Rookie of the Year

Rookie of the Year (1993) is a family sports comedy you can watch online on iFILM. Twelve-year-old Henry Rowengartner (Thomas Ian Nicholas) has one dream and zero talent for baseball — until a broken arm heals with a freakishly overtightened tendon, and he discovers he can throw a fastball at over 100 mph.

The Chicago Cubs, who have not won a World Series in decades, sign him to the roster. Henry goes from grade school to Wrigley Field in roughly a week, pitching alongside adults who are less than thrilled about the arrangement. Gary Busey plays the veteran pitcher who becomes his unlikely mentor, and director Daniel Stern put himself in front of the camera as the hapless pitching coach.

Pure crowd-pleaser territory — the kind of film that does not take itself seriously for a single minute and is all the better for it. Kids get the underdog fantasy; adults get Gary Busey. Watch Rookie of the Year (1993) online on iFILM.