I'm not a Bernie Mac fan per se, but he does a good job in this movie. It's a great baseball movie, but more importantly, it's a movie about growing up and maturing into a responsible human being who is willing to sacrifice for the greater good. It's better than I thought it would be, even allowing for the cheesy, semi-mandatory hump scenes with his girlfriend.
SPOILER ALERT - don't read past here if you haven't seen the movie.
The entire story is ostensibly based on Bernie's egotistical jerk character trying to regain 3 base hits in the major leagues that were removed because they had been posted in error. His entire life is wrapped around being one of the few 3000 hit holders in the majors, so he's dedicated to regaining them solely for his own ego. Along the way, however, he discovers something that he should have known all along (and that most professional sports figures have forgotten) - it's a team sport, not an individual sport. At the end of the last game of the season, with his last shot at number 3000 on the line, Bernie lays down a sacrifice bunt so that his team can win the game and take third place. He gives up his shot at 3000 and in doing so, he becomes a greater star than he would have if he had taken the big swing.
SPOILER ALERT - don't read past here if you haven't seen the movie.
The entire story is ostensibly based on Bernie's egotistical jerk character trying to regain 3 base hits in the major leagues that were removed because they had been posted in error. His entire life is wrapped around being one of the few 3000 hit holders in the majors, so he's dedicated to regaining them solely for his own ego. Along the way, however, he discovers something that he should have known all along (and that most professional sports figures have forgotten) - it's a team sport, not an individual sport. At the end of the last game of the season, with his last shot at number 3000 on the line, Bernie lays down a sacrifice bunt so that his team can win the game and take third place. He gives up his shot at 3000 and in doing so, he becomes a greater star than he would have if he had taken the big swing.