Kevin Costner’s Promising Baseball Career That You Don’t Know About

Kevin Costner’s connection to baseball way beyond the four movies he has made based on the sport as he almost pursued a career in it.

Kevin Costner in For Love of the Game

Kevin Costner is best known for his Westerns, but his connection to baseball is also as important as his contributions to the Western.

Costner’s best-known role in a sports drama is the fantasy film Field of Dreams, in which he plays a farmer who builds a baseball stadium, attracting the ghosts of legendary players.

The movie was nominated for Best Picture.

Apart from that, Costner has appeared in three more baseball movies.

However, his connection does not end there.

Before he became an actor, the Yellowstone star reportedly took to the game in his high school and even had dreams to go pro in college, before he was reportedly dropped by the coach at Cal State Fullerton.

Kevin Costner Chose Acting Instead of Baseball, but the Sport Never Left Him
Kevin Costner looks at the field
Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams | Credits: Universal Pictures.

Kevin Costner is a star who has seen many highs and lows in his career, but two genres have always saved him: the Western and the sports drama.

He began his career after learning acting in college and appeared in a few movies as an extra, before he hit it big with The Untouchables, where he shared the screen with stalwarts like Robert De Niro and was directed by Brian De Palma.

Before he became an actor, however, Costner reportedly wanted to pursue a career in baseball.

He was a player while in high school and was a teammate of Major League pitcher Dennis Burtt.

The actor reportedly wanted to pursue a career in baseball and wanted to go pro in college, but he was dropped by his coach (via Slash Film).

He then shifted his sights to acting.

Crash Davis flirts with a groupie played by Susan Sarandon
A still from Bull Durham | Credits: Orion Pictures.

Despite him giving up on his ‘field of dreams’, the game never left him as he acted in several baseball movies.

He also almost got a chance to recreate his most famous baseball movie, Field of Dreams, by becoming a co-owner of the Illinois-based minor league team Lake County Fielders.

Speaking about the team, he said at the time (via The New York Times),

I’ve been approached several times about various projects, but this group really seems to have the right idea in mind: creating jobs and bringing baseball to a community that needs something positive.

This is a better way for me to be involved in baseball, rather than as a washed-up catcher.

The team was also set to build a stadium for the city, but it never materialized.

It was not renewed after the 2012 season, and the dream went out of Costner’s hands for the second time.

The Sport Is in Costner’s DNA as He Has Starred in Four Baseball Films

Kevin Costner gets ready to pitch
Kevin Costner in For Love of the Game | Credits: Universal Pictures.

As mentioned before, Kevin Costner never left baseball, as it came back to him in various ways.

From co-owning a minor league team to making multiple movies about the sport to even lending his voice over for a documentary, Costner has stayed in touch with the game.

One of his earliest roles was a guest part in the baseball movie Chasing Dreams.

After making a breakthrough with The Untouchables, Costner appeared in Bull Durham, where he played a veteran catcher tasked with coaching a rookie.

It was based on a real-life player named Crash Davis.

The next year, Costner appeared in his most famous baseball movie, Field of Dreams, which had a pop cultural impact like no other.

It is often regarded as one of the best sports movies of all time.

His last movie in the genre, at least to date, was Sam Raimi’s For Love of the Game.

Though he had the lead role and it was the first baseball-themed movie for Costner since Field of Dreams, it was a box office bomb, and he was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Actor.

Still, the actor does not seem to have lost any love for the game.

Baseball Movie Name
Kevin Costner’s Role
Ratings

Chasing Dreams
Ed
44%

Bull Durham
Crash Davis
97%

Field of Dreams
Ray Kinsella
88%

For Love of the Game
Billy Chapel
47%

What do you think about Kevin Costner’s baseball movies? Comment below.

Field of Dreams and For Love of the Game are available to stream on Peacock, while Bull Durham is streaming on Fubo TV.