Baseball fans and sportswriters often cast the national pastime in a romantic light that celebrates the emotional connection people have to the game, its heroes and its teams, rather than the competition on the field. An affinity for baseball is usually developed in childhood, as many fans are raised by their parents to appreciate the sport and its traditions at every level of play. For some, baseball becomes an ever-present undercurrent of their life.

As much a love story as it is a film about baseball, ‘Stealing Home,’ is this week’s Sports Movie of the Week. In the 1988 film, former minor league baseball player Billy Wyatt (Mark Harmon) is now in his mid-30s and out of baseball. While struggling to find happiness and financial stability, Wyatt receives news that his former babysitter — and first love — Katie Chandler (Jodie Foster), has taken her own life. Though Wyatt hasn’t seen Katie for years, he is given her ashes and must decide what to do with the remains. Wyatt’s decision-making process awakens many childhood and adolescent memories for him from the 1960s, including those of his late father Sam (John Shea) and the time he spent with Katie.

Five Reasons to Watch ‘Stealing Home’

1. The comic interplay between Mark Harmon and Harold Ramis, who is cast as Wyatt’s best friend Alan Appleby, is often very funny.

2. Then current California Angels first baseman Wally Joyner is the opposing pitcher in the final game of the film.

3. Many of the beach house scenes were filmed at the same location as the famous “shrinkage” episode of ‘Seinfeld.’

4. The exterior shots of the New Jersey shore, Atlantic City and the Philadelphia skyline seem impossibly prehistoric given the development that has happened in those areas since the film’s release.

5. The soundtrack of the film uses period songs from The Shirelles, The Four Seasons and The Marvelettes. Noted ’80s composer David Foster (‘St. Elmo’s Fire’) also has several musical pieces included.

Click the play button to watch the original trailer of the film below:

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