''Angels in the Infield'' is a 2000 American

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

television film directed by Robert King and starring

Patrick Warburton Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor. His live action TV roles include David Puddy on ''Seinfeld'', the Tick (character), title character on ''The Tick (2001 TV series), The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less than Perfect'' ...

, Brittney Irvin,

David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. Known for his roles on stage and screen, Grier gained popularity playing multiple roles in the American sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'' (1990–1994) ...

, and

Kurt Fuller Kurt Fuller (born September 16, 1953) is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He is known for his roles in the films ''No Holds Barred'' and ''Ghostbusters II'' (both 1989), ''Wayne' ...

. A follow-up to the 1994 film '' Angels in the Outfield'' and the 1997 film '' Angels in the Endzone'', it is about a group of

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s trying to help a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team win a championship game, while at the same time helping to reunite the team's pitcher's family. The

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

are again featured, in a reprise of the role that the team played during ''Angels in the Outfield''. The film originally aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

on April 9, 2000, as part of ''

The Wonderful World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 onward. The program mo ...

''.

Plot

When Eddie Everett (

) was a rookie in 1992, he was one of the best

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

s of his time. He led the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

to the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. The winner of the ALCS wins the AL pennant and ...

, where they played the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, and were one out away from making it to the World Series (this same situation occurred in real life, but in 1986, not 1992). When a rookie playing for the Red Sox hits a

ground ball In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

to Eddie, he drops the ball and is unable to get the other player out, while the runners he let on base score, losing a chance for the Angels to make it to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

. Ever since then, Eddie has never been the same pitcher or the same person. Six years later, Eddie and his wife, Claire ( Rebecca Jenkins), are

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

d, and he has barely kept contact with their thirteen-year-old daughter, Laurel. However, at a game where the

are playing the fictitious

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Crimson Devils, and they lose, Claire says that she is taking a job in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and is leaving Laurel with him. When he takes her back home, she realizes that his life isn't at all what she thought it'd be. He can't get over losing that game in his rookie year, and one night Laurel prays for him to get a second chance. Shortly afterward, underappreciated

and former Angels pitcher Bob Bugler (

), who himself had his career end in disgrace, is sent to answer her prayer. He and the other angels help the team have an incredible winning streak, right when Eddie was about to get cut from the team. Soon, Eddie's game improves, as does his relationship with Laurel. As the season ends, the Angels and the Crimson Devils are forced to play in a one-game

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

to determine which team will represent the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

in the

. The devil ( Colin Fox) makes a

deal In cryptography, DEAL (Data Encryption Algorithm with Larger blocks) is a symmetric block cipher derived from the Data Encryption Standard (DES). Its design was presented by Lars Knudsen at the SAC conference in 1997, and submitted as a proposa ...

with Randy Fleck, the Crimson Devils' star player who was also the one who hit the grounder that blew the 1992 ALCS for the Angels, for Eddie to lose the game, and everything he cares about, in exchange for his soul. He agrees. The devil makes the game delayed thanks to rain, and Eddie leaves to see Laurel's

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

recital. To get him to the game faster, Bob speeds up the recital. When he gets to the game, the Crimson Devils are up 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

. The Angels soon score three runs thanks to a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

by Eric Jacobs, who had a demon holding him back. Bob explains to Laurel that he and the other angels are unable to interfere in a championship game because championship have to be won on their own. When the ninth inning comes, Eddie gets two quick outs, but then a player hits a triple. When Randy Fleck comes to the plate and Eddie quietly asks

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

for help, Bob appears to him and tells him that his newfound confidence, as well as his family's confidence in him, is all he needs to win the game. Encouraged, Eddie pitches to Fleck, who once again hits a ground ball, but this time Eddie manages to catch it and throw it to

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, winning the game and the Angels won the pennant. The stadium cheers, and Eddie hugs Laurel and kisses Claire.

Cast

as Eddie "Steady" Everett * Brittney Irvin as Laurel Everett ** Hannah Lochner as Young Laurel *

as Bob Bugler * Colin Fox as The Devil *

as Simon * Rebecca Jenkins as Claire Everett * Duane Davis as Randy Fleck *

Beau Starr Beau Starr is an American actor who has starred in movies and on television. He is known for his film role as Sheriff Ben Meeker in the 1988 horror film '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers''; he reprised his role in the 1989 sequel '' H ...

as Gus Keeler *

Peter Keleghan Peter Keleghan (born September 16, 1959) is a Canadian actor and writer, perhaps best known for portraying Ben Bellow in the comedy series '' 18 to Life'', Clark Claxton Sr. in the comedy series '' Billable Hours'' and Ranger Gord in '' The Red G ...

as Dexter Deekin * David Duran as Rex Lumbar * Rufus Crawford as Assistant Manager * Tamara Hickey as Pretty Elevator Woman * Kyle Kass as Piano Playing Kid (credited as Kyle Kassardjian) *

Guilio Kukurugya Julius Karl Alexander Kukurugya, better known as Giulio Kukurugya, was an American-Canadian actor. Career Kukurugya was born in Coolspring Township, Pennsylvania. On television, he played the voice of the villain Saw Boss on DiC Entertainment's ...

as St. Peter (credited as Cuilio Kukurugya) * Paul A. MacFarlane as

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

(Angel) *

Rachel Skarsten Rachel Skarsten (born 23 April, 1985) is a Canadian actress. She is known for playing Dinah Lance in ''Birds of Prey'' (2002–2003), Tamsin in ''Lost Girl'' (2013–2015), Queen Elizabeth I in ''Reign'' (2014–2017), and Beth Kane in ''Batw ...

as Brigitte * Zoltan Buday as Devil's Minion (uncredited)

References

External links

* * {{Robert King 2000 television films 2000 films 2000 children's films 2000 fantasy films 2000s sports comedy films American sports comedy films Films about angels 2000s English-language films American fantasy films Disney television films American baseball films Films scored by Ira Newborn Films set in Orange County, California Los Angeles Angels Religion and sports 2000s American films Films about Major League Baseball English-language sports comedy films English-language fantasy films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links