Replay Review: Rookie of the Year

With Ellen Adair away, Eric Gilde brings in Chicago native Scott Thomas to revisit “Rookie of the Year” in the podcast’s first “Replay Review!” After introductions are made (1:25), they review the 20-80 baseball scouting grades for rating the film (16:45). In Amount of Baseball (25:12), Scott does some geographic detective work, and also shares his grading philosophy. The consideration of Baseball Accuracy (18:35) is not just for the sport but for Chicago baseball generally, with much discussion of players of the era (Randy Myers, Jose Bautista, Mark Grace, Andre Dawson, Ryan Sandberg, Kerry Wood, Greg Maddux, Sammy Sosa, Frank Thomas, and Ozzie Guillen, among others!). Storytelling (37:20) has a number of fresh takes, and Score (45:08) hits not just on Bill Conti, but Aaron Copland and Puff Daddy, as well. Acting (52:26) gets praised for its high floor, with a few real standouts. There is quick agreement on Delightfulness of Catcher (56:28) and a fresh take on John Candy’s performance for Delightfulness of Announcer (56:57). After continuing to sing Amy Morton’s praises as a part of Lack of Misogyny (1:00:37), the two move on to an abridged version of the remaining questions (1:03:12), before a reminder of what to catch Next Time (1:11:28).