The Best Baseball Movies and TV Shows

What it's about: The story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball team on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (YouTube) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Young Treasury Agent Elliot Ness arrives in Chicago and is determined to take down Al Capone, but it's not going to be easy because Capone has the police in his pocket. Ness meets Jimmy Malone, a veteran patrolman and probably the most honorable one on the force. He asks Malone to help him get Capone, but Malone warns him that if he goes after Capone, he is going to war.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Ray Kinsella is an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice telling him to turn his cornfield into a baseball diamond. He does, but the voice's directions don't stop -- even after the spirits of deceased ballplayers turn up to play.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Peacock) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: In 1950s Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to raise a family.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (TBS & TNT) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: As America's stock of athletic young men is depleted during World War II, a professional all-female baseball league springs up in the Midwest, funded by publicity-hungry candy maker Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall). Competitive sisters Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty) spar with each other, scout Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) and grumpy has-been coach Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) on their way to fame. Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell co-star as two of the sisters' teammates.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: When Rachel Phelps inherits the Cleveland Indians from her deceased husband, she's determined to move the team to a warmer climate—but only a losing season will make that possible, which should be easy given the misfits she's hired. Rachel is sure her dream will come true, but she underestimates their will to succeed.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix), stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & Epix), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In the summer of 1962, a new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his rowdy team, resulting in many adventures.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The powerful story of Jackie Robinson, the legendary baseball player who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he joined the roster of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The film follows the innovative Dodgers’ general manager Branch Rickey, the MLB executive who first signed Robinson to the minors and then helped to bring him up to the show.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (The Criterion Channel & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: When a rare phenomenon gives police officer John Sullivan the chance to speak to his father, 30 years in the past, he takes the opportunity to prevent his dad's tragic death. After his actions inadvertently give rise to a series of brutal murders he and his father must find a way to fix the consequences of altering time.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Stanley's family is cursed with bad luck. Unfairly sentenced to months of detention at Camp Green Lake, he and his campmates are forced by the warden to dig holes in order to build character. What they don't know is that they are digging holes in order to search for a lost treasure hidden somewhere in the camp.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Disney+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Veteran catcher Crash Davis is brought to the minor league Durham Bulls to help their up and coming pitching prospect, "Nuke" Laloosh. Their relationship gets off to a rocky start and is further complicated when baseball groupie Annie Savoy sets her sights on the two men.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Years after he turned his back on his hometown, a burned-out major league ballplayer returns to teach phys ed at his old middle school.

Where to Watch: 29 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO). 29 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Peacock) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PlutoTV, Plex, PopcornFlix & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The story of the life and career of the baseball hall of famer, Lou Gehrig.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Microsoft).

What it's about: In 1961, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees. One, Mantle, was universally loved, while the other, Maris, was universally hated. Both men started off with a bang, and both were nearing Babe Ruth's 60 home run record. Which man would reach it?

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Jim Morris never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve years ago. Now a married-with-children high-school chemistry teacher and baseball coach in Texas, Jim's team makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, Jim will try out with a major-league organization. The bet proves incentive enough for the team, and they go from worst to first, making it to state for the first time in the history of the school. Jim, forced to live up to his end of the deal, is nearly laughed off the try-out field--until he gets onto the mound, where he confounds the scouts (and himself) by clocking successive 98 mph fastballs, good enough for a minor-league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Jim's still got a lot of pitches to throw before he makes it to The Show, but with his big-league dreams revived, there's no telling where he could go.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Disney+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Epix, Fandor & 3 others), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.00 on 2 services (Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: A dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: In a last-ditch effort to save his career, sports agent JB Bernstein (Jon Hamm) dreams up a wild game plan to find Major League Baseball’s next great pitcher from a pool of cricket players in India. He soon discovers two young men who can throw a fastball but know nothing about the game of baseball. Or America. It’s an incredible and touching journey that will change them all — especially JB, who learns valuable lessons about teamwork, commitment and family.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The true story of the most decorated dog in American military history -- Sgt. Stubby -- and the enduring bonds he forged with his brothers-in-arms in the trenches of World War I.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $4.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Slowed by age and failing eyesight, crack baseball scout Gus Lobel takes his grown daughter along as he checks out the final prospect of his career. Along the way, the two renew their bond, and she catches the eye of a young player-turned-scout.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Since 1912, baseball has been a game obsessed with statistics and speed. Thrown at upwards of 100 miles per hour, a fastball moves too quickly for human cognition and accelerates into the realm of intuition. Fastball is a look at how the game at its highest levels of achievement transcends logic and even skill, becoming the primal struggle for man to control the uncontrollable.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV & Plex), stream on a subscription service (fuboTV, Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Investigates the MLB's infamous doping scandal involving a nefarious clinician and his most famous client: the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Microsoft).

What it's about: The dramatic and inspirational story of a young pitcher who becomes the first woman to play Major League Baseball.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 10 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Follows the story of Miguel Santos, a. k. a. Sugar (Algenis Perez Soto), a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro de Macorís, struggling to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States' minor league system; but when his play on the mound falters, he begins to question the single-mindedness of his life's ambition.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on LSD, then worked for decades counseling drug abusers. Dock's soulful style defined 1970s baseball as he kept hitters honest and embarrassed the establishment. An ensemble cast of teammates, friends, and family investigate his life on the field, in the media, and out of the spotlight.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, Plex & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Starz, Hoopla & 1 other), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Rival reporters Sam and Tess fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A baseball legend almost finished with his distinguished career at the age of forty has one last chance to prove who he is, what he is capable of, and win the heart of the woman he has loved for the past four years.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Follows the Boston Red Sox' Tim Wakefield and the New York Mets' R.A. Dickey - the only two major league pitchers who use the unpredictable knuckleball - during the 2011 season.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, HBO MAX, Hulu & 2 others) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Masaki, a baseball player and gas-station attendant, gets into trouble with the local Yakuza and goes to Okinawa to get a gun to defend himself. There he meets Uehara, a tough gangster, who is in serious debt to the yakuza and planning revenge.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A widowed mother and her son change when a mysterious stranger enters their lives.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: The story of a New York pro baseball team and two of its players. Henry Wiggen is the star pitcher and Bruce Pearson is the normal, everyday catcher who is far from the star player on the team and friend to all of his teammates. During the off-season, Bruce learns that he is terminally ill, and Henry, his only true friend, is determined to be the one person there for him during his last season with the club. Throughout the course of the season, Henry and his teammates attempt to deal with Bruce's impending illness, all the while attempting to make his last year a memorable one.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Film adaptation of the George Abbott Broadway musical about a Washington Senators fan who makes a pact with the Devil to help his baseball team win the league pennant.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $12.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Google Play).

What it's about: Calvin Campbell is a former professional baseball player sent to an early retirement due to his panic attacks at the plate. Even though he had all the talent for the big leagues, he struggles with the curveballs life has thrown him. Today, he mindlessly sleepwalks through his days and the challenge of raising his teenager daughter. His life is in a slow downward spiral when it is suddenly awakened and invigorated by the most unlikely person – Produce, a young-man with Down syndrome who works at the local grocery store.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Hulu, Epix & 1 other), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Roger is a foster child whose irresponsible father promises to get his act together when Roger's favourite baseball team, the California Angels, wins the pennant. The problem is that the Angels are in last place, so Roger prays for help to turn the team around. Sure enough, his prayers are answered in the form of angel Al.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (TBS & TNT).

What it's about: Brewster, an aging minor-league baseball player, stands to inherit 300 million dollars if he can successfully spend 30 million dollars in 30 days without anything to show for it, and without telling anyone what he's up to... A task that's a lot harder than it sounds!

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Baseball is an 18½ hour, Emmy Award-winning documentary series by Ken Burns about the game of baseball. First broadcast on PBS, this was Burns' ninth documentary.

Where to Watch: 9 episodes (82%) are available to watch free online (PBS). 11 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $6.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: Star major league pitcher Monty Stratton loses a leg in a hunting accident, but becomes determined to leave the game on his own terms.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Vudu).

What it's about: The Wolves baseball team gets steamed when they find they've been inherited by one K.C. Higgins, a suspected "fathead" who intends to take an active interest in running the team. But K.C. turns outs to be a beautiful woman who really knows her baseball. Second baseman Dennis Ryan promptly falls in love. But his playboy roommate Eddie O'Brien has his own notions about how to treat the new lady owner and some unsavory gamblers have their own ideas about how to handle Eddie.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Sports biopic depicting the athletic, domestic, and emotional struggles of Jimmy Piersall (Anthony Perkins). He achieved stardom as a member of the Boston Red Sox but battled mental illness and intense pressure from his father.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Three tales, each more terrifying than the last. . . . A woman who is stalked by an axe-weilding maniac . . . a man who pays the ultimate price for a beautiful head of hair . . . and a vision of life—seen through the eyes of a killer.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, Peacock, Vudu & 1 other), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Shudder & Shout Factory TV) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (Google Play, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: Based on a true story, a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who become the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Urban Movie Channel) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Morris Buttermaker is a burned-out minor league baseball player who loves to drink and can't keep his hands to himself. His long-suffering lawyer arranges for him to manage a local Little League team, and Buttermaker soon finds himself the head of a rag-tag group of misfit players. Through unconventional team-building exercises and his offbeat coaching style, Buttermaker helps his hapless Bears prepare to meet their rivals, the Yankees.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Daryl is a normal 10-year-old boy in many ways. However, unbeknown to his foster parents and friends, Daryl is actually a government-created robot with superhuman reflexes and mental abilities. Even his name has a hidden meaning -- it's actually an acronym for Data Analyzing Robot Youth Life-form. When the organization that created him deems the "super soldier" experiment a failure and schedules Daryl to be disassembled, it is up to a few rogue scientists to help him escape.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A down-on-his-luck bookie befriends an ex-girlfriend’s son and gets the bright idea to take bets on his youth league baseball games; only to realize he’s killed what’s pure about the sport as the games turn ugly when money is on the line.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & Hoopla) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).