“The Rookie” is a 2002 movie that stars Dennis Quaid. It’s a movie that Disney produces. It’s based on a true story. This is the old Disney that I missed when they weren’t so woke and politically correct. 

Jimmy Morris is a baseball coach and a high school science teacher. His dream has always been baseball. Jimmy and his dad had a strained relationship. Jimmy’s dad is old school. He didn’t support his son with baseball, and the family constantly had to move around because of his job. I hate the line “there are more important things in life than baseball.” I understand that back in those days, it was a different time, but I can’t imagine telling my son or my dad telling me something like that. Luckily, when I was little, my parents kept me involved in team sports and always involved such as Baseball and Basketball. 

There’s one scene where Jimmy is on the mound. He’s looking at the stands for his father, but he doesn’t see him there. After the game, he goes to his father’s job and tells him that he struck out 13 batters. His father replied by asking him,” did you win” and Jimmy said yes. He didn’t care about the statistics. He managed if they won. As an adult, I don’t see a problem with that. However, you must be careful when you say that to a kid because they won’t fully understand. 

Jimmy getting invited for tryouts for the minors is thrilling in this movie because that’s always been his dream to play baseball. 

“Your turn, Coach” is one of my favorite lines and favorite scenes of the movie. I love how each player shook his hand, telling him that after winning a game during the locker room. The motivation behind this is that Jimmy’s players said to him that they would go on a winning streak and win all the way, and if they do so, Jimmy needs to promise them that he will go for tryouts and chase his dream. 

Jimmy is past his prime, but he can still throw over 95 mph, which is unbelievable. 

It’s a feel-good movie. The message is about never giving up on your dreams, no matter how old you get. It would help if you had a lot of drive, perseverance, determination, and support. Jimmy had a lot of help from his players to go after his dream more than his family. Jimmy’s wife confessed to him during an argument that she was happy when he quit baseball because she didn’t want him to see him get injured again. Excellent support from your “backbone.” However, she stuck by his side as he went off to go chase his lifelong dream, while she stayed him with their two kids.

Overall, I give this movie a 4.2 out of 5 stars. The real-life Jimmy Morris appears in this movie. He played for the Tampa Bay Rays for two seasons. Morris made his debut at the age of 35. Inspiring story.