For Love of the Game

Billy Chapel has spent two decades as the star pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, and at forty he is near the end of his career. On the final day of the season he learns that the club's new owner intends to trade him, and that Jane Aubrey, the woman he has loved for years, is preparing to leave him, believing he has never made room for her alongside the game. As he takes the mound against the New York Yankees, he reflects on the life and the relationship he is about to lose.

Sam Raimi directed the film, the eighth of seventeen features listed for him in chronological order, following A Simple Plan and preceding The Gift. Dana Stevens wrote the screenplay, and Kevin Costner plays Billy, with Kelly Preston as Jane, John C. Reilly as his teammate Gus, Jena Malone as Jane's daughter Heather, Brian Cox and J.K. Simmons in supporting roles. The production credits include 126 cast members and 203 crew.

Released in September 1999, the film runs 138 minutes. Against a budget of about 50 million dollars it took in roughly 46 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.6 out of 10 from more than 36,000 votes, on TMDB 6.4 from a few hundred, and critics gave it 6.1 from 95 reviews, placing it slightly below its audience scores.