MLB: The Movie, Casting R.A. Dickey

by Robert J. Baumann - February 9, 2012

When I look at R.A. Dickey, I see only one thing — and that thing is not even R.A. Dickey himself.

This man climbed Kilimanjaro.

Instead, I see Steve Little.

This man climbed Kenny Powers‘s ego.

While Dickey is gaining a cult following amongst baseball nerds after posting two excellent seasons with the New York Mets and climbing one of the tallest mountains on earth (for charity), there’s pretty much nothing out there on Steve Little except that he plays the beloved Stevie on HBO’s Eastbound and Down, has done a good amount of voice acting, and has nothing to say to children. Unlike comparing Louis C.K. and Kevin Youkilis, it’s impossible to find similarities in the biographies of Dickey and Little.

Still: the parted ‘dos, the droopy eyes, the face scruff, the head-to-toe softness. They just look too much alike. Steve Little says he had to audition “the old-fashioned way” for the part of Stevie — showing up twice to meet with people he never met (though it’s impossible to picture anyone else in that role now). But for the role of R.A. Dickey, in MLB: The Movie, I’m seeking Stevie out from the get-go.

Knuckle balls on the reg’.

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Robert J. Baumann came of age in the '80s, AKA The Rickey Henderson Era. He takes baseball like a painkiller. He's a multi-purpose troll at Woodland Pattern Book Center. He's been a "writer" at NotGraphs since October 2011. He tweets.

11 Responses to “MLB: The Movie, Casting R.A. Dickey”

1. Well-Beered Englishman says:

   February 9, 2012 at 2:31 pm

   Young Jeff Bridges.
   

   

   Reply
   • Jack says:

     February 9, 2012 at 2:48 pm

     I could get behind that.
     

     

     Reply
2. Magick Sam says:

   February 9, 2012 at 3:02 pm

   Emmet Otter

   of jug band fame
   

   

   Reply
   • Erik Archer says:

     February 9, 2012 at 7:11 pm

     damn straight
     

     

     Reply
3. dmmowers says:

   February 9, 2012 at 3:36 pm

   Timothy Busfield, particularly in his role as Danny Concannon on The West Wing. It’s uncanny.
   

   

   Reply
   • Robert J. Baumann says:

     February 9, 2012 at 7:41 pm

     Yeah, Busfield is a great pick, and he also has a baseball movie/tv connection — he was in Field of Dreams.

     But I just couldn’t pass up the opp to give Stevie a role.
     

     

     Reply
     • EMD says:

       February 12, 2012 at 1:00 am

       I read this as “Yeah, Busfield is a great prick…” and I was inclined to agree, even though I have no idea if Timothy Busfield is indeed, a prick. A Major League prick!
       

       

       Reply
   • Robert J. Baumann says:

     February 9, 2012 at 7:44 pm

     Man, this is giving me fits now that I think about it: Busfield was Arnold Poindexter in Revenge of the Nerds, which is one of my favorite movies.
     

     

     Reply
4. Chris in Hawaii says:

   February 9, 2012 at 8:40 pm

   Jim Piddock!

   http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0682063/
   

   

   Reply
5. Switters says:

   February 9, 2012 at 8:54 pm

   Russel Crowe:

   http://www.whosjack.org/neeson-and-crowe-for-noah/
   

   

   Reply
6. Dizzy Valance says:

   February 11, 2012 at 1:11 pm

   In this photo, Michael Cera is a dead ringer for Derek Holland.

   http://cdn.wwtdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/michael_cera_sexy_mustache_1-450×558.jpg
   

   

   Reply