Which Fictional Baseball Movie Character Is the Least-Convincing Ballplayer?

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May 30, 2012

Which Fictional Baseball Movie Character Is the Least-Convincing Ballplayer?Casting a movie is hard. Playing baseball is too. Put those together, and you've got a nightmare in the making for a Hollywood casting director.

For every Charlie Sheen or Kevin Costner who slips effortlessly into the role of a stud baseball player, you find the others who struggle with the difficult task of hitting a baseball — or pretending to when the cameras are rolling.

Tim Robbins won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor after his performance in Mystic River, but you won't find any awards headed his way after his portrayal of Nuke LaLoosh in Bull Durham. Sure, Robbins brings the character to life, but it's a little difficult to believe someone with a delivery that funky is going to make it to "The Show" as easily as he does.

Another actor who, like Robbins, appeared in a baseball movie alongside Kevin Costner is John C. Reilly. In For Love of the Game, Reilly plays Gus Sinski, the lovable backstop of the Detroit Tigers. He calls a heck of a game for Costner's Billy Chapel, but his swing leaves a bit to be desired.

Danny McBride's Kenny Powers, from HBO's Eastbound & Down, is a cult hero — but while the character throws heat, McBride was definitely chosen for his comedy chops, and not anything that resembles a fastball. His mullet is MLB-worthy, though.

We'll give Rookie of the Year's Henry Rowengartner a pass, since we shouldn't hold 12-year-olds to high standards, but Gary Busey gets no such leeway. Let's just say that Chet Steadman was on his last legs as a pitcher for a reason.

And of course, John Goodman once tried to play Babe Ruth, with mixed results.

It's hard to narrow down a list like this considering the many, many actors who have tried their hand at many, many baseball movies. When it comes down to it, which character do you have the hardest time believing?

Which fictional baseball movie character is the least-convincing ballplayer?

Thumbnail photo via YouTube/TheFunFlicks

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