Courtesy: MLB Productions/A&E Home Video/Lionsgate
Major League Baseball’s 2014 season is officially in the books. The trophy’s been raised, the champagne poured, and all the gear is hung up for the year. It means baseball fans have to wait another six months to hear the crack of the bat and all of the great smells of the ballpark again. Meanwhile, the people at MLB Productions, Lionsgate, and A&E Home Video have made available for baseball fans everywhere a great way to get their baseball fix in the meantime. They have partnered to release Giants 2014 World Series Collector’s Edition. This box set is a viable candidate for every sports writer and sportscaster’s best new releases this year. The reasons for this are far more than any one person could ever discuss in a single setting. So this critic will attempt to discuss at least some of the reasons that this box set is a win itself for baseball fans regardless of their team allegiance. One reason that Giants 2014 World Series Collector’s Edition is a win is the fact that it presents every single inning of every game from the 2014 World Series. Within the context of each game, audiences can choose which inning to watch and whether to watch the top or bottom of said inning. This is the norm from Major League Baseball Productions. So it is especially nice to see that carried on in this box set. Another reason that audiences will enjoy this box set is its companion booklet. The companion booklet that comes with the Giants 2014 World Series Collector’s Edition offers a complete box score for each game. It also includes little tidbits about each game including not only the hits, .ERAs, etc. but even the games’ attendance and temperature at first pitch. It really is an in-depth companion for any hardcore baseball fan in the context of this set. Last but hardly least important worth noting of the Giants 2014 World Series Collector’s Edition is its audio settings. Audiences are not limited to just Fox’s broadcast team in following the game. Fans can watch the game and listen to the game through the call of the Royals Radio Network and the Giants Radio Network. That trio of choices is offered in every one of the World Series games, not just one. Whether it be that choice of game audio, the set’s companion booklet, or the fact that all seven games are included in whole here, each factor plays its own important role in the success of the Giants 2014 World Series Collector’s Edition. Together, they make this box set a must have for any hardcore baseball fan regardless of their team allegiance.
The first and most important reason for the success of the Giants 2014 World Series Collector’s Edition is the fact that presented in this set is the complete seven-game 2014 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals. Not one game is left out. It even includes as a bonus for baseball fans, Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the Giants and Cardinals. That was the game that boosted the Giants into the World Series. As with each of the World Series’ seven games, that game is also presented in its entirety. The fact that the series (and Game Five of the NLCS) is shown in its entirety is just the tip of the iceberg that makes the complete collection a bonus. MLB Productions has maintained its tradition of allowing audiences to choose the inning at which they want to start here. Not only that, but they can choose whether they want to start at the top or bottom of the given inning. This, too is something that MLB Productions has made a standard with each of its previous releases. So the fact that MLB Productions has continued that tradition here is a wonderful thing. It isn’t all that makes the Giants 2014 World Series Collector’s Edition a success. Audiences should also take into account the set’s companion booklet.
The companion booklet that comes with the Giants 2014 World Series Collector’s Edition is a perfect addition to the box set. It includes a complete, in-depth box score for each game. It doesn’t just give the standard score information such as .ERAs, runs, hits, etc. It also includes extra tidbits such as the game-time temperature at the time of each game’s first pitch, attendance at each game, and even specific details about certain players from both sides of the ball. It’s like having a full series program for those that could only take in the game from their living rooms and bedrooms. The fact that the people at MLB Productions would include this with the box set once again (it’s not the first time that MLB Productions has done this either) makes the box even more of a win.
The complete presentation of all seven games from the 2014 World Series is a key factor to the success of the Giants 2014 World Series Collector’s Edition. The set’s in-depth companion booklet makes the experience all the richer for baseball fans. That is because of the amount of information that is shared throughout the companion booklet. It is like having a program for those that couldn’t be at any of the games. The last factor that makes this box set a success is the trio of audio options for each game. Audiences are not relegated to listening only to Fox’s broadcast team. They are given the option of listening to the game through the call of the Royals Radio Network and the Giants Network. There are those people who actually admit to turning off a game’s audio on television and taking in the game through the call of their local radio affiliate. Now audiences can do just that without even having to turn on a radio. Again whether one is loyal to the Royals or Giants, audiences can experience the call of each game through the network of their choice. Even more impressive is that audiences can even switch between the two radio networks or Fox’s broadcast team throughout each game. They are not forced to listen to just one broadcast audio option within any game. That is a huge win for audiences even if they are not loyal to the Royals or Giants. That factor rounds out the entire box set and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that this box set is a must have for every sports writer and sports caster around the country. It is just as much of a must have for any hardcore baseball fan regardless of team allegiance.
The full seven-game presentation of the Giants 2014 World Series Collector’s Edition and its in-depth companion booklet more than make this Blu-ray box set a must have for any lover of America’s past-time. The fact that audiences can choose the inning and half of said inning at which they start viewing makes the box set even more of a hit. The multi-functional audio options offered to audiences throughout the course of those seven-games makes the box set a grand slam (bad pun fully intended). It is available now and can be ordered online direct from MLB Productions’ website at http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=51967736. More information on this and other releases from MLB Productions is available online at:
Website: http://mlbproductions.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mlbprod
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