'THE WINNING SEASON' In TNT movie, baseball card is vehicle to past

In the film, a boy is transported from 1985 to 1909 via a Honus Wagner card.
By MICHAEL E. HILL
SPECIAL TO WASHINGTON POST
When executive producer David A. Rosemount needed someone to play Honus Wagner, he turned to Matthew Modine.
And when Modine needed advice on how to play the Hall of Fame shortstop, he turned to Cal Ripken.
Rosemount's film, "The Winning Season," a Johnson & amp; Johnson adaptation of the book "Honus & amp; Me" and airing at 8 tonight on TNT, tells the story of a boy who gets a Honus Wagner baseball card. This piece of memorabilia -- a storied collectible -- would make heads explode if it showed up on "Antiques Roadshow."
In the film, the card promises instant, if questionably gained, riches for a needy family -- and it doubles as a time-travel vehicle.
The traveling is done by the 12-year-old card-finder, played by Mark Rendall, who discovers he was whisked back from 1985 to 1909. There he turns into a young man, played for most of the movie by Shawn Hatosy.
Hatosy's character materializes at the movie's backdrop event, the World Series between Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates and Ty Cobb's Detroit Tigers. And he's sitting next to Wagner's girlfriend, played by "Sex and the City's" Kristin Davis.
But the center of his attention, of course, is Wagner, played by Modine.
Preparing for the role
"All I knew about Honus Wagner was his baseball card, that it was the most valuable in existence," Modine said. His research on the turn-of-the-century major leaguer proved eye-popping. Wagner was in the first class of players inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with Cobb. And by many accounts, Wagner was a great guy.
"He was arguably one of the greatest to play the game," said Modine. "I thought, who today would embody the kind of strength of character and abilities that Honus Wagner had?"
How about another shortstop, a Hall-of-Famer-to-be, a man with a solid reputation?
Modine had met Ripken in New York, so he called him.
The next thing he knew, Modine, 45, who had played Little League and schoolboy baseball, and his son, Boman, were invited to Aberdeen, Md., to spend time with Ripken and his minor league baseball team.
They did more than spend time.
"We played ball for two weeks with the Aberdeen IronBirds," Modine said. "It's just about two of the greatest weeks I've had, especially with my son."
Proud father
Modine's son, 18 now, was 17 then. (Modine and his wife, Cari, also have a 13-year-old daughter, Ruby). Modine recalled one day of the Aberdeen fantasy-camp experience with a father's glow.
"After the game, coaches will come in and speak," Modine said. "Then they give anybody the opportunity to say something, almost like in church asking somebody to get up and give testimony.
"My son got up and talked about the opportunity to be there and how appreciative he was, and how the guys had taken time to help him play baseball. It was just a wonderful thing for a father to listen to his son speak so eloquently to these grownups."
For the young man in the movie, the issues raised by his possession of the card created less idyllic circumstances.
"You know," said Hatosy, "when you're a kid you think you know everything. It's funny how life throws stuff at you and you figure stuff out. This poor kid is going through a tough time."
Hatosy has nearly 30 movies to his credit at the age of 28.
Movie's lesson
"This movie tells you you have to take your swings in life," said Hatosy. "And for younger people coming of age, that's a particularly good message."
Rosemount, still basking in the glow of his Emmy-winning TNT production "Door to Door," has two sons who like to play baseball, "and I know what it means to them."
The story here is "a simple one," he said, "about a boy who goes back in time, becomes a man and learns about the priorities of life, not only about himself but also about what he can give back to this great legend, Honus Wagner."
For collectors, the Honus Wagner baseball card has been a priority for years. In the 1985-based film, it's valued at $400,000. Rosemount has met the owner of the card that's in the best shape of the few surviving Wagner cards. Now, he said, "it's worth $1.3 million."