A 2001 film about two teammates who chase immortality side-by-side, this cable classic is one of the best cinematic portrayals of baseball in recent history
*61 (2001) – Aiming for one of the most famed records in sports history, a pair of very different baseball players hit home runs at an impressive rate.
Roger Maris (Barry Pepper), a reserved sort, is much less popular than his hard-partying New York Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle (Thomas Jane), the player who many observers think will be the one to challenge Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs in one season. But in the summer of 1961, Maris surged ahead of Mantle, making a run at Ruth’s mark.
Directed and co-produced by lifelong Yankees fan Billy Crystal, *61 is a heartwarming love letter to a classic era of America’s Pastime. Jane and Pepper received critical acclaim for their portrayals of the two legendary Brox Bombers, with a strong supporting cast of teammates occasionally stealing the show — most notably Anthony Michael Hall as Whitey Ford and Chris Bauer as Bob Cerv.