Baseball just happened to be Jim Morris's dream. It was more than peanuts and Crackerjacks to the legendary baseball player, who spent a good portion of his life chasing that dream. Hence the premise of the latest feel-good baseball movie, The Rookie, opening this Friday.
The film, starring Dennis Quaid, is based on the true story of Morris, a former baseball player whose shoulder injury ended his pitching career while he was in the minor leagues.
Twelve years after his dream was shattered, Morris, a 35-year-old father, husband and high school chemistry teacher/ baseball coach in Texas, makes a deal with his not-so-hot baseball team in order to motivate them: If they win the district championship, Morris will try out for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sounds fair enough, right?
"My hope was that people could take whatever it is they want or have in their hearts and feel themselves in that situation and see themselves accomplish whatever it is they want," Morris, sporting Diamondbacks baseball cap, says during a recent roundtable interview in Phoenix.
The former baseball player says he was surprised to find out there was going to be a movie based on his life. "I don't think I realized there was going to be a movie about me until Dennis signed on," he says, laughing.
Getting Quaid to sign on the dotted line didn't appear to be a problem for Disney. The actor says he fell in love with the script from the very beginning.
"When I read a script, that's the only time that I get to be a first time audience member," Quaid says. "It just really hit me emotionally reading it, and it was about something more than baseball. It was about second chances and I wanted to do it. After I read it, I knew that this would be my next movie."
The actor trained for the role by tossing a few balls around with a former Dodgers pitcher. "I kept doing it as we went along and learned a lot," he says. "That's the thing. I wanted to do this right so I wouldn't embarrass myself and him (Morris), too. I've seen so many sports movies where the actors look like they don't know what they're doing."
Quaid and Morris quickly became friends during their time together on and off the movie set. "To me, it was a privilege to get to know him," Quaid says. "I really appreciated him opening his life up to me."
Morris, clearly touched by Quaid's words, adds, "I went out there early last year and we threw at Dodger Stadium together side by side. I was the most impressed when I got to go over and meet him at his house and play catch with him in his front yard. I had to call my mom when I left and tell her what happened."
"He got over it though," Quaid says, laughing.
When Morris had the opportunity to view a screening of the final product, he says he was more than pleased.
"It was incredible," he says. "I didn't know what to expect."
Both Morris and Quaid hope that audiences understand the film's underlying themes.
"Life is more than about making money," Quaid says. "It's about doing what we love."
FYI:
Dennis Quaid's favorite sports movies: The Natural, Hoosiers, Field of Dreams.
Quaid on his band, Dennis Quaid and the Sharks: "We're not really interested in a record deal or anything like that," he says. "We're just having a really good time with it. I don't really like the music business all that much."
Quaid on Little league: "I played little league (at age 12) and that was the last time that I was on a baseball field," Quaid says. "I was first base and I was pretty damn good."
Morris on his pitching speed: "I had no idea how hard I threw," Morris says of the speedometer that Quaid used to measure his pitching speed in the movie. "They put that in there so everybody would realize that I had no idea. I had to go home and apologize to my high school kids after I found out how hard I threw."
Morris on trying out for the majors: "They (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) agreed to let me throw, and that way I was seen, but hopefully I wouldn't embarrass myself in front of too many people," Morris says. "It didn't work out as an embarrassing moment."
Morris on gaining acceptance: "Everybody wanted to see if I was really what people talked about at first," Morris says. "With athletes it doesn't matter if you're young or old. If you prove that you can do the job that you're there for, then you're accepted."
Reach Kelly Wilson at musicdiva@asu.edu.
