter in the scene with Kensaw Mountain Landis. Also included, a digression into Ellen's dad's take on the "Harry Potter" movies.
    1 hr 48 min
  • Podcast Blackout

    In lieu of releasing our planned episode this week, we are participating in the #podcastblackout, started by the Cult 45 Podcast, and will be reading a brief selection of names of recent victims of racist violence or police brutality. We want to support the notion that black lives matter, that we need police reform now, and that we are all responsible to dismantle systemic injustice in progress towards a true understanding of our mutual humanity. If you have any money to spare, please consider the George Floyd Memorial Fund, Black Visions Collective, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Reclaim the Block or Campaign Zero, to name only a few.

    13 min
  • It Happens Every Spring
    Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the 1949 comedy, "It Happens Every  Spring." Does it tho? Delving into this story about a college chemistry professor who develops a substance that repels wood, and applies it to a baseball to become a bat-missing pitcher, they have even more questions than one might expect. Grading this premise on the 20-80 scouting scale makes for plus-plus fun, although Ellen almost dies trying to keep track of what the score should be in the prof's first big-league game.  And for the record, Eric agrees with Deborah's parents.
    1 hr 22 min
  • Field of Dreams
    Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde take on one of the most classic baseball movies of all time, the 1989 film “Field of Dreams.” They manage to grade the film on its tools on the 20-80 scale, but there a lot questions about the cornfield. What happens to balls that go into the cornfield? Do they go to heaven? Does Terrence Mann (James Earl Jones) think he’s coming back once he pierces the veil between realities? And why does everyone say that Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) has plowed up all of his cash crop when he clearly still has a LOT of corn growing? Why exactly did these former hippies decide to start a farm to begin with? But Ellen always cries when characters see ghosts of their parents.
    1 hr 13 min

About Take Me In to the Ballgame

From the publisher's feed

Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde are die hard baseball fans who, like many others, are heartbroken about the postponement and possible cancellation of the 2020 season. As they wait to see what happens, they…