The first tow months of each new year are the most important of all for baseball fans. That is because it is during those months that news starts arriving about Major League Baseball’s spring training and regular season schedules. The league’s spring training was cancelled I 2020 and its regular season start delayed until July due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that news is finally coming out about the hopefully soon distribution of a vaccine to fight the virus, anticipation is likely building even more over what will happen with Major League Baseball’s 2021 season. With any luck, fans and teams alike will get a full season with no asterisks (unlike this recently ended season). Until then, fans will get to relive the 2020 World Series in part thank to Major League Baseball Productions and Shout! Factory. The companies have partnered once again to release a look back at MLB’s annual fall classic, this time in the form of 2020 World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers. The two-disc set, which features the program on DVD and Blu-ray separately, is a presentation that will appeal equally to Dodgers fans and baseball fans in general. That is due in no small part to the documentary’s primary feature, which is narrated by legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully. This will be discussed shortly. The bonus (secondary content) that accompanies the program builds on the appeal created through the retrospective’s primary content and makes the overall presentation that much more entertaining and engaging. It will be discussed a little later. The whole of that primary and secondary content collectively makes the set’s average price point important to address in its own way, too. It will also be discussed later. When it is considered along with the set’s overall content, the whole of this presentation proves itself such that it will keep baseball fans across the board entertained, regardless of whether MLB’s 2021 season starts on time (which hopefully it will).
MLB Productions and Shout! Factory’s annual World Series retrospective presentation, this year focusing on the 2020 World Series, is a work that is certain to appeal to baseball fans, regardless of team affiliation and loyalty. That is proven in no small part to the documentary’s primary feature. The production, narrated by legendary Dodgers voice Vin Scully, takes audiences through the back and forth six-game battle between the Dodgers and Rays. Adding to Scully’s narration — which shows zero bias toward the Dodgers at any point (audiences will appreciate this aspect of Scully’s work very much) — was commentary from members of the Rays and Dodgers, recalling thoughts and emotions on both sides of the ball as the series progressed. From the momentous “battle of the bats” in the series’ fourth game, to the controversial decision by Tampa Bay Manager Kevin Cash to pull pitcher Blake Snell in the sixth inning of Game Six, to the impact of Mookie Betts for Los Angeles throughout the series, and more, audiences are presented a rich picture of the action throughout the series thanks to that first hand insight and narration. The cinematography that pairs with Scully’s narration adds to the experience.
Media access to the World Series was limited on and off the field due to COVID-19 restrictions, but despite that, enough footage was captured that audiences still managed to see firsthand, the highs and lows for each team. Even with restrictions in place due to COVID-19, the cameras were still fully able to capture all of the on- and off-field action. The editing of that footage helped tell the series’ story. Audiences will watch in awe as certain pitches make their way past the batters and as the fielding units make their way to the walls, making seemingly impossible leaps to catch the balls. Even seeing the looks on the players’ faces throughout the course of the series adds to the impact of the cinematography. The editing of that footage into the presentation shown here works with Scully’s narration to make the program’s pacing solid from start to end. According to information on the program’s case, its run time is 90 minutes. That run time passes by with ease thanks to everything noted here collectively. The result is a primary presentation that ensures this retrospective will keep audiences watching time and again as they count down to the start of the 2021 season.
The primary presentation featured in 2020 World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers is undeniably important in its own way to the whole of this program. As important as it is to the retrospective’s whole, it is just one aspect worth examining in the presentation. The bonus content that accompanies the set’s primary content adds its own share of entertainment and engagement for audiences. The whole of that content opens with the “How The yGot There” featurette. Clocking in at approximately five minutes (give or take a few seconds here and there) this featurette chronicles the Dodgers season-long run to its first MLB title in 32 years. One of the biggest highlights of the featurette is the team’s acquisition of star Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox during the off-season. His addition to the team clearly made a big difference, as this featurette shows. Just as interesting to see in this presentation is the tension between the Dodgers and their rivals, the San Diego Padres as the season progressed. Obviously there was no love lost between the two teams, as the documentary shows. The brief, but still rich presentation culminates with the final out in the sixth game of the World Series.
The “Clinching Moments” and “Season Highlights” that accompany the bigger look back take audiences back through some of the biggest moments of the season and post season for the Dodgers, including one game in particular that saw Betts go yard three teams. Other notable highlights are big moments from Betts’ teammates, such as Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, and Clayton Kershaw. Everything is rounded out by the Game Six post game interviews with the Dodgers’ players. The interviews, conducted by on-air staff with MLB Network and Fox Sports, show an interesting picture of calm from the team members. One would think that after a drought of 32 years without a championship, the team members would be jubilant and excited even in the interviews. Given, they were clearly upbeat, the control in their presentation is something to behold, considering everything going on around them. One of the most interesting questions that came up (multiple times) was the thoughts of the Dodgers; team members about that controversial move by the Rays’ manager to pull Snell. It shows the clear impact that Snell had in the series. Betts’ response to the question is telling in itself. He took the high road and refused to let the announcers try to pull him into the controversy, which is a wonderful show of his professionalism. The interviews in whole are a great accent to the bonus content that opens with the “How They Got There” featurette, showing that the sequencing of the bonus content is just as important as the content itself. It helps to enrich the story of the 2020 World Series even more. When this content and its sequencing is considered along with the set’s primary content, the whole of the set’s content gives audiences plenty to appreciate.
Considering the breadth and depth of the content featured in 2020 World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers, the double-disc set’s average price point prove to be its own positive worth noting. The average price point, using listings at Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, and Major League Baseball’s online store, is $21.70. The set is not listed through Target or Books-A-Million. The documentary’s standalone DVD presentation is listed through Target at $14.99. Speaking of the DVD, its average price point comes to $18.31. That price is obtained by adding in the aforementioned retailers’ listings along with that noted listing at Target. Amazon and Target offer the lowest DVD listing at $14.99 while MLB’s listing of $24.99 is the most expensive. Its listing of $29.99 is also the most expensive of the Blu-ray/DVD combo set price listings while Best Buy’s listing of $19.99 is in fact the best buy in this case. Considering that the Blu-ray/DVD set’s average price point barely tops the $20 mark and that the standalone DVD set’s price point comes in at just below the $20 mark, that in itself is motivation for baseball fans. Neither price will break any fan’s budget, and that together with the noted content makes the prices even more positive. Given, the singular price listings are somewhat expensive at some retailers, but the least expensive listings are below $15 (DVD) and below $20 (Blu-ray/DVD). That overall affordability is undeniably another positive to this presentation. When it is considered along with the retrospective’s overall content, the whole of the presentation leaves zero doubt as to its value for the most devoted baseball fans. It is a presentation that will keep viewers entertained and engaged as they wait for news on the start of the 2021 MLB season, especially when it is considered along with the forthcoming full, six-game World Series set that is due for release in February.
Major League Baseball Productions and Shout! Factory’s 2020 World Series retrospective 2020 World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers is a welcome presentation for Dodgers fans and baseball fans alike as they wait anxiously for news about the 2021 MLB season. That is proven in no small part through its primary feature, which chronicles in depth, all six games of this year’s World Series. The narration by legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully and the first hand accounts from team members on both sides of the ball does so much to entertain and engage audiences. The cinematography and editing that pairs with the overall story adds to the presentation’s positive impact. The average price points for the documentary’s Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and its standalone DVD presentation prove to be their own positive as do their least expensive singular listings. They are prices that will not break any viewer’s budget. Add in the amount of content in the overall presentation and that content’s depth, and those least expensive listings become even more positive. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the documentary. All things considered, 2020 World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers proves itself a great way for Dodgers fans and baseball fans alike to pass the time until Major League Baseball (hopefully) returns in March for its 2021 season.
More information on this and other titles from Shout! Factory is available online at:
Website: http://www.shoutfactory.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shoutfactoryofficial
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ShoutFactory
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