Bull Durham
When it comes to mind, body, and spirit, the theme of the fourth character, the transformed character, is fairly common. The Three Musketeers, Mona Lisa Smile, and Rudy are
posts I've done showing how the mind, body, and spirit works to
transform a fourth character. Bull Durham is yet another example, with Ebby LaLoosh being the transformed fourth character.
Crash is an aging catcher who is brought to the Durham Bulls ball club for a single purpose - teach the young new pitcher, Ebby LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), how to be a major leaguer. He uses every moment he has with the Ebby, including bar fights, as a teaching moment. One time, after goading Ebby into punching him, Crash tells Ebby, when you get in a fight with a drunk you don't hit with your pitching hand.
When Crash goes to bat, he talks to himself, trying to reason out what the next pitch will be and then reasoning out what he will do with it. Baseball, to him, is a thinking man's game, and he thinks about every aspect when he's on the field. This creates conflict with Ebby, at times. Crash will call for a pitch, taking into account the batter's trends and personality, but Ebby just wants to through a fastball. Eventually, Ebby's girlfriend, Annie Savoy, tells him to throw whatever pitch Crash calls and crash says she is a 'smart girl.'
Other teaching moments come on the bus as they travel to and from away games. Once, Crash teaches Ebby to sing the correct words to a song, saying, "Damn it, I hate it when people get the words wrong." Another time, Crash sits with Ebby and gives him prepared answers for interview questions for when he makes it to "the show." When he does make it to the major leagues, he is shown in an interview, using Crash's answers for the reporters questions.
Annie worships at the 'church of baseball.' She believes in all kinds of rituals, including picking out one player on the team each season to sleep with so he will have a good season. She says she makes them feel confident and they make her feel pretty. For the season depicted in the movie, she has difficulty choosing between Ebby and Crash, so she invites them both home with her. Crash says he doesn't 'try out.' He leaves after confidently and purposefully telling her exactly what he believes in, leaving her alone with Ebby, and somewhat flustered.
Annie doesn't just have sex with her chosen players. She ritualizes everything. The first time she is with Ebby, all she does is light a lot of candles and read poetry all night while he is tied to the bed. Later, when Ebby complains about being too tired to practice pitching, Annie tells him, "Physical exhaustion can be spiritually fabulous."
The team makes up the body character for this story. When the assistant manager discovers Annie has chosen Ebby for the season, he's happy because he knows they will have a winning season, but he also wants to know all the gritty details about his time with Annie. He is disappointed Annie did nothing more than light candles and read poetry.
When the manager wants to get the team's attention, he throws a bunch of bats across the floor of the shower and yells for everyone to get in there. He then explains the simplicity of the game. "You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball," and then yells at them for their incompetence at such a simple task. (Contrast this view of baseball with Crash's view).
As Ebby's transformation progresses, the team starts to win more games. they are the physical representation of how his transformation is taking shape.
The Mind Character: Crash Davis (Kevin Costner)
Crash is an aging catcher who is brought to the Durham Bulls ball club for a single purpose - teach the young new pitcher, Ebby LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), how to be a major leaguer. He uses every moment he has with the Ebby, including bar fights, as a teaching moment. One time, after goading Ebby into punching him, Crash tells Ebby, when you get in a fight with a drunk you don't hit with your pitching hand.
When Crash goes to bat, he talks to himself, trying to reason out what the next pitch will be and then reasoning out what he will do with it. Baseball, to him, is a thinking man's game, and he thinks about every aspect when he's on the field. This creates conflict with Ebby, at times. Crash will call for a pitch, taking into account the batter's trends and personality, but Ebby just wants to through a fastball. Eventually, Ebby's girlfriend, Annie Savoy, tells him to throw whatever pitch Crash calls and crash says she is a 'smart girl.'
Other teaching moments come on the bus as they travel to and from away games. Once, Crash teaches Ebby to sing the correct words to a song, saying, "Damn it, I hate it when people get the words wrong." Another time, Crash sits with Ebby and gives him prepared answers for interview questions for when he makes it to "the show." When he does make it to the major leagues, he is shown in an interview, using Crash's answers for the reporters questions.
The Spirit Character: Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon)
Annie worships at the 'church of baseball.' She believes in all kinds of rituals, including picking out one player on the team each season to sleep with so he will have a good season. She says she makes them feel confident and they make her feel pretty. For the season depicted in the movie, she has difficulty choosing between Ebby and Crash, so she invites them both home with her. Crash says he doesn't 'try out.' He leaves after confidently and purposefully telling her exactly what he believes in, leaving her alone with Ebby, and somewhat flustered.
Annie doesn't just have sex with her chosen players. She ritualizes everything. The first time she is with Ebby, all she does is light a lot of candles and read poetry all night while he is tied to the bed. Later, when Ebby complains about being too tired to practice pitching, Annie tells him, "Physical exhaustion can be spiritually fabulous."
The Body Character: The Durham Bulls
The team makes up the body character for this story. When the assistant manager discovers Annie has chosen Ebby for the season, he's happy because he knows they will have a winning season, but he also wants to know all the gritty details about his time with Annie. He is disappointed Annie did nothing more than light candles and read poetry.
When the manager wants to get the team's attention, he throws a bunch of bats across the floor of the shower and yells for everyone to get in there. He then explains the simplicity of the game. "You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball," and then yells at them for their incompetence at such a simple task. (Contrast this view of baseball with Crash's view).
As Ebby's transformation progresses, the team starts to win more games. they are the physical representation of how his transformation is taking shape.
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