Young Luke Edwards is one lucky kid. His grandfather Jason Robards is the owner of the Minnesota Twins and he and grandpa are close. At the age of 12 Edwards is a walking encyclopedia of baseball. It's a trio with mother Ashley Crow at the third end of that equilateral triangle.

The scenes between Robards and Edwards are really special and sad that Robards part calls for him to die. But that's part of the basis of the plot. Robards dies and leaves the team to his grandson. I don't know about you, but I would love to have been Colonel Jacob Ruppert's son and have him the leave the New York Yankees of 1939 to me.

But being the juvenile baseball maven he is Edwards soon enough questions whether he's got a good manager in irascible Dennis Farina. The pubescent owner fires Farina and takes over the management of the team itself.

As one of his friends says the Twins are in the American League with the designated hitter rule so half of managing is taken out of your hands. Not so as the lad soon finds out. Complicating things is the fact that one of the players Timothy Busfield is dating his mother.

For me Robards character is based on the former owner of the Twins Cal Griffith who in the tradition of his uncle and adopted father Clark Griffith ran the Twins and formerly the old Washington Senators as a mom and pop operation. After free agency came into being Griffith tried to hang on, but couldn't and he sold the Twins to Carl Pohlad in 1984.

What gives it away is Robards character saying how as a lad he missed the opportunity to see Walter Johnson pitch. It establishes the team with its former home and identity.

Little Big League is a really great both baseball and family film that kids of all ages can appreciate.

Billy Heywood (Luke Edwards) lives with his single mother Jenny (Ashley Crow). His unassuming grandfather Thomas (Jason Robards) owns the Minnesota Twins. After his death, he bequeaths the Twins to Billy. Lou Collins (Timothy Busfield) is the star player. George O'Farrell (Dennis Farina) is the bombastic manager. Arthur Goslin (Kevin Dunn) is the GM and Mac Macnally (John Ashton) is the pitching coach. The team is a mess. O'Farrell opposes signing Ricky Henderson and Billy fires him. Billy decides to coach the team himself.

This is a solid kids movie. It is a dream come true for any young baseball lover. Billy is wise beyond his years and smarter than the adults. There are lessons to be learned, hard decisions to make, and the overarching joy of baseball. It also helps to have real MLB teams and the real parks.

I thought this was a perfectly nice family film and almost canned it after the first 15 minutes, but I was glad I didn't because it turned to be a good movie.

The first 15 minutes including two GDs by Dennis Farina and some uncalled-for vulgarity by Jason Robards, but everything settled down after those two exited the film soon after and it wound up being a "cute" baseball movie and very impressive in its realism.

The last comment about "realism" was the most impressive aspect of the film to me. I had grown up seeing every baseball movie and never seeing any actors who knew what they were doing until Kevin Costner came along with his "Field Of Dreams" (and later with "For Love Of The Game"). So I appreciate the more modern-era of movie-making where at least we see actors who can throw and hit. This movie is about as close to seeing real baseball as you're going to get: very realistic diamond action.

The story was outlandish - an 11-year-old managing a Major League baseball team, but the baseball was so good and a good mix of comedy and drama made it turn out to be a satisfying film to watch. There are some nice shots of Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium in here, too.

Luke Edwards, as the kid, was just fine and a kid you could root for, not a wise- guy. He was aided by adults John Ashton and Timothy Busfeld. This is a nicer role for Ashton ("Midnight Run") and Busfeld, couldn't have played a more likable ballplayer. He was great to watch.

This a good film for adults, not just kids, and especially if you enjoy baseball.