Credit: Columbia Pictures

Baseball has had itself a rather cinematic week, hasn’t it? Netflix‘s MLB Field of Dreams game took the Phillies and Twins back to Dyersville, Iowa, and seeing baseball return to that famous field makes it hard not to think about classic baseball movies.

And, frankly, if you are going in there, A League of Their Own is one of the first things worth pulling out. Penny Marshall’s 1992 classic stars Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan, a washed-up former player who ends up managing the Rockford Peaches and initially looks like a man who would rather be absolutely anywhere else. While it may not be the most charming premise, memorable, it most enormously is.

The film was inspired by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which began during the Second World War while many male players were away serving, making for an intriguing history lesson.

At the centre of the film are sisters Dottie Hinson and Kit Keller, played by Geena Davis and Lori Petty. Dottie has bags of natural talent but not much interest in becoming a star, while Kit wants baseball badly enough to see it as her way out of a life. Both are recruited for the Rockford Peaches, and guess what, they end up on the same team.

Of course, immediately things only seem to be going wrong. Once Dottie starts getting more attention, the sisterly affection starts to fade. Kit loves her sister, of course, but living in somebody else’s shadow isn’t something she planned. Their rivalry gives the film far more bite than a simple underdog sports story, because neither woman is really the villain. They just want different things!

Then there is Hank’s Jimmy Dugan, whose glory days have packed their bags and left town, and drinks too much and barely seems interested in doing anything, much less coaching a women’s baseball team, which he seems to consider is beneath him.

But just then, the Peaches start proving themselves, and slowly, he begins taking the team seriously, and thankfully, the film does not suddenly turn him into a saint with manners overnight. He remains difficult and very much himself, which makes the change feel earned.

The supporting cast is no slouch either. Madonna plays Mae Mordabito, Rosie O’Donnell is Doris Murphy, and Jon Lovitz turns up as scout Ernie Capadino. And baseball isn’t just there as a plot device. The cast trained extensively before filming, and the bruises were very real. Lori Petty even once spoke about genuinely hitting one of Kit’s home runs herself, which deserves mad respect when you look at those period uniforms. Sliding in those things? Count me out.

There is a reason A League of Their Own has hung around for more than three decades. It is funny, but it also doesn’t treat history as a joke. So if Netflix’s MLB Field of Dreams has put baseball back on the brain, this has to be your next stop. Come for Tom Hanks, and stay for the brilliant acting and the story.