The Castoffs

The Castoffs is a 2014 comedy sports film. It is a fictional story about pro baseball's Baltimore Orioles.

Plot Summary
When the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Ray Matthews, goes into debt, the team is forced to acquire castoffs to afford to pay the players. Among those include Philip "Babe" Ruth, who believes he can hit home runs but cannot. John Edwards, who is a recovering alcoholic with a Napoleon complex. Carl Allen, a pitcher with a severe case of Tourette's Syndrome. Vincent Phelps, an aging and extremely violent player. And Peter Hoffman, a Welsh bartender who hadn't played baseball in 7 years.

During the first Spring Training game, the team gets into a brawl near home plate, needing to forfeit the game. The manager resigns and Matthews hires hot-headed George Peterson as the new manager. Peterson had managed in the past, but was arrested for assaulting an umpire and never returned. Trying to get his mind off baseball, Matthews takes his granddaughter to a carnival. There, he sees and meets Andre Richardson, an amateur rapper who hits 90 MPH on a radar gun at the Dunk Tank. Richardson signs a contract with the team and is immediately seen to throw hard, but lacks accuracy and experience.

Through the first 6 games, they lose all of them and see an MLB Network report criticizing them. Phelps smashes the TV and with rage built up, Edwards hits 3 home runs and Hoffman hits a grand slam as well to give the Orioles their first win of the year. With the seats being emptied, Matthews is forced to advertise new companies across the stadium- such as a Strip Club in downtown Baltimore. The Orioles win the next game when the Strip Club billboard distracts the other team and Matthews decides to add more vulgar billboards to distract opponents.

Matthews plan begins to work and the team plays well headed to the All-Star Game. Edwards and Allen represent the team in the game at Fenway Park and are given pointers by Derek Jeter. Jeter's advice helps Edwards control his rage to turn it into power hitting. The Orioles play great baseball through August and are in 2nd place on September 1st. There, Phelps and Ruth sustain injuries and the team drops to 3rd place.

On the last week of the season, the team clinches the 2nd Wild Card spot and plays the Houston Astros in a playoff to decide who plays the Yankees in the next round of the playoffs. With Richardson pitching and Edwards hitting a home run, they are up 7-5 in the bottom of the 9th inning. They bring in Allen and he proceeds to walk the first two batters he faces. He then strikes out the next 2, making them 1 out away from the ALDS. The next batter hits a towering drive off the top of the wall and bounces over, taking the Astros to New York. The team sits in shock and say talk about the Dodgers old saying, "Wait til' next year" and drink champagne to a great season.

Cast
Al Pacino as Ray Matthews

Elijah Wood as John Edwards

Chris Hemsworth as Carl Allen

Nelly as Andre Richardson

Paul Giamatti as Vincent Phelps

Stephen Amell as Philip "Babe" Ruth

Christian Bale as Peter Hoffman

Charlie Sheen as George Peterson

Derek Jeter as Himself