MLBN Presents: Dusty Baker Makes History with Dodgers
Posted: July 1, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, documentaries, Dusty Baker, history, Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports Leave a commentHere’s a fun documentary short about Dusty Baker. I had never stopped to think about the origins of the high five before. It’s one of those things that I always took for granted, but I guess that, like all things, it had to start somewhere.
The Battle of Chavez Ravine
Posted: May 24, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chavez Ravine, documentaries, history, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, Missing Chapter, MLB, politics, racism, sports, Vox Leave a commentThe move of the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles was before my time, and I sheepishly have to confess that I was not aware of this bit of history before I came across this short documentary by Vox. While these sorts of events are certainly not unique to Los Angeles, I do think it is important to ensure that episodes like this stay at the forefront of the public consciousness (or get introduced to folks who, like me, are not aware of these kinds of details).
Bo Jackson documentary
Posted: November 8, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, Bo Jackson, documentaries, Kansas City Royals, Major League Baseball, MLB, National Football League, NFL, Oakland Raiders, sports Leave a commentThis documentary on the unstoppable Bo Jackson is a lot of fun to watch. Holy smokes, what an athlete.
Nolan Ryan documentary
Posted: June 18, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, biographies, documentaries, George W. Bush, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, Nolan Ryan, sports 2 CommentsThis has to be the cheesiest documentary I have ever watched, but that characteristic actually made it pretty fun. As you’ll see, the cheese just oozes right from the intro, which I imagine is due in part to the era in which the film was made, while Ryan was still playing ball. (Seeing a young George W. Bush with dark hair was a little trippy, but not in an intentional way by the filmmakers.) Nevertheless, this video provides a great look at Ryan’s impressive career.
Polo Grounds documentary
Posted: May 26, 2020 Filed under: 19th Century, 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, documentaries, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, New York Giants, Polo Grounds, sports 2 CommentsHere’s a delightful little documentary about the Polo Grounds. I’ve always loved the metaphor of a baseball stadium as a church or cathedral. I feel the same way about Kauffman Stadium every time I attend a Royals game.
It’s always a shame when stadiums like this get torn down. I understand that progress sometimes dictates the need for such things, but so much history gets lost in the process, too.
Lost Baseball Teams
Posted: May 12, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, Boston Braves, documentaries, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, Philadelphia Athletics, sports, St. Louis Browns Leave a commentWhile this is far from a comprehensive collection of “lost” teams in baseball history, this short clip provides an interesting look at the St. Louis Browns, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Athletics. Being the number two team in your own city is never an easy position to overcome.
SportsCentury: Joe DiMaggio
Posted: March 28, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, documentaries, ESPN, history, Joe DiMaggio, Major League Baseball, Marilyn Monroe, MLB, New York Yankees, sports 3 CommentsHere’s a documentary on Joe DiMaggio by ESPN that aired in 1999 as part of the SportsCentury series. It’s obviously an abbreviated documentary, not going into a lot of depth, but it is still certainly worth a watch.
Mickey Mantle: The Definitive Story
Posted: November 27, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, biography, documentaries, history, Major League Baseball, Mickey Mantle, MLB, New York Yankees, sports, videos Leave a commentI can’t help but chuckle inwardly a little bit whenever a documentary or book declares itself “definitive” or something similar (really, can any biographical account ever truly be definitive?). Nevertheless, this documentary on Mickey Mantle is a good one, and a person can get a good solid overview of his life and career from it.
Even better, if you find yourself unable to get your hands on a copy, you can watch the film through YouTube.
Pride and Perseverance
Posted: November 24, 2019 Filed under: 19th Century, 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, Bob Mitchell, Branch Rickey, Buck O'Neil, Bud Selig, Cool Papa Bell, Dave Winfield, documentaries, history, Jackie Robinson, John Miles, Major League Baseball, MLB, Moses Fleetwood Walker, Negro Leagues, Rube Foster, sports, Ted Radcliffe, Willie Mays 2 CommentsThis weekend I watched a short documentary produced by Major League Baseball, Pride and Perseverance: The Story of the Negro Leagues. While the time period covered in the documentary spans from Moses Fleetwood Walker playing major league ball in the 1880s on up to the induction of Negro League players into the Baseball Hall of Fame starting in 1971, the documentary focuses primarily on the story of the Negro Leagues.
Dave Winfield narrates the documentary, and it includes footage from Negro League games, as well as some Major League games. It also features interviews with Negro Leagues players, including Buck O’Neil, Bob Mitchell, Willie Mays, John “Mule” Miles, Cool Papa Bell, and Ted Radcliffe. The interviews highlight just how good many Negro Leagues players really were, especially compared to white Major Leaguers, and it’s a lot of fun to see how much these guys light up when they talk about the level of talent.
The documentary touches on the racial struggles faced by black players. For example, many players accepted the fact that they would have to go around to the backs of restaurants to get food, and it was not uncommon to sleep on the bus because the hotels in a given town would not give them rooms. Nevertheless, the players talk about how much fun they had traveling and playing ball. The eventual recruitment of Jackie Robinson by Branch Rickey to break the color barrier, of course, receives due attention.
Overall, Pride and Perseverance is a fantastic overview of the history of the Negro Leagues. For a documentary that runs less than an hour long, it manages to cram a lot of interesting information into the film. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Nokona baseball gloves
Posted: June 29, 2019 Filed under: 21st Century, Baseball 101 | Tags: Baseball, Baseball equipment, business, documentaries, Nokona, sports Leave a commentThis little documentary is less than seven minutes long, and it is a fun watch. Not only do you learn some things about Nokona baseball gloves, you get to watch the process of a ball glove getting made. And I love the fact that the work shirts worn by Nokona employees are baseball jerseys.
