New MLB DVD Takes Mets Fans Through Team’s Half-Century History

Courtesy: MLB Productions/A&E Home Video

The 2012 MLB Playoffs are in full “swing.”  Get it?  Swing?  Ahhhhhh, thank you, thank you.  I’ll be here all week.  In all seriousness though, this past weekend saw lots of baseball action.  Among that action is the now two games to none lead that the Cincinnati Reds have over the San Francisco Giants.  The Reds second win came Sunday night thanks to the pitching of Bronson Arroyo and a pair of relievers.  Arroyo along with Johnny Cueto, Aroldis Chapman, and Joey Votto make up some of the best known players in the Reds’ current history.  However, this legendary team has had so many other great names.  Among that list of famed names is a man who played not just for the Reds but also for another equally beloved team in the New York Mets.  His name is Tom Seaver.

Tom Seaver is most well known in Cincy for pitching a 4-0 perfect game against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 16, 1978.  That’s just one of many games that made him so well known during his entire career.  While he earned some fame in Cincinnati, Seaver is best known for his time with the New York Mets.  He along with the likes of Mike Piazza, Dwight Gooden, and Carlos Delgado have made the Mets one of the league’s most beloved teams.  Now thanks to MLB Productions and A&E Home Video, Mets fans and baseball fans alike can find out where Piazza, Seaver, Gooden, and Delgado fit on the list of The New York Mets’ Fifty Greatest Players. 

The New York Mets Fifty Greatest Players is simply titled, a countdown of the fifty greatest players from the first half century of this NY squad’s history.  The list was compiled by a group of broadcasters and sports historians.  Interviews with broadcaster Howie Rose, comedian/actor Chris Rock, and a number of former Mets players help to illustrate why each player was placed where he was on the list.  As each player is introduced, fans are given figures about each one’s career.  Archived footage from Major League Baseball’s vaults help to further illustrate what makes each player deserving of a spot on this first half century list. 

Also included with this single disc presentation are a number of bonus features also included in the Mets 50^th Anniversary Collector’s Set.  So fans that aren’t able to pick up that set will still be able to enjoy most of its features.  Some of the additional pieces included in this presentation are included as bonus features.  Others are included as additional main features that play immediately after the countdown.  Among the bonus features included here are the team’s origins and some of its greatest games.  There are also some other great Mets players and moments included as part of the disc’s main feature.  All together, these extras and the countdown itself combine to make another great piece for the Mets’ legions of fans and for baseball fans in general.  It’s available now and can be ordered online at http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13156463. 

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/381028148587141.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

New Mets Anniversary Set Is Simply “Amazin’”

Courtesy: MLB Productions/A&E Home Video

The 2012 MLB Playoff picture is now officially set.  Ten teams are in.  It all starts with the Wild Card matchups tonight.  Some fans are happy, while others are sad.  However, while their team may not have made the big dance this year, Mets fans still have reason to smile thanks to a brand new fan collector’s set that’s out now. 

The Mets 50^th Anniversary Collector’s Set features some of the greatest names and moments in the half century history of New York’s other team.  The set includes a twenty-six page hardbound book and ten DVD set that will take both Mets and baseball fans through the team’s rich history.  The book starts off with a foreword by famed Mets broadcaster Howie Rose.  He writes fondly of the team, including what he considers are some of the team’s highlights.  Those highlights include:  Jimmy Piersall’s 100^th career home run, the team’s first ever MLB Championship in the 1969 World Series, and the now infamous incident from Game Six of the 1986 World Series in which Mookie Wilson hit the ball through Bill Buckner’s legs, making Buckner the target of Red Sox fans’ ire for decades.

Rose makes mention of the infamous Buckner incident in the foreword to this stunning anthology of Mets history.  The entire Game Six is included on one of the ten discs included as part of this ultimate collection.  Also included are features on other famous Mets moments and players that are also supplemented via the included discs.  What makes all of this better is that as audiences read through this slim coffee table style book, it prompts readers on which disc they can play to get a more in depth experience of the topic being discussed.  And audiences get just that, as they’re treated to the highlights of some of the team’s best seasons from 1963 straight to 2006.  Also included are the Mets’ 25^th anniversary special, An Amazin’ Era, and a single disc feature that focuses on the fifty greatest Mets players.  Fans can also pick up this disc as a stand-alone feature.

On the surface, the Mets 50^th Anniversary Collector’s Set is a wonderful piece of baseball history both Mets faithful and for baseball fans in general.  It brings together half a century of this storied team’s history in one complete set.  One a deeper level, the manner in which the book and the DVD’s were packaged makes it that much more of a special set.  It would have been so easy for MLB Productions and A&E Home Video to have made this into a standard ten disc box set with a small booklet included.  But both organizations took the road less travelled instead, opting for something more standout.  What audiences get in this set instead of a standard box set is a slim coffee table style book that safely houses the complete tend-disc collector’s DVD set at the same time.  What this does is it optimizes the full fan experience for the Mets’ legions.  Instead of being placed aside like so many box sets, Mets fans can display this set with pride right on their coffee table, openly showing their allegiance.  The Mets’ next fifty year mark is far away.  In the meantime, this is a set that can be passed on to another generation to enjoy for the next fifty years. The Mets 50^th Anniversary Collector’s Set is available in stores and online now.  It can be ordered online via MLB Productions’ website at http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13117891.

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/381028148587141.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

A&E Entertainment, MLB Productions’ latest is another nine innings of greatness

Courtesy: A&E Entertainment/MLB Productions/New Video

Baseball is touted by the sports world as THE “Great American Past time.”  And it’s with good reason that through so many difficult times, baseball has maintained that reputation.  This great game has given fans so many wonderful memories throughout its history.  Those memories are what lead so many young hopeful athletes to take to baseball mounds all over the country each year.  Now, A&E Entertainment and MLB Productions in partnership with New Video have brought those fans another great memory.  The companies have “teamed” (yes bad pun) up to bring fans another of baseball’s greatest games in the first ever No Hitter in the half century history of the New York Mets. 

This back and forth game went scoreless in its first three innings, with a tough pitching duel on both sides.  The Mets’ were led by pitcher Johan Santana, who would eventually lead the team to that No Hitter.  However, it wasn’t Santana alone that led the Mets to victory in that Friday night game from earlier this year.  Mets center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis fired the first salvo from the Mets’ batters with a base hit.  David Wright, Lucas Duda, and Daniel Murphy followed respectively with their own contributions in the fourth inning and then again in the sixth.  It was Duda’s three-run homer in the sixth that really put the Mets safely ahead of the Cards that night.  Shortstop Omar Quintanilla and Santana contributed in the seventh with a base hit and a sacrifice bunt in that order.  Daniel Murphy played a big role in the seventh, bringing in two men after Andres Torres, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, and David Wright were all walked.  Wright’s walk forced in the team’s sixth run.

The three runs scored in the seventh would be the last the Mets would get in this timeless matchup.  But it would also be all that the team needed.  That offense, combined with Johan Santana’s perfect pitching, made this a game that Mets fans and baseball fans in general will love watching over and over again. 

The game itself is an important moment in sports history.  The presentation on this new DVD makes the game all the more worth adding to one’s sports library.  As with the other “Greatest Games” selections, fans can choose not only which inning to watch, but even which half of each inning.  Viewers can even opt to watch the whole game in its entirety as it was originally broadcast on SportsNet New York (SNY).  That is, save for the commercials.  That’s another added bonus.

Whether it be for the ability to watch select innings and inning halves or the game itself, this historic game is a must for any baseball fan’s home library.  It’s a game that fans can pass on from one generation to the next, and so on; keeping alive what makes baseball so great.  The DVD can be ordered online at http://shop.mlb.com. 

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Philip Sayblack can be contacted at psayblack@wnct.com

Baseball’s Greatest Games Collector’s Edition is a Grand Slam

Courtesy: A&E Entertainment/MLB Productions

Major League Baseball is almost to its halfway point for the 2012 season.  The annual All Star Game, which marks the halfway point of the season, is only two weeks from today.  So what better way to get excited about the big game than with a collection of some of the greatest games in the history of baseball? 

Baseball’s Greatest Games:  Collector’s Edition is the ultimate archive for hardcore baseball fans and sports historians.  This set includes ten of the greatest games in the history of America’s past time.  It takes viewers on a ride from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ miracle win in game Seven of the 1960 World Series to the now legendary Game Six of the 1975 World Series between the Red Sox and Reds, and all the way to the epic comeback of the Red Sox as they faced the New York Yankees in Game Four of the 2004 ALCS and broke the “Curse of The Bambino.”  There are other stops along the way, too, including the now infamous Game Six from the 1986 World Series between the Red Sox and Mets that made Bill Buckner one of baseball’s most wanted among fans.

The whole collection kicks off with Game Seven in the 1960 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.  What makes this such a legendary game was that the Pirates had managed to tie the series up at three games each after struggling at first.  Everybody thought the Pirates were done early on in that series.  But Game Seven changed sports history forever when Bill Mazeroski took to the plate and nailed one over the head of Yogi Berra to bring the Pirates one of the team’s biggest ever wins.  Fans will revel in the extra commentary on the game included on the bonus eleventh disc.  Mazeroksi and his friends discuss the game winning homer, and why it was so special coming from “Maz” as he was nicknamed.  His friends discuss how humble Mazeroski was throughout his career and how he was more well known for his fielding than for his batting.  Those factors, combined with the fact that the Pirates came from behind in the series overall to win it all makes this truly one of the greatest games of all time.

Game Seven of the 1960 World Series is just one of the amazing moments in baseball history included in this mega grand slam of a set.  Another of the really amazing moments included in the set is the win by the Boston Red Sox over the Cincinnati Reds in Game Six of the 1975 World Series.  There were a lot of factors that made this such an amazing game, regardless of which team fans support.  As Pete Rose himself notes in the interviews on the bonus disc, a big part of what made this a legendary game was that it had a “Superbowl Flavor.”  His comparison makes sense.  Both teams had superstar lineups.  And that the series had to be held back a few days because of rain only served to make the stories that much more plentiful.  Both he and former Red Sox star Fred Lynn note that this was really the game that skyrocketed baseball to the upper echelons of sports at the time.

The all star lineup and weather issues weren’t all that made Game Six of the 1975 World Series the mega game that it still is today.  The two teams fought a tough battle for twelve innings before Carlton Fisk came up in the 12th inning and slammed the game winning homer to lift the Red Sox over the Reds 7-6.  Of course, the Reds still went on to win the series and the MLB championship that year.  That’s a whole other story in itself.  But hearing Fisk himself talk about his realization that he didn’t really appreciate the magnitude of what he’d done at the time adds another dimension to the enjoyment of the game.  As with other interviews, this is included on the set’s bonus eleventh disc.

The Red Sox make more than one appearance in this collector’s set.  Actually they have more appearances in the set than any other team.  New York comes in second with three games listed.  And speaking of New York, the whole set closes out with the now historic 2004 ALCS matchup between the Red Sox and Yankees in which the Red Sox finally broke the “Curse of The Bambino.”  The Yankees were leading the ALCS series three games to none against the Red Sox.  But Game Four changed everything.  Just as the Red Sox ’75 matchup against the Reds went twelve innings, so did this matchup.  The difference is that thanks to a huge blast from David Ortiz in the 12th inning, the Red Sox began a turnaround that would eventually result in the Red Sox winning the series and then going on to take down the Cardinals in the World Series.  What makes this game even more amazing is that it was the first time in the history of Major League Baseball that any team had come from a three games to none deficit to eventually win the series.  Red Sox fans will revel in re-living every hit and every out right to the last as they watch this game any time they want in its entirety, sans commercials.

The history of Major League Baseball is loaded with moments that are favorites for fans of all ages.  And the games listed here are without a doubt some of those unforgettable moments in time.  And as already ntoed, they are only a small portion of what makes this set a must have for any true baseball fan and sports historian.  There are seven other equally momentous games that fill out the set.  And as the ones listed here, they are ones that will live on forever for many more generations to come, thanks now to A&E TV and MLB Productions.  Fans can get this set for their favorite sports fan online now at amazon.com or via MLB.com at http://shop.mlb.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=706121&cp=2366583.

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141.  Fans can also keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Baseball’s Greatest Games Collector’s Edition is a grand slam

Courtesy: A&E Entertainment/MLB Productions

Major League Baseball is almost to its halfway point for the 2012 season.  The annual All Star Game, which marks the halfway point of the season, is only two weeks from today.  So what better way to get excited about the big game than with a collection of some of the greatest games in the history of baseball? 

Baseball’s Greatest Games:  Collector’s Edition is the ultimate archive for hardcore baseball fans and sports historians.  This set includes ten of the greatest games in the history of America’s past time.  It takes viewers on a ride from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ miracle win in game Seven of the 1960 World Series to the now legendary Game Six of the 1975 World Series between the Red Sox and Reds, and all the way to the epic comeback of the Red Sox as they faced the New York Yankees in Game Four of the 2004 ALCS and broke the “Curse of The Bambino.”  There are other stops along the way, too, including the now infamous Game Six from the 1986 World Series between the Red Sox and Mets that made Bill Buckner one of baseball’s most wanted among fans.

The whole collection kicks off with Game Seven in the 1960 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.  What makes this such a legendary game was that the Pirates had managed to tie the series up at three games each after struggling at first.  Everybody thought the Pirates were done early on in that series.  But Game Seven changed sports history forever when Bill Mazeroski took to the plate and nailed one over the head of Yogi Berra to bring the Pirates one of the team’s biggest ever wins.  Fans will revel in the extra commentary on the game included on the bonus eleventh disc.  Mazeroksi and his friends discuss the game winning homer, and why it was so special coming from “Maz” as he was nicknamed.  His friends discuss how humble Mazeroski was throughout his career and how he was more well known for his fielding than for his batting.  Those factors, combined with the fact that the Pirates came from behind in the series overall to win it all makes this truly one of the greatest games of all time.

Game Seven of the 1960 World Series is just one of the amazing moments in baseball history included in this mega grand slam of a set.  Another of the really amazing moments included in the set is the win by the Boston Red Sox over the Cincinnati Reds in Game Six of the 1975 World Series.  There were a lot of factors that made this such an amazing game, regardless of which team fans support.  As Pete Rose himself notes in the interviews on the bonus disc, a big part of what made this a legendary game was that it had a “Superbowl Flavor.”  His comparison makes sense.  Both teams had superstar lineups.  And that the series had to be held back a few days because of rain only served to make the stories that much more plentiful.  Both he and former Red Sox star Fred Lynn note that this was really the game that skyrocketed baseball to the upper echelons of sports at the time.

The all star lineup and weather issues weren’t all that made Game Six of the 1975 World Series the mega game that it still is today.  The two teams fought a tough battle for twelve innings before Carlton Fisk came up in the 12th inning and slammed the game winning homer to lift the Red Sox over the Reds 7-6.  Of course, the Reds still went on to win the series and the MLB championship that year.  That’s a whole other story in itself.  But hearing Fisk himself talk about his realization that he didn’t really appreciate the magnitude of what he’d done at the time adds another dimension to the enjoyment of the game.  As with other interviews, this is included on the set’s bonus eleventh disc.

The Red Sox make more than one appearance in this collector’s set.  Actually they have more appearances in the set than any other team.  New York comes in second with three games listed.  And speaking of New York, the whole set closes out with the now historic 2004 ALCS matchup between the Red Sox and Yankees in which the Red Sox finally broke the “Curse of The Bambino.”  The Yankees were leading the ALCS series three games to none against the Red Sox.  But Game Four changed everything.  Just as the Red Sox ’75 matchup against the Reds went twelve innings, so did this matchup.  The difference is that thanks to a huge blast from David Ortiz in the 12th inning, the Red Sox began a turnaround that would eventually result in the Red Sox winning the series and then going on to take down the Cardinals in the World Series.  What makes this game even more amazing is that it was the first time in the history of Major League Baseball that any team had come from a three games to none deficit to eventually win the series.  Red Sox fans will revel in re-living every hit and every out right to the last as they watch this game any time they want in its entirety, sans commercials.

The history of Major League Baseball is loaded with moments that are favorites for fans of all ages.  And the games listed here are without a doubt some of those unforgettable moments in time.  And as already ntoed, they are only a small portion of what makes this set a must have for any true baseball fan and sports historian.  There are seven other equally momentous games that fill out the set.  And as the ones listed here, they are ones that will live on forever for many more generations to come, thanks now to A&E TV and MLB Productions.  Fans can get this set for their favorite sports fan online now at amazon.com or via MLB.com at http://shop.mlb.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=706121&cp=2366583.

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141.  Fans can also keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.