Bull Durham (1988)

Editor's Note The Durham Bulls are in a slump and have spent a hefty sum of money acquiring an untested young pitcher in the hopes of reversing their standings. Crash Davis, a 12-year veteran ballplayer who has spent most of his time bumming around as a minor league catcher, is assigned to mature the rookie pitching phenom named "Nuke." But a beautiful and enigmatic team groupie comes between the tutor and his student, enlightening both with her game of life, love and verse.

	Trey Wilson
	Tim Robbins
	Kevin Costner
	Susan Sarandon
	Ron Shelton - Director

North Carolina's Durham Bulls have just acquired a hot new pitcher, "Nuke" LaLoosh, who has a Major League arm but Little League aim. The management has sent for veteran Minor League catcher Crash Davis to train the rookie and get him ready for the upcoming season. The team's biggest fan, an English professor at the local college, has a tradition of choosing one Bulls player each year to be her lover and baseball/poetry prodigy, and this year she must choose between two players that have caught her eye, the pitcher and the catcher. The two ball players bait each other on and off the field, compete for the woman's affections, and eventually, send the Bulls on a winning streak.

"Some days you win. Some days you lose. And some days, it rains." ---- Baseball Proverb repeated by Crash Davis (Kevin Costner)

Entertainment Weekly
"...Shelton stepped up to the directorial plate and smacked a dinger....A wry, sexy charmer..." -- Rating: A 12/20/1996 pp.82-3

New York Times
"...A film with spring fever, a giddy, playful look at life in baseball's minor leagues....[Costner] does a lot with his role..." 06/15/1988 p.C20

Los Angeles Times
"...A sweet and sexy comedy..." 06/15/1988 p.C1

USA Today
"...[With] Susan Sarandon at career peak....This is like no other baseball movie..." 01/27/1989 p.3D

Total Film
"...Shelton cracks open the game's mythologies, but it's the sexy sparkle between Costner and Sarandon that's the hook..." 11/01/2003 p.129

Premiere
4 stars out of 4 -- "One of the best and most honest baseball movies ever made, perfectly nailing the spirit of America's pastime." 08/10/2010