Ken Burn’s Baseball

[Barry]

Ken Burn’s Baseball
 
Ken Burn’s Baseball was a nine part, nine inning, documentary that was on PBS 30 years ago!  After the Baseball strike and the Red Sox winning in the early 2000s he added two more innings.
 
So why am I posting about it now?  Funny you should ask.
 
Ken Burns, two years ago, redid the entire production.  Originally it was broadcast in standard definition, 3 by 4, with mono sound. He redid it, two years ago, using 4K tech and 9 by 16 formatting, with DTS 5.1 sound. It has been released on Blu-Ray  and I bought a copy.
 
First, the story is not just about Baseball, but about America.  Racism and commercialism is in the background of most of the story telling. He addresses many myths, such as Doubleday, in Cooperstown, developed baseball, when it was Cartwright in Brooklyn and New Jersey that did. Like Baseball, it is not a fast moving production, it takes it time.  And I really have enjoyed it.
 
The pictures, movies, and the entire production looks just great and is no longer cramped. It is long, but does not need a pitch clock as it smoothly movies from one topic, from one era to another.  I had not seen this is many years and have just enjoyed it.  Until they showed the Red Sox beating the Yankees! This is a great set  to have.

[David Vaughn]

Barry,

Does this set also include "The 10th Inning," here was my review from about 13 years ago that appeared in Home Theater Magazine:

In 1994, Ken Burns released an 18 ½ hour documentary about the game of baseball divided into nine innings (episodes) reviewing particular eras in the game and its impact on American society. He continues the story chronicling the game from 1992-2009 with this two disc set broken into two chapters—The Top of the Tenth and The Bottom of the Tenth.
 
The top half of the inning looks at the years 1992-1999 when Barry Bonds heads home to San Francisco, the Atlanta Braves begin an era of domination with a trio of hall of fame pitchers, the after effects of a crippling labor battle between the owners and players. He then looks at how the game was rebuilt after the devastating strike with new stadiums, foreign born players, and how fans returned in droves as some sacred records were in jeopardy of being eclipsed.
 
The bottom of the inning chronicles the first decade of the 21^st century and revisits the horror of the 9/11 attacks and how the country turned to the national pastime for solace. Attendance records are shattered as the Red Sox finally break The Curse of the Bambino, Barry Bonds surpasses the single season home run record set by Mark McGuire in 1998 and he takes aim Hank Aaron's hallowed mark, but a shadow hangs over the sport with the release of the Mitchell report about the rampant use of steroids.
 
The video quality is inconsistent, which is expected given most of the footage is pre-HD that’s been upconverted to 1080i. Ample ringing plagues these segments and it doesn’t help that the footage is zoomed and cropped to fill the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Starting with the 2002 World Series, the game footage is in HD and the modern-day interviews with the commentators and players fares much better with excellent detail and color saturation. The documentary is narrarated by Keith David and his baritone voice comes through loud and clear with the front-loaded TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack.
 
Supplements include and interview with Ken burns and Lynn Novick, additional scenes, outtakes, and a look at baseball in the Dominican Republic.
 
While the birth of the United States was in 1776, our national pastime was born in 1839 in Cooperstown, NY, where Abner Doubleday is credited for inventing the game of baseball. If you’re a fan, The Tenth Inning is a great way to relive some of the most defining moments of the sport from the last 18 years.   

[bmoney]

Being a. Diehard baseball fan this set is best and dear to my heart. I’ve only managed to watch it once. But have to revisit it!

[Barry]

Yes it does include the extra innings. I should’ve made that clearer in my review. It even has all the original extra bonus material. David, I’m just thoroughly enjoying this. I remember a lot but not as much as I thought I did.

[tripplej]

When this came out, I watched all of it on PBS every night!

Now, MLB will show it during the playoffs and when available, I do watch it.

I never get bored with it.

Just an amazing documentary!