There’s no crying in baseball, and there’s never too much food either if you’re Tom Hanks.
The 1992 historical sports comedy A league of its own is a completely timeless and mostly fictional account of the real life of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), and its contribution to the sport of baseball in the quote department remains almost unmatched: “There is no crying baseball,” “It’s tough, that’s what makes it great,” and “Has anyone ever told you that you look like a penis in that little hat?” are all bangers, and they’re all spoken by manufactured boozehound Jimmy Dugan, played by Hanks.
A departure from his usual affable, fuckable persona, Hanks’ portrayal of the ball-scratching, long-pissing, hilarious Rockford Peaches manager is one of his best comedic roles, particularly because he was so out brand. During a conversation with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Hanks explained that the key to his transformation from boyish, adorable, Grand-style leads to an asshole drinking a bottle A league of its own was a physical overhaul prescribed by the film’s director Penny Marshall.
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Marshall told Hanks to get as big as possible before filming began. A league of its ownbecause you can’t be a real drunk without a good beer belly.
During filming for A league of its own began in 1991, audiences had just seen Hanks play an attractive and romantic lead role in Joe against the volcano opposite his eternal romantic comedy partner Meg Ryan. As such, Marshall understood that turning one of America’s most beloved men into a scumbag with a heart of gold and a bladder full of booze was a tall order – and that Hanks‘ dinner order should be similar in size.
“On A league of its ownPenny a dit : ‘Gain as much weight as possible. I can‘You’re not cute, because you‘I’m too young and I don’t do it‘I don’t want girls to think, ‘Oh, Jimmy‘it’s cute,‘» Hanks explained on Happy Sad Confusednoting that he was quite baffled by his director‘s instructions at the beginning.
“So I said, ‘Well, you know, if I‘I’m the guy who‘36 years old and me‘I manage a girl‘ baseball team there‘it must be a problem with me,‘» Hanks remembers the conversation with Marshall. “She said, ‘Well, you‘you are a drunkard.‘ But then I said, ‘Well, why am I a drunk?‘» Later, Hanks found the answer to his own question: “Oh, I know what happened. I blew my knee trying to get out of a woman‘It’s a hotel room. And it cost me my career.»
A lecherous athlete putting on a few pounds after a preventable injury ended his playing days was a perfectly believable story for Hanks and his instincts, and the outcome was Hanks’s.‘ the best and the most belched. However, looking A league of its own today he‘It’s hard to believe that Hanks could have been considered excessively portly for a baseball player – compared to half of the MLB, Jimmy Dugan looks like him.‘s on Ozempic.
