I was born a few months before Bull Durham opened in theaters and gave the world one of the best baseball movies of all time. Though I spent more time watching more age-appropriate sports movies like The Sandlot and Rookie of the Year growing up, I later became obsessed with the classic Kevin Costner movie… to the point where I watch it once every year.
In the past, I’ve written extensively about my thoughts on Bull Durham, broken down some of the best baseball movie quotes, and even built the best lineup of fictional ball players. On my most recent watch, I came to the realization that there is one baseball movie cliche it handles better than most: a player getting cut from the team.
There’s Just Something About Crash Davis Getting Cut That Carries So Much Weight
Players getting cut from a team is a core part of the baseball movie structure. Movies like Major League have done it over the years; there was even a great scene in Little Big League where Billy Haywood (Luke Edwards) cuts his “favorite ball player of all time.” But let me tell you, the way in which Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) gets cut near the end of Bull Durham has to be the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen in a baseball movie.
No longer needed with Ebby “Nuke” LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) being called up to “The Show,” the organization releases the career minor leaguer and brought in a young catcher for the remainder of the season. When you get cut from single-A ball, there’s nowhere else to go, especially when you’ve already spent the better part of two decades bouncing from one minor league farm system to another.
Skip Telling Him There ‘Might Be An Opening’ As A Coach Is Utterly Heartbreaking
Another thing that gets me in this scene is Joe “Skip” Riggins (Trey Wilson) trying to ease the sting a little bit by telling Crash there “might be an opening” coaching a minor league team in Visalia the next season. It’s not a “there are more teams out there,” or a “you’ll get ’em next time, Crash,” but instead a kind yet pragmatic reassurance and acceptance that it’s time to hang up his cleats.
The look on Skip’s face while breaking the news, Larry Hockett (Robert Wuhl) trying to put down the new catcher coming in, and just everything about the release hits, and it hits hard.
He Goes On To Play A Few More Games To Get The Minor League Home Run Record, But He Knows His Career Is Over
Sure, Crash does rebound by finding a spot on the roster of the Asheville Tourists and going on to hit the minor-league record 247th home run, but he knows it’s over after being cut from the Durham Bulls and no longer being a mentor. I mean, after breaking the record, he quits and moves back to the loving arms of Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon).
While this does give us a powerful ending to an all-time great romantic comedy, I can’t help but feel sad for Crash, as he’s fully accepted that he no longer has what it takes to be a ball player, in “The Show” or the minors.
I don’t know if everyone loves this movie as much as I do, but if you want to revisit Bull Durham, you can do that right now with a Peacock subscription.
