Rookie of the Year is a 1993 American sports comedy film starring Thomas Ian Nicholas and Gary Busey as players for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball.

Henry Rowengartner, an unskilled Little Leaguer who dreams of playing in the Major Leagues, breaks his arm catching a fly ball.

At Wrigley Field during a Chicago Cubs game, Henry's friends get a home run ball hit by the visiting Montreal Expos.

For the remainder of the season, Henry juggles the culture shock of playing in the major leagues alongside one of his heroes, aging pitcher Chet "Rocket" Steadman, being coached by the inept Phil Brickma, and socializing.

Henry improves his control under Steadman's mentoring and records a second consecutive save against the San Francisco Giants, and his first MLB strikeout.

He frustrates the pitcher with his small stature and tiny strike zone, to the point that he walks Henry on four straight high pitches.

The Cubs are winning, and Henry is growing in pitching success and fame; at the same time, Mary and Steadman develop feelings for one another.

He does so and strikes out a shocked Heddo (who then throws a tantrum at home plate), winning the division title for the Cubs and heading to the World Series.

Filming took place on location at, among other venues, Wrigley Field (including in between games of a doubleheader on September 19, 1992,[3] between the Cubs and the rival St. Louis Cardinals) and O'Hare Airport.

The consensus reads, "Rookie of the Year gets some laughs from its novel premise, but a high strikeout rate on jokes and sentimental fouls keeps this comedy firmly in the minor leagues.

I am no longer a kid, and this movie is not likely to make my list of the year's best, but I can remember those miserable Little League games and so in a modest way I'm grateful for this film.

Simply put, it's the quality that enables some filmmakers to make us believe in giant lovelorn apes, adorable stranded extraterrestrials, the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, and talking mules, dogs, cats, and caterpillars.

A children's baseball fantasy/comedy about a 12-year-old pitching phenom who puts the Chicago Cubs in the pennant race, this movie starts promisingly, generates some laughs and goodwill, and introduces likable actors.

During the 2015 National League Championship Series where the Cubs faced the Mets as they did in the movie, he attended Game 4 in a Rowengartner #1 jersey similar to what he wore during the film.