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"I
consider myself very lucky. God has a funny way of bringing
some things around and knocking you in the head with the
ultimate destination. Something I should have achieved quite
easily took me a long time to get around to. It came in
His time, not mine." - Jim Morris
Questioning the Story:
Did Jim Morris really test his fastball speed by throwing
past a speed limit monitor on the side of the road?
It was a great scene for the movie, but it never actually
happened. In an interview Jim Morris addressed this by saying,
"You know, one of the things that (writer) Mike Rich
(fictionalized) in the script was the radar on the side
of the road. Dennis did a great job in that scene, but it
was just to let people know I had no idea how hard I threw."
Did the lights in the radar gun really burn out like
in the movie?
Morris answered this in an ESPN interview by saying, "I
don't know if it was burned out. Doug Gassaway, the original
scout that looked at me, shook the gun, and it wasn't even
registering it. They had two or three guns out. Then they
were shaking the gun the first four or five pitches. They
couldn't believe the velocity. The movie is pretty accurate.
I'm very happy with it. The thing we wanted, the message
we wanted to convey was that it's not a baseball movie.
It's a family-oriented movie. It entails relationships with
high school kids and adults, adults and adults, adults with
children. Baseball just happened to be the dream that I
pursued."
Did Jim Morris really strike out Royce Clayton in 3 pitches?
It was actually 4 pitches. It was cut down to 3 for
the film because another pitch would have taken another
minute.
Why did Jim Morris retire from major-league baseball
after just 2 seasons?
Morris told ESPN, "I realized a dream I'd had since
I was 3. But I wanted to spend more time with my kids, and
help them pursue their dreams." When asked what kind
of dreams do his children have, Morris replied by saying,
"Have you seen the movie? Well, there's this one scene
that depicts me and my father and how we got along. I want
my kids to grow up and enjoy their childhood and be carefree.
I never really got a chance to be a kid."
Was Jim's father really so one-dimensionally against
baseball?
About his father, Morris said the following, "He wasn't
against baseball. What happened in my father's life was,
he was supposed to sign a contract with the Mets, and two
weeks before he was to go to spring training, he hurt his
shoulder playing football in the front yard - I mean to
the point where he couldn't throw again. I think he tried
to live through me and make me a perfectionist at the sport,
which made it really hard on me."
What other dreams does Jim have?
In the interview with ESPN, Morris said, "The only
thing I never tried to pursue is my football career. When
I was 28, I played at Angelo State in San Angelo, Texas.
I was an All-American and led the country in punting. I
lettered two years. I led the conference one year, and led
the country the next. Averaged 44.5 yards."
Does the real Jim Morris appear in the film?
Jim does appear in the film as one of the umpires (Orlando
Umpire No. 2). He also worked closely as a consultant for
the movie.
What is Jim doing now that he is retired from baseball?
Jim appears across the country as an inspirational speaker.
He also volunteers a lot of his time with high school baseball
in the Dallas area where he lives.
Watch & Listen
to Jim Morris Talk About his Life & the Film:
In these video clips, the real Jim Morris talks about his grandfather, his life, the movie, baseball and more. The videos include an interview and a clip of him during a motivational speaking engagement.
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