Fox Sports will put a fake crowd in the stands of its Major League Baseball games starting Saturday. The “virtual fans” come from Silver Spoon Animation and SMT using Pixatope software.
Here is the Fox Sports statement: “As Fox Sports embarks on its 25th season of MLB on Fox this Saturday, the network sets another milestone with the debut of its latest broadcasting innovation – introducing “virtual fans” to its live Major League Baseball broadcasts. Utilizing cutting-edge Pixatope software, the network teams with Silver Spoon Animation and SMT to deliver an elevated viewing experience to sports fans around the nation.”
Today is Opening Day for baseball’s revised 60-game schedule. The Washington Nationals finally kick off their title defense against the New York Yankees, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers playing host to their in-state rival San Francisco Giants. Both of those games will be on ESPN.
Fox’s first MLB games this season will be on Saturday, highlighted by the concluded games of the Nationals-Yankees and Dodgers-Giants opening series. Fox will welcome its first virtual fans to Wrigley Field at 1 p.m. ET when the Chicago Cubs host the Milwaukee Brewers.
Amid a pandemic that has kept fans out of the stadium, the TV networks and the venues themselves have resorted to pumping in artificial crowd noise to make the experience feel somewhat normal. Fox is going the extra mile.
20 Highest-Grossing Baseball Movies, From 'League of Their Own' to 'Mr. 3000' (Photos)
Let's get into the spirit of a new MLB season with some of the biggest baseball movies that all hit a commercial home run. These are the highest grossing baseball movies of all time, ranked from lowest to highest.
20. "Mr. 3000" - $21.8 million
Bernie Mac plays a former baseball great who returns to the league at age 47 after learning he was just a few hits shy of 3000.
Buena Vista
19. "Major League II" - $30.6 million
Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen and Tom Berenger all came back for the sequel to "Major League," but Wesley Snipes had become a bigger star, and his role of Willie Mays Hayes was taken over by Omar Epps.
Warner Bros.
18. "The Sandlot" - $32.4 million
"The Sandlot" performed modestly at the box office in 1993, but it found a second life as a cult film on VHS and on DVD a decade after its release.
Twentieth Century Fox
17. "Bad News Bears" (2005) - $32.8 million
Billy Bob Thornton starred in Richard Linklater's remake of the '70s classic starring Walter Matthau.
Paramount Pictures
16. "For Love of the Game" - $35.1 million
Kevin Costner shows up quite a bit on this list. Sam Raimi directs Costner as a washed up pitcher reflecting on his career in baseball.
Universal
15. "Trouble With the Curve" - $35.7 million
Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams play a father and daughter trying to patch up their relationship during Eastwood's final season as a baseball scout.
Warner Bros.
14. "Million Dollar Arm" - $36.4 million
"Million Dollar Arm" kicked off a string of globe-hoping Disney movies, with Jon Hamm starring as a sports agent who travels to India in search of baseball talent on the cricket pitch.
Disney
13. "Hardball" - $40.2 million
This early-2000s Keanu Reeves hit stars a young Michael B. Jordan in this movie about a Cabrini Green little league team.
Paramount
12. "Fever Pitch" - $42 million
Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore make for one of the more charming rom-com couples of late. But even more special about "Fever Pitch" is that it arrived in the year the Red Sox finally won the World Series.
Twentieth Century Fox
11. "The Natural" - $47 million
Robert Redford, Robert Duvall and Glenn Close star in Barry Levinson's inspiring classic that has been fodder for countless homages and parodies.
TriStar
10. "Major League" - $49.7 million
"Juuuust a bit outside!" The University of Arizona baseball team did their own version of the famous scene from this film where the players all arrive to spring training.
Paramount
9. "Angels in the Outfield" (1994) - $50.2 million
You've got to believe! A young Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in this cute Disney movie about a baseball miracle.
Buena Vista
8. "Bull Durham" - $50.8 million
Kevin Costner again. This baseball romance even received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Orion
7. "Rookie of the Year" - $53.6 million
Back when the Chicago Cubs were still lovable losers, it made sense that they might take a flyer on a miraculous young kid as depicted in Daniel Stern's family comedy.
Fox
6. "The Benchwarmers" - 59.8 million
"The Benchwarmers," starring Jon Heder, David Spade and Rob Schneider, was a hit with audiences, but much less so with critics, earning only a 25 on Metacritic.
Sony/Columbia
5. "Field of Dreams" - $64.3 million
Even more Kevin Costner. This weepy classic went on to earn three Oscar nominations and might be the best baseball movie ever.
Universal
4. "The Rookie" (2002) - $75.6 million
Dennis Quaid stars in this inspiring true story of Jim Morris, who discovered well past his prime that he could throw some real heat and ended up making a major league team.
Disney
3. "Moneyball" - $75.6 million
Nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture, the film adaptation of Michael Lewis's book starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill was an unexpected critical and commercial darling.
Sony
2. "42" - $95 million
Before he became Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman starred as Dodgers great Jackie Robinson in the biopic on his life, "42."
Warner Bros.
1. "A League of Their Own" - $107.5 million
"There's no crying in baseball!" Penny Marshall's hilarious story of the first female professional baseball league is the only movie to crack the $100 million mark.
Sony
1 of 21
Get in the spirit of the World Series with these commercial home runs
Let's get into the spirit of a new MLB season with some of the biggest baseball movies that all hit a commercial home run. These are the highest grossing baseball movies of all time, ranked from lowest to highest.