The Winning Season (2004)

In the tradition of THE NATURAL or FIELD OF DREAMS, the made-for-television film THE WINNING SEASON fashions a heartwarming fantasy drama based on that most American of pastimes, baseball. In 1985, 12-year-old sports fan Joe Stoshack (Mark Rendall) thinks he'll be able to solve his family's financial problems when he finds a rare and valuable baseball card of the legendary "Flying Dutchman" Honus Wagner. Worth millions of dollars, the card proves to have more than monetary value as it magically transforms Joe into a young adult (played by Shawn Hatosy) and transports him back in time to 1909, where the actual Honus (Matthew Modine) is set to play in the historic Pittsburgh Pirates-Detroit Tigers World Series. The awestruck Joe is soon involved in Honus' professional and personal life--from his rivalry with baseball legend Ty Cobb (William Lee Scott) to his engagement to the lovely Mandy Henton (SEX AND THE CITY's Kristin Davis)--but is thrust into a moral dilemma when he discovers that his beloved card was disavowed by Honus because it was printed by a tobacco company without his permission. Based on Dan Gutman's children's novel HONUS AND ME, THE WINNING SEASON presents valuable life lessons about money, honor, and doing the right thing in a warm, nostalgic style suitable for the entire family.