Yankees/Red Sox Rivalry Returning To ESPN, Angels & White Sox Face Off Tonight On ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball

Courtesy: ESPN

One of the biggest rivalries in sports re-ignites in its latest round Sunday, June 2^nd.  David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox will take on Robinson Cano and the New York Yankees will face off at 8pm that evening.  Dan Shulman will host the evening’s broadcast.  He will be joined by analysts Orel Hershiser and John Kruk.  Buster Olney will be on hand with commentary.

Tonight’s matchup pits the Los Angeles Angels against the Chicago White Sox in the “Windy City.”  Dan Shulman will host the evening’s broadcast along with his colleagues, Orel Hershiser, John Kruk and Buster Olney.  The game will be available across all ESPN platforms including:  ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio, WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app for mobile media.  Pre-game starts at 7pm tonight.  The ESPN Sunday Night Baseball Crew offered its thoughts on tonight’s games, which can be viewed right here.

Baseball Tonight analyst Aaron Boone on the C.J. Wilson- Chris Sale matchup:
With Jered Weaver down, C.J. Wilson needs to assume the head of this rotation. They need to be able to hang their hat on his starts and count on him to be close to an ace. Sale needs to get his slider down. While he’s been pretty good, he hasn’t quite been the dominant ace. I’ve seen a little bit of slider elevation from him. If he can get that pitch down, he’s an ace.

Baseball Tonight analyst Alex Cora on Wilson:
I think that the key storyline is C.J. Wilson. We’ve been talking about the Angels being a contender and Weaver being hurt. Here’s a guy that they signed last year to either be their ace or their number two and he hasn’t done it. For them to turn this around, they need him to pitch the way he’s capable of pitching.

MLB Insider Buster Olney on the Angels’ struggles this season:
Early in every season, there are a handful of teams that quickly move into desperation mode, and little more than a month into the 2013 season, that’s where the Angels stand. They cannot afford to lose more ground, and even though it’s May, this team of great stars will be playing with a sense of urgency. The Angels can turn it around, but because of the lack of depth in the pitching staff, the impetus for a comeback has to come from their offensive stars: Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Mark Trumbo.

MLB Insider Tim Kurkjian on the Angels facing Sale:
This is a big weekend series, especially for the Angels. They are in danger of falling out of the race in the West unless they start winning immediately. Their come-from-behind win Thursday night might be the spark that finally gets this team going but they are up against Chris Sale on Sunday night. I don’t know how anyone gets a hit off of that guy.

Olney on Sale’s delivery and repertoire:
Chris Sale is a one-of-a-kind pitcher, with an unusual delivery, and a nasty slider.  I think  Orel made a fascinating comparison: Sale reminds you a lot of the former Yankees Cy Young winner Ron Guidry, because of the quality of his slider and his angular build.

ESPN MLB Insider Pedro Gomez on the Angels’ struggles:
The Angels cannot afford to continue to spin their wheels and expect to remain in the AL West race. They need pitching to really start to shine and they absolutely need more production from their two cogs in the middle of their order, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton.

Cora on Hamilton’s plate discipline:
He needs to take a step back. We get it, he’s an aggressive hitter. But right now, he’s getting 0-2 pitches in the first pitch of the at-bat. They know he’s swinging. They aren’t even trying to get ahead of him. They are going to the put-out pitch on pitch one because he’s swinging. He needs to be more patient. He has two home runs in last few days but still he needs to take some pitches. The whole league knows that he’s been very aggressive and chasing a lot. He must take a step back and see some good pitches.

ESPN MLB Insider Jim Bowden on keys for the Angels to improve:
The Angels can turn it around but they have to stay healthy. There is not enough depth to withstand injuries, as we’ve seen to date. Hamilton and Pujols must get back to MVP form. The key to the team will be the starting rotation. Blanton and Hanson have to be good enough to win 12 games and pitch 180 innings. A trade for more pitching is a must. Hamilton’s not loading and his timing is not in sync. If he corrects those two flaws he will hit. His bat speed is still there. He also must improve his strike zone awareness and cut down at swinging at balls out of the zone which is at a poor rate of 49%.

Boone on the struggling power hitters in both lineups:
If these teams are going to live up to expectations, their big guys in the middle have to get it going. We need to see production from Konerko and Dunn for the White Sox and Hamilton and Pujols with the Angels.

Cora on White Sox Manager Robin Ventura:
It’s Robin’s second year, so right now it’s his team. Obviously last year he had a great season. They made some changes and lost A.J. So, I think now he’s settled in. It has been a tough month for them, so let’s see what kind of manager he is. Last year, they kind of lost it at the end in September and they seem to be in the same pattern now. We need to see what kind of manager he will be.

Next Sunday on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, the Tigers head to the Lone Star State to take on the Rangers.  The latest Sunday Night Baseball schedule is available below.

Upcoming Sunday Night Baseball schedule:

Date	Game
May 12	Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox
May 19	Detroit Tigers at Texas Rangers
May 26	Atlanta Braves at New York Mets
June 2	Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
July 14	St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs
July 21	New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox

*Additional games for June and July will be announced three weeks in advance, while games for August and September will be made two weeks in advance.

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ESPN Expands NCAA D1 Baseball Championship Coverage

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN will cover all sixteen sites of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship this year.  Cover of the games runs from Friday, May 31^st to Monday, June 1^st.  This year’s coverage marks the first time that every first-round game in the tournament will be available to fans on a national platform.  This includes up to seven games from each of the sixteen locations for a total of one hundred twelve matchups over the course of just four days. ESPN offered coverage of six sites in 2012, four in 2011, and two in each of the previous six years.

ESPN will launch a new platform called “Bases Loaded” to help cover the games across the ESPN family of networks over the weekend.  It will be similar to the network’s “Goal Line” and “Buzzer Beater Networks” in that it will provide unlimited live cut-ins and highlights from a number of the tournament’s games.  It will also include live up-to-the-minute commentary from ESPN analysts and experts from each day of the Regionals.  “Bases Loaded” will be available Friday, May 31^st and Saturday, June 1^st from 2pm EST to midnight.  It will be available Sunday, June 2^nd from 2pm to 1am and Monday, June 3^rd from 6pm to 12am.  ESPN3 will carry “Bases Loaded” in its entirety while ESPNU and ESPN2 will simulcast at select times.  This includes between games and during rain delays, time allowing.  And as with most ESPN coverage, fans can catch all of the action online via WatchESPN and through mobile internet on the WatchESPN app.

Along with the expanded Regionals coverage, ESPN will also continue to cover every Super Regional site and all possible seventeen games of the College World Series.  The expanded coverage includes up to twenty-four games from eight sites.

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Knuckleball An Emotional, Informative Baseball Documentary

Courtesy: mpi media group/MLB Productions

Anybody can play music fast and loud.  But it takes a real musician to play music slowly and softly.  That is the mantra of music teachers, students and musicians the world over.  This is a mantra that believe it or not can also be applied to the game of baseball.  One might ask one’s self in reading that, what do baseball and music have to do with one another, right?  Simple.  Just as any musician can play fast and loud, any pitcher in baseball can throw fast and hard.  But just as it takes a true musician to play slowly and softly, it takes a true pitcher to throw a ball that to this day befuddles players on both sides of the bat.  That is shown through the new baseball documentary, Knuckleball. 

Knuckleball is more than just another documentary.  It’s a documentary that presents two underdog figures who have overcome some big odds to become two of baseball’s most respected pitchers despite throwing what is considered one of the game’s least respected pitches.  Those men are R.A. Dickey and Tim Wakefield.  The pair’s rise to fame wasn’t an easy one.  In the case of Dickey, he was shuffled up and down through baseball’s big leagues and the minors until he was ultimately given a chance by the New York Mets.  On the other side, audiences are presented the story of fellow “knuckleballer” Tim Wakefield.  Both men were doubted early on by their teams, managers and fans because of their pitch of choice.  But through perseverance and respect for their craft, viewers see how the pair has helped to bring new respect to the pitch and to other pitchers that throw knuckleballs.

The story is told expertly by film makers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg.  The pair culled footage of Dickey and Wakefield from both their professional careers and their formative years as youths.  The pair’s professional footage comes courtesy of a partnership with Major League Baseball Productions.  Their discussions with fellow “knuckleballers” Charlie Hough, Wilbur Wood, Jim Bouton, Tom Candiotti, and Phil Niekro are something resembling members of an elite fraternity.  Audiences will enjoy these moments as members of two totally separate generations share their “war stories.”  Dickey and Wakefield also share their own stories with the film makers.  Their stories range from the humorous to the deeply emotional as they explain where they came from and the work put in to reach baseball’s highest level.  Combined with the accompanying video profiling each man’s career, these stories are the highlights of this feature.    

Some by now might be asking why they should have any interest in this documentary.  Again, the answer is simple.  It goes back to the documentary’s early minutes, when Newsday writer David Lennon references Americans’ desire for immediate gratification and higher speeds.  They don’t want to see slow pitches.  Lennon is right.  There seems to be an ever increasing push for pitchers to throw faster than the last guy.  But, in watching this feature, baseball fans will see why the knuckleball—and throwing the knuckleball–should be given as much credit as the fastball, curve or slider.  It proves that the knuckleball is more than just a pitch and why throwing it is an art in itself.  The pitcher is throwing, with a knuckleball, a pitch that forces the batter to second guess himself, much like a racer on the starting line at a drag strip does against his competitor.  It’s a pitch that forces both sides to think and have full clarity of mind.  A pitcher that can fake out a batter time and again with this pitch is a true pitcher.  He isn’t just relying on being able to throw fast and hard.  He is throwing a ball that takes true thought to deliver and to hit.  And while the current generation of pitchers isn’t exactly chock full of “knuckleballers”, viewers will see in the bonus features that there is still another generation of pitchers ready to carry on the legacy of this pitch and those who threw it before them.  And who knows?  Maybe one day, baseball fans will see another documentary on this fabled not-so-fast-ball.  And with that next documentary, it will be spoken of in far more respected terms.

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New Shout! Factory DVD One Of The Best Takes On Robinson’s Life, Legacy

Courtesy: Shout! Factory

Audiences are going to be treated to yet another new big screen biopic next week in the form of the new movie, 42.  The film centers on baseball legend Jackie Robinson.  42 won’t be the first release that centers on the famed baseball star.  The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) first told the player’s…well…story with Robinson himself telling his life story.  So needless to say, more than likely this latest biopic will likely over embellish Robinson’s life story at more than one point.  So before audiences go to see that movie, they would do well to check out Shout! Factory’s new DVD release, Jackie Robinson: My Story.

Jackie Robinson: My Story is just that.  It isn’t a documentary so to speak.  It is the story of Robinson’s life as told by actor Stephen Hill.  While the presentation is obviously aimed largely at younger audiences, it is just as entertaining for adults, too.  Hill plays the role of Robinson throughout the roughly ninety-five minute feature.  It’s a bare bones, no nonsense presentation that is easily accessible and just as easy to understand.  The presentation also includes footage of Robinson’s career both on the field and off.  That inclusion will help to both inform and entertain viewers.  The only real downside to the entire product is that it doesn’t offer the option of selecting individual chapters.  If a viewer stops at one point in the feature, one can only hope that the DVD starts back at that point.  Otherwise, said viewer will have to skip through the chapters and then fast forward or rewind to get to the point at which said individual stopped previously.  Luckily, it is the feature’s only negative.  Also included in this single disc story is a history lesson on both Robinson and his teammates and their role in societal changes from the ballpark.  When weighing all of these factors in with the fact that a new baseball season has just started and new biopic on Robinson is set to debut next week, Jackie Robinson: My Story becomes that much more of an enjoyable piece both for kids and adults alike.

The first thing that viewers will notice about Jackie Robinson: My Story is its simplicity.  It’s not some overblown drama or even overblown dramatic documentary.  It’s a simple story about a great man.  Presented here is actor Stephen Hill playing the role of Robinson in a simple setting.  The setting is meant to be the locker room of the then Brooklyn Dodgers.  Hanging behind Robinson…er…Hill are the uniforms of some of Robinson’s fellow legendary teammates.  Hill tells the entire story of Robinson’s life entirely from that simple setting.  Because of the set’s simplicity, there is nothing to distract viewers as they listen to Robinson’s incredible and at times painful life story.  And while there are loads of names and dates thrown out there, that lack of distraction help viewers to remember some of them, including: Pee Wee Reese, Satchel Paige, and Roy Campanella among others. 

The inclusion of Reese, Paige, and Campanella was important in that it was Reese that first took Robinson under his wing and helped make the push for Robinson to be able to play as a member of the Dodgers.  Hill proceeds from here to explain that despite the popular belief, Satchel Paige, Roy Campanella and other African-American players didn’t just start flowing into the major league ranks after he was allowed to play.  He explains how the process was actually more gradual and how African-American athletes still faced an uphill battle as the views of baseball fans still had yet to change at the time.  But that they had managed to break in and become the stars that they did shows that views were beginning to change.  Keeping this in mind, it serves as a reminder how pivotal this was not just in the history of baseball but in American history in general.  It’s just one of so many moments that viewers will find interesting throughout the course of this original bio.

The simple set used for Jackie Robinson: My Story and the acting (so to speak) of Stephen Hill help make this new release from Shout! Factory enjoyable for audiences of all ages.  There is one other factor that makes this a DVD worth checking out, whether in the classroom or the clubhouse.  That factor is the inclusion of actual footage and pictures from Robinson’s life.    Just as with the simple set, the inclusion of actual video footage and pictures from Robinson’s career and life serve as valuable visual aids.  Whereas the simple set helps to draw attention to Hill and his take on Robinson, the video and pictures help to illustrate the story being told.  They help to bring the entire thing full circle and that much more accessible for audiences. 

There is an irony in the inclusion of one piece of footage in particular.  That piece of footage is the Dodgers’ 1951 pennant matchup against the rival Giants.  This piece is also used in 20^th Century Fox’s recent movie, Parental Guidance.  It’s ironic that this is included in both because of the timing of each one’s release.  Both pieces were released within roughly a week of one another.  Sure, the timing of the pair’s release to home viewers is purely coincidental.  But it makes for an interesting discussion bridge.

As one can note by now, Jackie Robinson: My Story offers plenty of positives.  For all the positives, there is just one negative.  Surprisingly enough, it’s not too bad of a negative.  It is the lack of a chapter selection option in the main menu.  If a person were to remove the DVD from a DVD player, and put it back in later, this means that one would have to skip through chapters and then fast forward and/or rewind the show to where it was last stopped, rather than simply being able to jump to a given spot.  While this is at least a slight detriment to the overall package, it isn’t too bad as the entire feature is interesting that a person won’t want to stop watching once getting into it.  So to that extent, while it is a negative, it’s a minor negative at worst.  It’s because of that this Jackie Robinson: My Story is an enjoyable piece both for sports fans and for those studying African-American history.  It is available in stores and online and can be ordered direct from the Shout! Factory store at

http://www.shoutfactory.com/?q=node/216808.

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The Sandlot Still A “Hit” Twenty Years Later

Courtesy: 20th Century Fox/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Two decades ago, what is one of the best modern coming-of-age stories ever crafted was released in the form of 20^th Century Fox’s baseball based story, The Sandlot.  In the twenty years since that movie first debuted, it hasn’t’ lost a single bit of its shine, even with a previous Blu-ray release having been put out a little over two years ago.  What continues to make The Sandlot so appealing to this day is its continued ability to relate to viewers of every age.  It reminds older audiences what it’s like to be a kid.  It reminds them of all the joys and simplicities of being young.  And despite being set in the 1960’s, it’s a story to which even today’s younger audiences can relate.  Older viewers remember the “good old days” of hanging out with friends, and getting into all kinds of trouble.  They remember the joys of simply being kids as well as the trials and tribulations of being the “new kid” trying to fit in in a new environment.  And even today’s generation knows of these joys.  So for those audiences who have yet to see this movie, it makes for a nice addition to said individuals’ home libraries.

The Sandlot 20^th Anniversary Edition was released on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack last week, only a little over two years since its previous Blu-ray release.  Little has changed between that release and this one.  But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  The story is so enjoyable in its own right there really is no need for much in the way of bonus features.  Though some audio commentary would have been a nice addition to offer viewers more insight into the story and how everything came into place.  Especially being that 20^th Century Fox is celebrating the movie’s 20^th birthday, it would have been just as interesting to have any of the original cast members that could have been recruited to offer their own retrospective on the movie and its meaning to each one to this day.  Perhaps that could be taken into consideration for the movie’s twenty-fifth or thirtieth anniversary edition.

The bonus features aside, The Sandlot 20^th Anniversary Edition is still a wonderful addition to any family’s home library.  It offers so many fun and funny moments both for parents and kids alike.  Watching Squints fake a drowning in order to get a kiss from a certain young lifeguard is one of the story’s many funny moments.  What young boy hasn’t fantasized the way that Squints did?  And the boys’ various plans to get the Babe Ruth signed baseball back from “The Beast” will make viewers of all ages laugh.  There is a certain reality to those scenarios.  It’s one of those “boys will be boys” types of scenarios.  And speaking of “The Beast”, his ability to thwart the boys’ every attempt is equally comical in its own way.  Then of course, there is also the famous chase scene in which Benny is being chased by the massive Mastiff.  The music and shooting style made this one of the movie’s best moments, if not the best moment in the movie.  It’s tough to put a finger on exactly what makes this such a memorable moment.  But audiences of all ages will love the entire sequence. 

The chase scene with “The Beast” and the boys’ attempts to get Smalls’ signed baseball back make for their own share of enjoyment.  Just as enjoyable and relatable is the story element of the myth surrounding the owner of “The Beast”, Mr. Mertle (James Earl Jones).  The boys all believe that Mr. Mertle is this evil man who told “The Beast” to eat a boy years ago.  But after Benny retrieves Smalls’ baseball, the pair meets Mr. Mertle for himself, dispelling the myth once and for all.  Again, while this story is set in the 1960s, this is another element to which audiences even today can relate.  Every young generation has its myths surrounding certain figures.  And the revelation about the figures’ always turns out to be entirely different from what is believed.  It makes for yet another of so many great moments included by writer/director David Mickey Evans and co-writer Robert Gunter.  The Sandlot 20^th Anniversary Edition offers more memorable moments than could be shared in one sitting.  There are so many that audiences will consider their favorites.  And it’s because of this abundance of wonderful moments and equally wonderful writing (and camera work) that anyone who has yet to add this timeless story to their home library will want to do just that.  The movie is now available in stores and online and can be ordered direct online via the 20^th Century Fox store at http://www.foxconnect.com/the-sandlot-20th-anniversary.html.

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Barry Larkin Re-Signs With ESPN

Courtesy: ESPN

Baseball Hall of Famer and Cincinnati Reds legend Barry Larkin will be staying on board with his colleagues at ESPN for the foreseeable future.  The famed hitter has re-signed with ESPN.  He has signed a new multiyear extension that will see him serving as analyst on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight.  The new deal also includes appearances on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball’s pre-game show.  The Sunday Night Baseball pre-game show airs every Sunday night at 7pm. 

Both sides were excited about the new deal.  Larkin expressed his pleasure at getting the deal done and about remaining at ESPN in a statement.  “Baseball Tonight provides me with the opportunity to teach fans and viewers about the game that I love,” he said.  “I’m excited to continue my television career at ESPN and be a part of a dedicated team of professionals who love the game of baseball.”

Courtesy: ESPN

The feeling was mutual on the side of ESPN.  Network VP of Production Mike McQuade shared his thoughts on getting Larkin re-signed.  “Having a Hall of Famer like Barry Larkin on your roster helps fulfill our goal to serve fans with experience, insight and expert analysis and he contributes to what is the deepest roster of MLB commentators anywhere.”

Larkin joined the ESPN Baseball Tonight staff in 2011.  In that time, he has served as studio analyst on Baseball Tonight and to ESPN’s Spring Training. His credits also include serving as an analyst for the College World Series.  Before retiring, Larkin was a twelve-time MLB All-Star.  He also helped lead the Cincinnati Red to the MLB Championship in 1990.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame in 2012

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MLB Superstars A Good “Lead Off” For The 2013 MLB Season

Courtesy: A&E Home Video/MLB Productions

MLB Productions’ latest home release is a good way to start off the New Year and a new season of baseball.  MLB Superstars: Impact Players is an hour plus profile of some of Major League Baseball’s best up-and-coming players.  It’s an easy to follow feature that takes audiences around the diamond focusing on the top players from both the American and National League without the unnecessary add-ons that one might see on a television take of the program.  Though it was produced and edited much in the same vein of something one might see in the course of a pre-game show on MLB network or any network currently airing big league baseball.

Over the course of its near ninety-minute run time, audiences get profiles of young stars the likes of Prince Fielder, Joey Votto, Aroldis Champman, Stephen Strasburg, and many more.  Their pedigrees are expertly illustrated through the eyes of those closest to them and to the game, including broadcasters, fellow and former teammates, and even managers and owners.  It’s all set largely against the backdrop of the 2012 MLB All-Star Game.  The video quality is top notch as each player’s profile is highlighted by footage of both their performance at the All-Star Game and through games that each has played.  The footage was recorded and edited by Major League Baseball.  So viewers naturally get professional quality footage.  Viewers even get some more lighthearted moments as they get to hear audio of the players both before and during their games.  That coupled with the profiles of fellow players, managers, and broadcasters will entertain and enlighten baseball fans, thus keeping them engaged throughout the program’s run-time.

This new DVD’s main feature makes for a great introduction to Major League Baseball’s 2013 season.  It serves as a way to introduce viewers to baseball’s next generation of star athletes.  As an added bonus, viewers also get a brief history of the players’ walk-offs.  Also, Troy Tulowitzki, who is one of those up-and-comers, gets his own feature as does San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain.  Cain’s pitching performance in the Giants’ first ever perfect game closes out the disc’s bonus features.  That game and the footage from the disc’s other bonus features was also produced and edited by Major League Baseball.  So audiences even get in these bonuses professional quality game footage and one more way to get hyped for a new season.  Together with the disc’s main feature the bonuses and the main feature mix to make another release that is everything baseball fans have come to expect from MLB Productions.  MLB Superstars: Impact Players is available now and can be ordered online at http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=19148216.

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Giants Blu-ray, DVD Set A Solid Year Ender For All Baseball Fans

Courtesy: MLB Productions/A&E Home Video

The 2012 Major League Baseball season is in the books, and the champs have officially been crowned.  But fear not baseball fans.  The 2013 season is right around the corner.  December’s nearly over.  With the end of the year, baseball fans will start hearing more news as teams start prepping for the first pitch of Spring training 2013.  As fans await that first pitch, A&E Home Video and MLB Productions have partnered once again for what is truly a “giant” of a release both for fans of the World Series champs and of baseball in general.  The release in question is the San Francisco Giants 2012 World Series Collector’s Edition. 

The San Francisco Giants 2012 World Series Collector’s Edition is offered both on DVD and Blu-ray format, so as to not leave out anyone.  This is a bonus right off the top for all baseball fans.  Now there are those who have had their say about this new set, complaining about one game being omitted from the set, but what those people need to understand is that the inclusion of Game 5 of the team’s NLDS and NLCS were included in the set as each was the pivotal game in each series on the way to the team’s incredible sweep of the Tigers in the World Series.  Keeping this in mind, both MLB Productions and A&E have done the right thing in assembling the set in its present setup.  The inclusion of those two games makes for a nice setup to the team’s sweep of Detroit, which is profiled in its entirety in the set’s first four discs.  And as has been the case with every previous MLB Productions release this year, these four games are just as exceptional as previous releases.

The collection of games included in this brand new set is exceptional in that complaints from others aside, both the World Series games and the NLDS and NLCS games are presented with the same standard set by both companies with previous releases.  The games are contained within their own slimcases inside a larger box.  Each slimcase contains all the information needed to easily follow the game.  It is a program in itself for all intensive purposes.  The inning by inning rundown is on the front of each game, while the inside of each case offers a full box score unlike anything that any newspaper or even sports broadcast could offer.  True baseball fans will appreciate that the companies have maintained this standard.

That MLB Productions and A&E have maintained the high level of product quality is just one part of what makes its latest release so impressive for fans.  Also making this set impressive for fans is the inclusion of the previously released single disc presentation of the team’s inclusion into the Baseball’s Greatest Games series in the form of its “First Perfect Game” presentation.  Maybe someone already owns this on DVD.  That’s fine.  Having it in duplicate is just as good.  That’s because God forbid something happens to one copy, having this in duplicate means that fans will have a backup copy of it.  And for those who don’t already own this landmark game, then it’s all the more of a bonus to an already impressive baseball box set.

The bonus Baseball’s Greatest Games disc included in this set is just one of the bonuses that put the set over the top.  It also includes a bonus disc with some of the team’s best moments.  It includes highlights of some team members’ twenty-game hit streaks, and the moment in which it claimed this year’s NL West title, just to name a few highlights.  Even presented in standard definition, it looks good.  For those who own HDTV’s and Blu-ray players, it looks even better as the Blu-ray player will automatically up-convert this stand-alone DVD.  Yet again, audiences are presented with a disc that’s more than just another disc.  It is in its own way, one more true bonus to a set that’s already well worth the price.  And combined with the remaining seven discs, it makes the entire eight-disc set one big out of the park home run to finish off the year for both MLB Productions and A&E Home Video and A&E Entertainment.

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MLB’s World Series Retrospective Is One More Grand Slam For Baseball Fans

Courtesy: MLB Productions/A&E Home Video

The 2012 Major League Baseball season is all but wrapped up.  The Tigers are waiting to see if they’ll face either the Orioles or the Yankees in the ALCS, while the Giants are now waiting to see if they’ll be facing either the Nationals or the Cardinals after Cincinnati’s epic three game collapse.  Both the ALCS and the NLCS kick into high gear this weekend.  Both Best-of-Seven series will take their teams deep into October.  And eventually only two will remain to square off in the Fall Classic, the World Series.  In celebration of the yearly Championship match, MLB Productions and A&E Home have released a retrospective of the Fall Classic. 

The World Series:  History of The Fall Classic has been released in both a double and quadruple disc set.  Both sets present a full in depth history of baseball’s crown jewel from its beginnings in 1903 right up to the Cardinals’ win over the Texas Rangers.  The presentation is narrated by NBC’s Bob Costas.  Costas has a proven track record as a sports broadcaster.  And his experience as a broadcaster shows through here in every minute of the documentary.  His totally professional narrative style will keep any baseball fan’s attention.  And the archived footage from throughout the series’ near one hundred and ten year history adds even more amazement to this set.  It’s incredible that nearly century old footage has survived so long.  Little, if any, is left out in this set.  Even included here is the first time that the World Series went to a Game Seven.  Honus Wagner and the Pirates faced off against Ty Cobb and the Chicago Cubs.  Talk about baseball history.  Hearing the story from former players and seeing the pictures brings it all together.  This is just one example of what audiences have to look forward to with the set.

The stories of the Series are just the tip of the iceberg with this grand slam of a sports set.  Fans that pick up the four-disc set are also treated to a load of bonus features, including loads of media bloopers from the likes of Costas himself, Bryant Gumble, and so many others.  The bloopers are taken from the reporters’ own foibles, and even from moments shared with teams in their clubhouses.  There are also highlights of some of the World Series’ best clinchers, and some of the most famous first pitches ever thrown in the history of the World Series.  Again, this is just a tiny part of what this box set has to offer.  It doesn’t matter for which team a fan roots, after going through all four discs of this set, any baseball fan will be left singing “Take Me Out To the Ballgame” all winter long and counting the days for that first pitch of spring all over again.

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Fenway Park Documentary A Good History Piece For All Baseball Fans

Courtesy: MLB Productions/A&E Home Video

October is one of the greatest months of the year.  The weather is beginning to change.  Football is just getting into its best moments.  And of course, America’s great past time, baseball garners some of its greatest moments as it hits its stride in the playoffs.  Not only do Major League Baseball’s teams show their best.  But so do the stadiums in which they play.  These bastions of baseball develop a whole new life as fans flock to the seats to see their favorite teams face off.  There’s a certain magic about baseball stadiums especially during the post season.  Every stadium offers its own magic in a different way.  If there is one stadium that has developed a reputation for its magic, it’s the one and only Fenway Park.

Fenway Park has seen countless magical moments in its now one hundred year history.  This legendary park has seen the game’s greatest player ever, Babe Ruth hit home runs.  It’s even seen football games by the then Boston Patriots (now the New England Patriots).  It’s seen some of the biggest concerts of which anyone could ever dream.  Fenway has seen all of that and more.  And now in celebration of all of those memories, baseball fans of all ages get to re-live them in the new DVD, Fenway Park:  100 Years as the Heart of Red Sox Nation.  This new DVD tells the storied history of what is one of Major League Baseball’s greatest ballparks.  One doesn’t have to be a Red Sox fan to appreciate Fenway’s history.  From rivalries with the Yankees to championship matches against the likes of the Mets and Cardinals, it’s all here.  It especially focuses on the late great Ted Williams.  Narrator Don Orsillo (who also does play-by play for the Red Sox) tells of Williams’ greatness.  He tells of how Williams once hit a ball so far into the seats that it actually went through a man’s hat.  Williams had hit the ball over five hundred feet to go through the man’s hat.  There is even a seat specially marked at Fenway noting where the feat happened.  And of course, there’s even a brief mention of the famed “Williamsburg.”

The memories of Ted Williams and Babe Ruth are just a tiny piece of the larger puzzle that is Fenway Park:  100 Years as the Heart of Red Sox Nation.  Orsillo takes viewers on a journey through the team’s history hosting the World Series in its inaugural season, losing Babe Ruth to the Yankees, being rebuilt after a massive fire, and so much more.  These are all wonderful pieces of baseball history.  But perhaps even more interesting than all of those moments combined is the love for and dedication to the Red Sox that its legion of fans has had throughout its history.  Through thick and thin, the Red Sox nation has never wavered.  And it paid off, too.  As the documentary shows, the team and the fans were both rewarded as the team finally broke the infamous “Curse of the Bambino” in 2004 after going nearly ninety years without a title.  And then three years later, the Red Sox would bring home the team’s seventh world title.  Both of these magical moments are recorded here, too, for the “Red Sox Nation” as are so many others.  And fans can relive those moments any time they want as the DVD is available now.  It can be ordered online at the MLB Productions shop site, http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13156464.

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.