release date of August 30, 2024, You Gotta Believe arrives just days after the 2024 Little League World Series, which took place on the legendary site of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, just in time for the end of the summer. The film stars Luke Wilson and Greg Kinnear as Bobby Ratliff and Jon Kelly, two key figures in the unlikely underdog story that turned a group of baseball-loving kids into one of the most memorable teams in Little League World Series history.

Kinnear's Jon Kelly is the head coach of the 2002 baseball team from Fort Worth, Texas who dedicated their postseason run to honoring Luke Wilson's Bobby Ratliff, a father dying of cancer. The Forth Worth team dedicated their entire season to honoring Bobby and in doing so, defied all odds and overcame all obstacles to reach the Little League World Series elimination bracket in 2002. The team also helped to make a permanent change to the Little League World Series rulebook, strongly pushing forward the Little League pitch count rule that promotes the health and longevity of young and developing athletes.

You Gotta Believe Is Based On The True Story Of A Texas Little League Team

A group of "misfits" from Fort Worth, TX became LLWS legends

You Gotta Believe tells the story of the real-life 2002 Westside Little League All-Stars from Fort Worth, Texas and their journey in representing the Southwest Region of the United States in the Little League World Series. It's a true underdog story in every sense of the word, as the Fort Worth team was the unlikely champion even in their own Texas district. They went on to not only represent their town and state, but the entire U.S. Southwest Region consisting of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. They represented the Western District of Texas, while a team from Sugar Land represented the Eastern Texas district.

The Southwest Region, which was founded in 2002 after the end of the South Region in 2000, originally included Colorado as well. Since it was the first year in which both eastern and western districts of Texas were recognized, the Fort Worth team may never have gotten the opportunity to compete in the Little League World Series had the Southwest Region not been reorganized in 2002. To this day, the 2002 Fort Worth team remains the only team out of Fort Worth to ever compete in the LLWS. The film describes the team as a group of "misfits" who accomplish the impossible task of making it to the LLWS semifinals.

What Happened To The 2002 Fort Worth Westside All-Stars

They competed against the eventual LLWS champions from Louisville

The unlikely heroes from Fort Worth, Texas made it all the way into the Little League World Series opening round, meaning they had a long road during July and August to even get their ticket to Williamsport. They were placed in a pool with several other teams from around the country, including Worcester, Massachusetts representing New England, Webb City, Missouri representing the Midwest Region, and Waipio, Hawaii representing the Northwest Region. In pool play, the team from Fort Worth finished 2-1, beating the Midwest and Northwest teams 1-0 and 8-0, respectively, before getting their first LLWS loss to New England by a score of 6-0.

After their successful run in pool play, the Fort Worth team earned the right to compete in the Little League World Series elimination round which was designed to churn out a new champion by the end of it. Fort Worth squared off against a team from Louisville, Kentucky representing the Great Lakes Region in their first elimination contest, meaning the loser would have their championship hopes ended. The Louisville team had gone 3-0 in pool play and was heavily considered to be one of the favorites to take home the Little League World Series championship, which is exactly what happened after drafting Japan 1-0 on August 25, 2002.

Why The 2002 Fort Worth Westside Little League Team Became So Popular

Fort Worth v. Louisville became an instant classic and the longest game in LLWS history

Fort Worth played Louisville in what would become the longest game ever played in Little League World Series history on August 21, 2002. With Little League games typically running only 6 total innings unless the "mercy" rule is enforced, the Louisville and Fort Worth U.S. semifinal lasted a total of 11 innings, nearly twice as long as a typical Little League baseball game. In what would be called an epic pitching duel, Louisville ultimately defeated Forth Worth by a final score of 2-1 on their way to becoming the 2002 LLWS Champions.

The 2002 team from Fort Worth truly had their odds stacked against them due to the talent of their opposition and their general brand as "misfits". The first baseman's dad (Wilson) had cancer so the whole team was able to rally around that. In turn, it became an inspirational story everyone could root for, not just people from Texas or even baseball fans. What's more, the game was truly a remarkable display of talent and determination. With a record-setting 49 strikeouts total recorded, Fort Worth’s Walker Kelly struck out 21 batters while Louisville’s Aaron Alvey struck out 19 batters over nine innings.

What Happened To The Fort Worth Westside Little League Team After 2002

They reunited at the 2022 LLWS & several still live in Fort Worth

The memorable team from Fort Worth reunited in 2022 and stepped foot once again on their home field in Fort Worth sparked their journey and eventually made them a national inspiration. The of the 2002 Westside All-Stars Little League team stayed in throughout the years but did not have an official reunion until 2022. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "Michael Valdez, who played baseball at Texas Wesleyan, runs youth sports teams that focus on select baseball. Chris Rivera works for Google. Robby Lebus lives in Fort Worth and works in real estate. Chester Hamilton lives in St. Louis and works as an engineer for IBM."

Some players featured in You Gotta Beleive even went on to play baseball in college and even the MLB. "Rand Ravnaas lives in Fort Worth and works in the oil and gas business. He played baseball at Georgetown University in D.C., and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2011 MLB Draft. Walker Kelly played baseball at TCU, and lives in Fort Worth. He works in commercial real estate. Mark Grace lives in Fort Worth and works in insurance. Patton Eagle lives in Oklahoma City and works in the oil and gas business."

Unsurprisingly, many have also given back to the game of baseball. "Robert Ratliff played football at Ole Miss. Lives in Fort Worth and works in insurance. Aspiring little league coach. Mitchell Belew lives in Fort Worth and works in aerospace sales. Also coaches his nephew’s little league baseball team." Bobby Ratliff ed away on Wednesday, May 7, 2003. You Gotta Believe will once again bring the Forth Worth team's incredible true story of faith and teamwork to life.

Source: Little League, Fort Worth Report, This Day in Baseball, Fort Worth Star-Telegram