Stealing Home 1988

In the present, Billy Wyatt, Mark Harmon a washed-up baseball player in his thirties, lives in a hotel with a cocktail waitress. One afternoon, he receives a phone call from his mother, Ginny Wyatt, Blair Brown informing him that his childhood babysitter and friend, Katie Chandler, Jodie Foster has committed suicide. She also tells him that Katie left a will naming Billy as the one responsible for her ashes, claiming Billy was

the only one who would know what to do with them.

Saddened and confused, Billy promises to come home that night.

Flashbacks to the 1960s reveal Billy and Katie’s close bond. Katie, a slightly older girl who babysat Billy, mentored him with practical advice on girls and dating. As a birthday gift, she gave him a baseball pendant on a necklace to remind him that he is a baseball player and bound his fate to the sport he loves.

While Billy is still in high school, his father, Sam Wyatt, dies in a car accident. Two months later, Katie, Billy, Ginny, and Alan Appleby decide to spend the Fourth of July week at the Chandlers’ summer home, Seasmoke. During their vacation, Billy feels that Katie is encouraging his mother to move on too quickly, leading to a shouting match between them. The next day at sunrise, Billy seeks Katie’s forgiveness, and they spend the rest of the weekend together at Seasmoke. As the weekend comes to a close, Katie encourages Billy to pursue his passion for baseball. In the present, Billy remembers that this was the last time he saw her.

In the present, Katie’s father, Hank, visits the Wyatt family to deliver Katie’s ashes to Billy, who still has no idea what to do with them. Hank suggests a church service. Billy drives to Seasmoke to think and reminisce.

Billy reunites with Alan Appleby, Harold Ramis, and they spend the night reminiscing and carousing while driving around in Katie’s car with her ashes, trying to figure out what to do with them. Still unsure, Billy goes to Katie’s parents’ house to give them her ashes. While there, Billy recalls Katie telling him how she wanted to jump off the pier and fly free with the birds. Billy goes to the pier, runs down the dock, and scatters her ashes just as she described in her fantasy.

Billy joins a minor league baseball team, taking pride in grooming the field each morning before a game. The film ends with Billy stealing home, the same thing he did in his last game before his father died.