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APRIL 01, 2013
17
MajorLeague
JUST INTIME for 1989’sopeningday, ParamountPictures sent to themound
Major League
, abreezy,
charmingbaseball comedyabout theunlikely (and fictional) remakingandcomebackof theCleveland
Indians, starringTomBerenger,WesleySnipes, CharlieSheenand
CORBINBERNSEN
.Writtenand
directedbyDavidWard, the filmgrossed$50millionand spawned two sequels. Bernsen,whoplayed
egocentric thirdbasemanRogerDorn, says thekey to
Major League
’s successwas itsauthenticity.
“Itwasan imperativebydirectorDavidWard thatall
of theactors involved looked like theycouldactu-
allyplay thegameofbaseball. The filmneeded
that realityor it simplywouldn’twork.Most
everyonehad todoa tryout session. Iwasworking
onanother filmat the time, so theyhad to take
meatmyword. Iplayed longenough inschool
toknowbysecondnature themechanicsof the
gameandhow thebodydynamicswould translate
to thescreen.Hitting, however,wasadifferent
story.Hittingkeptmeoutof thepros.Andcollege.
Andsometimes, even, starting inhighschool. To
fill in forusactorsand to roundout the team in the
movie,Davidbrought ina lotof realballplayers,
bothex-major leagueplayersaswell asTriple-A
andDouble-Aplayers.Youget thatmanyguys
togetherandsometimes troublehappens.But
honestly, therewasno troubleatall on thismovie.
Iwill say, though, thatwehadsome incredible
bonding timesmaking themovie—and theyoften
startedandstoppedat thedoorofCharlieSheen.
No, I’mnot sayingmore than that.”
—J.R.
LOOKING BACK
CLOCKWISEFROMTOPLEFT:
Bernsen,
Berenger andSheen in
MajorLeague
{ CAREERS }
LifeOutsideofBaseball
AONE-TERMU.S.PRESIDENT
enjoysmore timeon the job than theaverage
professional ballplayer, according to The Princeton Review, which puts the
average life expectancy of amajor league career at a paltry 2.7 years. That
mayexplainwhysomanypurveyorsofAmerica’snational pastimeswing for
the fencesbeyond theballpark, forging fascinatingcareerswhileplayingand
after retiring. Hereare someof our favoritemoonlightingballplayers.
PLAYER:
JeffKent
TEAMS:
NewYorkMets,
SanFranciscoGiants,
LosAngelesDodgers
(amongothers)
YEARSACTIVE:
1992-2008
WHATHE’SUPTONOW:
Last year, Kent expressed
hisdeepestDarwinian
impulseson the25th
seasonof
Survivor
, placing
10thon thePhilippines-set
adventure show.
PLAYER:
TugMcGraw
TEAMS:
NewYorkMets,
PhiladelphiaPhillies
YEARSACTIVE:
1965-1984
WHATHE’SUPTONOW:
Father to country superstar
TimMcGraw, Tugdied
in2004, but he spent a
coupleof years co-writing
(withMichaelWitte) the
nationally syndicated
comic strip
Scroogie
,
about ane’er-do-well relief
pitcher onamajor league
team called thePets.
PLAYER:
KennyLofton
TEAM:
Cleveland Indians
(amongothers)
YEARSACTIVE:
1991-2007
WHATHE’SUPTONOW:
Lofton—whohas adegree
in filmandTV from the
UniversityofArizona—
launchedaproduction
company in2004,
developingboth scripted
and reality television
programs. He’s alsoan
avidgolfer.
PLAYER:
NickSwisher
TEAMS:
OaklandAthletics,
NewYorkYankees,
Cleveland Indians
YEARSACTIVE:
2004-present
WHATHE’SUPTONOW:
In2011, Swisher released
twoalbums,
Outburstof
Life
(rock/alternative) and
Believe
(achildren’salbum
benefitingcharity).
Believe
peakedatNo. 3on the
iTunesTop 10Children’s
Albums chart and features
classic rockcoversof “Lean
onMe” and “WithaLittle
HelpFromMyFriends.”
—J.R.
PLAYER:
BernieWilliams
TEAM:
NewYorkYankees
YEARSACTIVE:
1991-2006
WHATHE’SUPTONOW:
Williams releasedhis
first album,
TheJourney
Within
, in2003, blending
jazz, classical, popand
Latin influences. His 2009
follow-up,
MovingForward
,
featured collaborations
withBruceSpringsteen
and JonSecadaandwas
nominated for aLatin
Grammy.Williams isnow
workingona thirdalbum.
