Mr. 3000 is a 2004 American Sports Comedy 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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: Both Sports Center and The Best Damn Sports Show Period roast Stan's attempts at a comeback.
- 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.
