After about 20 years I remembered why I didn't like this movie at all.

While I do not think that this movie is a masterpiece, I find it to be enjoyable.

I do not agree with your main reason for your dislike, Jack Elliot's demeanor. This was the whole point of the movie. He probably was not a complete jerk in the US and being an older, washed up baseball player, he was starting to get frustrated. He is now in a foreign country playing baseball that is much inferior to what he was used to with rules that only make it much worse for him. He was pissed about his situation.

Max Dubois had already been in Japan for a while. He has adapted to his situation and the Japanese customs. Who is to say that he was not the same was as Jack when he first arrived?

From Jack's interactions with the Americans on the opponents teams, you can see that some of them thought that it was ridiculous the way the game is played in Japan. I mean, they even help each other out in the field, letting them know when certain plays are on. We don't get in depth with these characters, but you can see that there is some feelings of depression among these athletes.

So the movie shows the character who hasn't adapted and can't come to terms with his situation. Eventually he does...and that is what the movie is about.

As for the girl, there are plenty of movies that are like this...an unexplained reason why a girl would like a guy. I could argue that she saw something in him despite his flaws, or that she understood that he was trying to get a grip on his situation. I am not going to get into it anymore since this wasn't a major problem for me since it was not what I enjoyed about the movie.

As for him abandoning his team to get back to the US...this happens a lot on baseball. People jump at the chance to get back in the majors. Even Max wanted to get noticed in Japan so he can play MLB again. Even though there is success in Japan, it is still secondary to MLB. As for leaving the girl...this happens too, in real life. People get job opportunities and they leave their spouse or girl/boyfriend to pursue an opportunity. They may not make the decision so suddenly, but it does happen. It is a matter of movie pacing that is a factor here.

After reviewing what I have wrote and what you have wrote, the only flaws that really stand out that I see, deal with the girl. Even then, I don't think they are that major, for me at least, since they aren't the most interesting aspects of the movie.

I am not trying to convince you to like the movie...just letting you know my view of the flaws of the movie that you pointed out, that's all.

So what you didn't get what completely the point of the movie? Huh. Um, the point is that he was a superstar at one time and he gets sent to a league he feels is beneath him. More than likely he doesn't want to admit that his career is close to being over. Eventually he gets it and remembers what baseball is all about. It's a good lesson movie. Something these hotshots here need to learn.

Looks like Selleck showed you why he is one of your favorite actors. He did a great job playing the Ugly American.

Remember Rabbit Ears with tin foil?

Both your points are correct. I watched this movie only because of the Japan connection (lived there for six years). The parts about his behavior being unacceptable to Japanese society are correct. The parts about his behavior/ personality being accepted and even adopted (e.g. the spitting, changing of attitudes regarding work, etc.) by Japanese society stretch credulity. Even today, Japan is a xenophobic society, so such a person would never be welcomed (or encouraged!) by the father. Also, the idea of the group being more important than the individual makes Jack the exact opposite of what is considered a good person in society - there is no place for such a person there.

You're also right about TS usually playing a nice guy. Here, he was a jerk and he didn't really change throughout the film.

Also, I thought the love interest wasn't interested in hanging out with the blonde bimbos in the stands in America (what she is shown exactly doing in the "happy ending")?

This movie is an underrated classic, I first saw it when it came out on video and thought it was alright. A few years later I read "You Gotta Have Wa" by Robert Whiting which is a really great read. It is perhaps the best book ever on Japanese baseball and it tells the differences in the game and cultures between America and Japan. I then rewatched "Mr. Baseball" and realized what a great movie it really is, it shows those differences very well and is a wonderful visual to the book. "You Gotta Have Wa" was first published in 1989 and "Mr. Baseball" came out in 1992 and they're excellent companion pieces.

What you hated about the movie was actually what the film did very well in trying to show, which was those differences between Japan and America. The fact that Hiroku follows Jack back to America is not hard to believe at all. Girls want to be noticed and envied by everybody, and what better way to do that than to be shacked up with a famous ballplayer. Saying one thing and doing another happens in life all the time.

I gotta go with the consensus here. Your complaints about his attitude showed that Selleck played the role right. He was supposed to be an unlikable horse's ass. He was supposed to be the Ugly American. The audience wasn't supposed to be on his side, except in the sense of rooting for him to grow and adapt.

As for the girl, well... attraction is a funny thing. There isn't a whole lot of rhyme or reason to it. People fall for jerks all the time. Selleck's character was a douche but, like others said, she must have seen another side to him. She probably also sympathized with him because, having been to the US, she knew what it was like to live in a foreign country with a completely different culture (and unlike him, she voluntarily chose to do it). Also, having lived in the US, she must have been familiar with American culture and had an understanding of how frustrating it might have been for an American to be in Japan in particular. So that's probably part of why she was patient with him. But she did tell him off several times too, remember.

Max did become accustomed to japan. He changed his name from Serrano and stopped practicing Voodoo.