Mr. Baseball

Jack Elliot is a veteran American baseball player whose best years are behind him. When his Major League team trades him to a Japanese club, the Chunichi Dragons, he arrives in a country whose language, customs and training methods he does not understand or respect. Spoilt by years of comfort in the United States, he clashes with the team's strict manager, who values discipline far above the star treatment Jack expects. At the same time he begins a relationship with Hiroko, a career woman who turns out to be the manager's daughter.

The film was directed by Fred Schepisi, arriving seventh in the chronological list of his features between The Russia House and Six Degrees of Separation. Tom Selleck plays Jack, with Ken Takakura as the manager Uchiyama and Aya Takanashi as Hiroko. Kevin Wade, Monte Merrick and Gary Ross wrote the screenplay. It was shot as a co-production between the United States and Japan.

The production carried a budget of 40 million dollars but took only about 21 million worldwide, a poor return. On IMDb it holds 6.1 out of 10 from roughly 13,000 votes, on TMDB 5.9 from about 154 votes. A critics' rating of 4.3 out of 10 from 17 reviews places professional opinion below the audience scores.