Film / Mr. 3000

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Mr. 3000 is a 2004 American sports comedy film directed by Charles Stone III, starring Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett. The film's plot surrounds a retired Major League Baseball player who makes a comeback at age 47 in order to attain 3,000 hits.

Stan Ross, a star player for the Milwaukee Brewers, retires from baseball immediately after recording his 3000th base hit, leaving his team high and dry in the middle of a playoff run.

Over the next few years, he takes advantage of his Red Baron "Mr. 3000" to make a lot of money. However, it's revealed that, due to a clerical error, he only finished his career with 2997 hits, which results in him not getting voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and makes his "Mr. 3000" marketing gimmick inaccurate.

Ross decides to unretire and come back to baseball to get three more hits and re-secure his place in history. However, since he's now 47 years old, it's going to take a lot of work for him to get back in playing shape.

Tropes in this film include:

• Appeal to Obscurity: Stan warns Rex that if he doesn't tone down the ego he'll end up at the end of his career next to Big Horse Borelli; when Rex asks "Who?" Stan says "Exactly." Big Horse Borelli was the obscure player who was the only teammate willing to speak at his tribute ceremony.
• Bookends: The movie starts and ends with Stan doing a commercial for product (Reebok in the beginning, Viagra in the end).
• Brick Joke: Before his first game back, Boca tells Stan that Viagra is interested in making a commercial with him. By the end of the film, Stan shows off a Viagra commercial featuring him and Maureen.
• Catch a Foul Ball: The night that Stan Ross supposedly gets his 3000th hit, he hits a comebacker to a Boston Red Sox pitcher that hits him in square in the nuts. To spite Ross, who has established a reputation of being a world class asshole, the pitcher, while doubled over in pain, chucks the ball into the stands, forcing Ross to go after it. A young fan and his father that caught the ball tries to bargain with Ross to give him the ball, but he decides to steal it from them unceremoniously, to their protests. After his last game at the end of the film, the closing pitcher of the Houston Astros gives Ross the ball he bunted to win the game, despite ending up one hit short of 3000. After his Character Development throughout the film, Ross decides to throw the ball into the stands for a lucky fan to catch.
• Champions on the Inside: Ross passes up his last chance at a 3,000th hit and instead lays down a sacrifice bunt because it's better for the team.
• Company Cross-References: Maureen works as a reporter for ESPN, and two of their shows are featured in the film. Both ESPN and Touchstone Pictures are owned by Disney.
• Down to the Last Play: Sitting at 2,999 hits in the bottom of the 9th of what would end up being his last at-bat (and his last chance to restore his "Mr. 3000" name), Ross sees the winning run on second take off in an attempt to steal 3rd, and instead of swinging to try to get his 3,000th hit, he lays down a sacrifice bunt. Ross is thrown out at first, preventing him from reaching 3,000 hits, but the runner makes it safely home, winning the game.
• Elite Athlete's Aging Angst: Stan Ross elects to retire in the prime of his career after securing his supposed 3000th hit, costing the Milwaukee Brewers their shot at the playoffs in 1995. After a clerical error reveals that three of those 3000 hits were double-counted, Ross attempts a comeback seven years later, however, he realizes that he's way out of playing shape, he's derided by the media, hated by his teammates and his manager, and his sponsorships have dried up. Realizing that he's doing more harm than good and is only there as an attendance booster for a cellar dwelling Brewers team, Ross sets on trying to fix his past mistakes. Although he doesn't reach the 3000 hit plateau, falling short by one, his efforts to be a better role model help move the Brewers to third place and he earns back the respect of his teammates, manager and the media, ultimately gaining election to the Hall of Fame.
• It's All About Me: During his original run with the team, and after his unretirement, Ross's prima donna attitude annoyed the other players.
• Jerkass: Stan's selfish behavior is actually an important plot point, as it's used as a Hand Wave to explain why 3,000 hits are so important to Stan's professional life. It would be weird for Stan to go from no-doubt Hall of Famer with 3,000 hits to excluded entirely with 2,997, and for him to lose all of his endorsements as a result of the clerical error, but the movie's explanation is that Stan was such an asshole that everyone in his life is eager to seize this opportunity to stick it to him.
• Leno Device: SportsCenter, Pardon The Interruption, and The Best Damn Sports Show Period all roast Stan's attempts at a comeback. Later in the film, he gets interviewed by said shows as the hosts apologize for making fun of him. Stan also appears on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno afterwards.
• Mascot Breaks Character: When Stan uses the bathroom after his reintroductory press conference with the Brewers, he's approached by one of the Racing Sausages (played by none other than Dane Cook), who fanboys over him. The sausage then asks if Stan can help unzip him as he's trying to use the urinal. Stan refuses, to the mascot's exasperation. Later, after a particularly bad showing at the plate, the Racing Sausage shows up again to chide him. Stan responds with a threat of an Ass Shove, and the mascot claps back to Stan's annoyance. He then yells at another Brewers player coming down the tunnel.
• Neglected Skill Atrophy: Stan is a former pro baseball player who resumes his sports career at the age of 47; due to both his age and nearly 2 decades of not playing baseball, his skills at the sport have badly deteriorated.
• Obsolete Mentor: After his unretirement, the younger players on the Brewers, particularly Rex Pennebaker, see him as an unneeded relic on the team.
• Redemption Quest: A clerical error prevents Stan Ross from getting into the Hall of Fame and makes his Red Baron of "Mr. 3000" inaccurate. He returns to baseball in an attempt to get 3,000 hits, but gives up his last chance at getting 3,000 hits for a sacrifice bunt, ending his career at 2,999. Despite this, the newfound attitude he developed over the course of his unretirement gets him voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame anyway.
• Training Montage: Stan has one to get back in shape as he prepares to return to the majors.