Plot
Former Las Vegas showgirl Rachel Phelps inherits the struggling Cleveland Indians baseball team from her deceased husband. She intends to move the team to Miami by exploiting an escape clause in their contract with the city of Cleveland: if their season attendance falls below a certain number, she can terminate the lease and move the team. In an act of sabotage, she plans to create the worst team in the major leagues, instructing team executives to cut the current players from the roster and replace them with rookies and washed-up veterans. She starts by hiring Lou Brown, 30-year manager of the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.
Spring training begins in Tucson, Arizona, with Phelps' list of players likely to fail: Jake Taylor, a former all-star catcher with bad knees; veteran third baseman Roger Dorn, a prima donna more concerned with his financial portfolio than playing good baseball; aging starting pitcher Eddie Harris, who has resorted to doctoring the baseball; outfielder Pedro Cerrano, a voodoo-practicing power slugger who has trouble hitting breaking balls; speedy outfielder Willie Mays Hayes, who can steal bases but is a terrible hitter; and rookie pitcher Ricky Vaughn, an ex-con who has a 100-mile-per-hour (160 km/h) fastball but no control, earning him the nickname "Wild Thing."
The players struggle to come together as a team, with a feud developing between Dorn and Vaughn. They discover that Vaughn suffers from poor eyesight, which explains his lack of control, and once fitted with glasses, he becomes a dominant pitcher. Team morale and performance improve, so Phelps cancels several amenities, such as downgrading the team's private jet to a run-down bus, but they continue to build on their strengths. Meanwhile, Taylor reconnects with his old girlfriend Lynn and tries to rekindle their relationship, even though she is engaged to another man.
Nearly three-quarters of the way through the season, the team is 60–61, exceeding expectations, and fans have begun to fill the stands. Phelps's general manager, Charlie Donovan, tired of her manipulations, reveals her scheme to Brown. Brown relays the message to his team, telling them that, win or lose, their contracts will all be terminated after the season. To thwart Phelps' plan, Taylor decides that the only thing left to do is win.
The Indians, who appear to be positioning themselves for a run, finally make one and win 32 of their final 44 games, finishing in a tie with the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East division on the final day of the season, requiring a one-game playoff to determine the division champion and a bid to the ALCS. Watching the team's celebration on television, Dorn's wife Suzanne sees him in an amorous embrace with another woman. At the same time, Vaughn is dejected after Brown chooses to go with veteran Harris in the playoff game. Suzanne Dorn approaches Vaughn as he drowns his sorrows in a bar and, in revenge against her husband, she sleeps with Vaughn (who is unaware of who she is). She informs Roger just before he leaves for the ballpark the next morning.
The Indians keep pace with the Yankees, and the playoff game enters the ninth tied 2–2. Called on to relieve Harris, Vaughn strikes out Clu Haywood, the Yankees' best power hitter, with three consecutive fastballs. With Hayes on second base in the bottom of the ninth, Taylor calls for and executes a surprise bunt-and-run play, scoring Hayes. The Indians win 3–2 and advance to the postseason. In the ensuing celebration, Dorn punches Vaughn for sleeping with his wife but pulls him up and they celebrate. Jake spots Lynn in the stands, and she holds up her hand to reveal that her engagement has been called off, and their relationship is rekindled.
