The Natural

A young boy named Roy Hobbs (played by Robert Redford when grown) is taught a love of baseball by his father. When his father is killed by a falling tree the young man becomes determined to live out his father's dream for him. Hobbs is a very talented ball player and he gets an early chance to make it in the game, but that chance is cut short when he is shot by a crazed woman who seduces. Flash forward sixteen years and Hobbs is heading to join the New York Knights, carrying with him the bat he fashioned from the tree that fell and killed his father. The rest of the story chronicles the rise of both Hobbs and the lowly team that he helps to invigorate, and it includes a person from his past in Iris Gaines (Glenn Close) his childhood sweetheart. Along the way he must contend with those who would have both him and the team fail, mainly those who are connected to the owner of the team as he has bet against their success. When he is introduced to Memo Paris (Kim Basinger) he almost falters in his honorable attempts to succeed, but ultimately decides to go with what is most important in living up to his father's and his own best hopes.