Beagles’ manager Bill Barton, played by a gray-around-the-edges Kevin Costner, not only has to navigate the fiercely competitive field of Minor League Baseball, but also the stirrings of his own heart, a pleasant surprise to viewers who expected the film to focus primarily on the underdogs’ bumpy road to the climactic playoff game against the Knoxville Wildcats. In a significant subplot, star pitcher Gilbert “Magic Missile” Porter’s on-again, off-again relationship with Miss Knoxville threatens to throw off the team’s balance.

“I figured Bill was just married to the game, but he almost missed the bus when he was off with that Marge lady!” reported moviegoer Cole Abbott, adding he supposed he was “glad it all worked out for them in the end, though.” Viewer Calvin Johnson was “taken aback to see so much screen time committed to women who don’t even play," while film fan Marissa Jacobs thought it was “nice to see that professional ballplayers suffer heartache too.”

“The Perfect Game” certainly isn’t your typical sports flick. It just might have something to teach all of us, about baseball and about each other.