When planning a baseball party, a host can entertain guests with a full, entertaining array of baseball-themed movies.

The all-American pastime has inspired more motion pictures than any other sport. These films have the power to amuse, inspire and even make audiences cry; more than anything these films might inspire people young and old to find their old ball and bat and play their own seventh inning stretch; or maybe just head to the ballpark and enjoy a professional game played by their favorite team.

The ultimate baseball movie marathon would include:

Major League—directed by David Ward, starring Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, Rene Russo
Major League 2—directed by David Ward, starring Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, Rene Russo
Major League 3: Back to the Minors—directed by John Warren, starring Scott Bakula and Corbin Bernsen
Field of Dreams—directed by Phil Robinson, starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan
Bull Durham—directed by starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins
The Natural—directed by Ron Shelton, starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Jessica Lange
The Bad News Bears—directed by Michael Ritchie, starring Walter Matthau, Tatum O’Neal
A League of their Own—directed by Penny Marshall, starring Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna
Baseball—directed by Ken Burns
All of these films deal with different aspects of the sport of baseball, from its history to its key players, and also deal with fictional accounts of people who have played the game. They are dramas, comedies and historical pieces. The all-American hunk Kevin Costner has perhaps starred in more modern baseball movies than any other actor, and Ken Burns (who directed the groundbreaking documentary series Baseball) is known as the director who has enlightened and educated a whole new generation about the great American pastime.

Aside from nine innings’ worth of stellar motion pictures, any baseball party host can hit a home run by presenting some primo party supplies. These could include a baseball piñata, plastic balls and gloves hanging from the ceilings, and perhaps a small-scale model of a baseball field as a party centerpiece.