Angels in the Outfield—one of a few baseball films about kids in the early 1990s—marks the 30th anniversary of its 1994 theatrical release.

As the film hits Disney+ to celebrate the anniversary, it’s easily the weakest of the bunch (The Sandlot, Little Big League, Rookie of the Year). Until the 30th anniversary, it really had not been made available on streaming services. In short, the only options were the library or physical media, if at all. Anyway, the theatrical release came just over a month before the MLB strike. As you know, this led to a premature end of the 1994 season. The film’s release came just a few short weeks after Little Big League opened in theaters, before developing as a cult classic with frequent airings on the MLB Network.

A key reason for utilizing the then-California Angels is because of The Walt Disney Company being a minority owner at the time. That was back when the company invested in sports teams, including the Anaheim Mighty Ducks! In any event, using the Angels also allowed for more punny dialogue. Imagine a kid saying that they see an angel on the field—any adult would surely thing that they were just talking about one of the 25 players and the coaching staff. Right?

Angels in the Outfield otherwise does its best and despite the slapstick comedy of it all, it really is the weakest baseball film of the early 1990s.

Click here to read the rest of my review on Dugout Dirt.

DIRECTOR: William Dear
SCREENWRITERS: Dorothy Kingsley & George Wells and Holly Goldberg Sloan
CAST: Danny Glover, Tony Danza, Brenda Fricker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Johnson, Jay O. Sanders, Taylor Negron, Milton Davis Jr., and Christopher Lloyd, Tony Longo, Neal McDonough, Stoney Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Adrien Brody, Tim Conlon, Israel Juarbe, Albert Alexander Garcia

Walt Disney Pictures released Angels in the Outfield in theaters on July 15, 1994. Grade: 3/5

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