Figuring out the Batting Order in the movie "Major League"...

[razzzorsharp]

First off, yes I am that much of a loser. Second off, I am really bored. Third, Neil Flynn, "The Janitor" from Scrubs plays the guy that hugs the "horned" fellow in celebration at the end of the movie.

 

Now we got that out of the way, I would like to try and figure out the batting order for the team.

 

Things we know...

 

-Willie Mays Hayes bats leadoff (CF) to start the year but it is unknown where he bats for the last game.

-Dorn batted .271 and 86 RBIs (3B and former high priced talent) throughout the year.

-Cerano is their "Power Hitter" but his position is unkown.

-Jake Taylor(Slower and Old-All Star at one time) is the catcher.

-All other 5 positions (DH because we are in the American league) are unaccounted for.

 

Now for the 163rd game of the year I have been thinking about how they realistically set up their lineup. Here are the clues given thoughout the game.

 

-The Yankee SP was in for 8 1/3 innings.

-The Indians had a combined 11 hits for the game.

-The Yankees had no errors.

-In the bottom of the third (No runs scored at this time) Cerano strikes out. (unknown baserunners)

-Willie Mays Hayes ends the fourth with a pop-out (no runs scored in the game) (unknown baserunners)

-Cerano strikes out again in the fifth.

-No runs scored through 6 innings.

-Jake Taylor grounded out for the second out in the bottom of the 7th.

-Dorn bats after Taylor. (bats and scores in the 7th)

-Cerano bats after Dorn. (Hits a HR in the 7th)

-Tomlinson (?) bats in the ninth and makes the second out (Flyout to RF).

-Hayes bats after Tomlinson.

-Taylor bats after Hayes.

-Dorn is seen on the bench during Hayes's at-bat, no helmet or bat.

-Cerano is seen on the bench during Taylor's at-bat, no helmet or bat.

-Dorn is seen on the bench during Hayes's at-bat, no helmet or bat showing he is not on deck (?)

-The on deck person is never shown for Taylor's at-bat.

 

Should be pretty straight forward in the order...

 

1) Hayes

2) Taylor

3) ????

4) Dorn

5) Cerano

6) ????

7) ????

8) ????

9) Tomlinson (Or PH)

 

Fishy Things-

-Hayes ending the fourth with a popout. Has to be his third at-bat according to this order.

-Cerano with K's in the third inning, again with no runs (minimal hits as well)

 

What I am saying is am I wrong in the batting order, is it totally different? Let's just say that none of these are production errors and everything is meant to be this way. Give me the batting order that would make the most sense given the circumstances that I have listed.

[Raw Biz]

I would assume that Dorn would bat 3rd and Cerrano 4th. That just makes more sense since Cerrano is the big power guy and Dorn is supposed to be a good hitter. So I would think it would go that way and seeing the guys in the dugout without helmets when they should be in the hole is just a production mistake. That being said, I think you are looking way too deep into this, as the movie is filled with production mistakes, like most sports movies are. They just don't take these things into account when making movies. A few examples:

 

At the opening game there is nobody in the stadium. A clock in the scoreboard reveals that it is 10:40am, too early for Major League Baseball games.

 

In the top of the 9th during the one game playoff against the Yankees, the stadium clock reads 10:20 PM as Vaughn is coming in from the bullpen. In the bottom of the 9th right as the Duke comes in from the bullpen, the stadium clock still reads 10:20 PM.

 

In the final playoff game, as Cerrano waits at the plate with Dorn on first in the 7th inning, there is a brief wide shot of the field, and the bases are empty.

 

In the final game against the Yanks, the # 37 player is hitting, Jake Taylor then throws to 1st base to pick off the #37 player. The #37 player appears later in the game, this time being referred to by a different name by Harry Doyle.

 

When Dorn (#24) gets his hit in the 7th inning of the playoff game, the shot of the base runner rounding first base shows his number as #8. When his face is shown again, his number is back to #24.

 

There are members of the New York Yankees wearing numbers 32 and 37. Both of these numbers have long been retired.

 

Harris gives up a double in the top of the 9th inning, which represents the 8th hit of the game for the Yankees. He walks the next hitter and relieved by Vaughn who throws three straight heaters to end the inning. When the Indians are up in the bottom of the ninth, the scoreboard shows that the Yankees have nine hits when, in fact, they only have eight.

[BuckyTuba]

you guys have WAY TOO MUCH TIME on your hands.... START THE SEASON ALREADY

[craigharmann]

This reminds me of grade school math....two trains leave a half hour apart, each traveling in opposite directions. How many people are on each train?

[Time for a Miller]

Well done razzorsharp and rawbecht. I read great posts with great interest. Now I'm trying to figure out why.

[sbrylski]

Cerrano plays RF. Burton's home run in the 7th clears the fence in RCF where Hayes and Cerrano come together at the wall, with Cerrano on the right.

 

As for the batting order...

 

Leadoff is Hayes, that's a given.

 

1. Hayes

 

Now let's look at the 7th inning. Taylor bats 2nd, as we know from the ninth inning.

 

2. Taylor

 

Dorn-Cerrano bat after Taylor, so they have to bat either 3-4 or 4-5. According to the events in the 7th inning. Taylor grounds out for the 2nd out of the inning. During Dorn's AB, we can see there is nobody on 2nd base, and we know nobody made an out or else the inning would have been over. Dorn's hit doesn't drive in a run, so there wasn't a runner on third, and his single moves nobody to second, so nobody was on 1st.

 

So one would think 3-4 is the most logical, but Cerrano hits a homer with 2 outs in the 7th, and then Hayes hits in the 9th with two outs and nobody on. If Cerrano was hitting 4th, then the 5th batter would have to make the 3rd out in the 7th, the 6th-7th-8th hitters would have to make outs in the 8th, and the 9th would make the first out in the 9th. But that's not enough outs, we need one more. If Cerrano were hitting 5th, we'd need two more.

 

Let's try to say the Indian's threatened late in the 7th and 8th and got all the way around the order. In the 7th, they can load the bases after Cerrano's homer, then make the last out. Assuming Cerrano is the 5th batter to try to get all the way around the order, that means Hayes would lead off the 8th inning. They can load the bases again in the 8th, then make three consecutive outs. So 1st-2nd-3rd get on base, then 4th-5th-6th make the outs. In the ninth, 7th-8th make the first two outs, and now we have one out too many. (Or two too many if Cerrano hits 4th.)

 

Therefore, it is not possible for Dorn and Cerrano to bat 3-4 or 4-5. The best they can logically hit is 5-6, but we know in the 7th they bat 3-4. So production errors eventually catch up to us, unless someone can find a interesting way of turning the order over without scoring any runs after the Cerrano homer in the 7th or in the 8th.

 

Per an internet search, LINK: 5-8 would be Metcalfe at 1B, Larson at 2B, Molina at SS, and an unkown DH in an indeterminate order. Tomlinson bats ninth and I believe plays LF.

[temke]

tomlinson is a left fielder

 

"tomlinson is going to need a visa to catch that one" is a uecker quote about a home run. with hayes in center and cerrano in right, tomlinson has to be in left.

[logan82]

The batting order in the one-game playoff is Taylor-Dorn-Cerrano (as seen in the 7th), with Hayes batting before Taylor (as seen in the 9th). Cerrano hits the homer with two outs in the 7th, and Hayes is shown batting with nobody on, and two outs in the 9th. If they faced the minimum, Hayes would've been up with only one out (#5 batter gets the third out in the 7th, 6-7-8 batters get out in the 8th, and the #9 batter gets one out before Hayes). There's no way they could've went through the line-up again without scoring a run. The furthest they could've gotten was the #8 batter (two spots before the leadoff Hayes) coming to bat in the 9th with two outs and nobody on.

 

Per movie mistakes.com I have no way to check it out personally.

 

http://www.moviemistakes.com/film784

[sbrylski]

The batting order in the one-game playoff is Taylor-Dorn-Cerrano (as seen in the 7th), with Hayes batting before Taylor (as seen in the 9th). Cerrano hits the homer with two outs in the 7th, and Hayes is shown batting with nobody on, and two outs in the 9th. If they faced the minimum, Hayes would've been up with only one out (#5 batter gets the third out in the 7th, 6-7-8 batters get out in the 8th, and the #9 batter gets one out before Hayes). There's no way they could've went through the line-up again without scoring a run. The furthest they could've gotten was the #8 batter (two spots before the leadoff Hayes) coming to bat in the 9th with two outs and nobody on.

 

Per movie mistakes.com I have no way to check it out personally.

 

http://www.moviemistakes.com/film784

Yeah, that seems to be exactly what I concluded. Hayes-Taylor-Dorn-Cerrano, but there's no way the scenario could have played itself out as it did in the movie.

 

[temke]

i love this "mistake" from that link above:

 

"The film uses Milwaukee County stadium,instead of Cleveland Stadium, as the home of the Indians."

 

really?

[pitchleague]

as for the Willie Hayes in CF issue, I have no problem with it except for the deep drive by the Yankee hitter in the 6th inning that Hayes scales the wall to rob him of a homer. On the swing, the ball appears to be pulled to right or right-centerfield, but Hayes goes back over his right shoulder to scale the wall. So, for that hitter he was either playing right field or the Indians had an extreme shift with Cerrano playing right on the RF line and Hayes in right field (or it's another error with the movie). Hayes appears to catch the ball at about the bullpen area or so. But again went back to his right to scale the wall.

 

I also love the fat guy that comes out of the stands by the dugout twice and the beer vendor cheering for the Indians after the final out. Not sure which is funnier though--the fact that the beer vendor is still selling beer in the 9th inning (especially since the Indians had a near riot in the 70s with 10-Cent Beer Night) or that no fans are trying to steal one from the completely oblivious vendor.

[bullox]

i love this "mistake" from that link above:

 

"The film uses Milwaukee County stadium,instead of Cleveland Stadium, as the home of the Indians."

 

really?

I'd imagine that the majority of people outside of Milwaukee and Cleveland have no idea, and couldn't care less.

 

[ELCABALLO45]

my head hurts reading this...