Jim Bouton's 1970 book "Ball Four" was groundbreaking, shocking, and controversial. It sold in the millions. 40 years later, Bouton and former teammates spin hilarious stories from behind baseball's cloistered clubhouses, giving a rare glimpse inside Major League baseball in the 1960s. The book's cultural impact is examined by filmmaker and former pro baseball player Ron Shelton ("Bull Durham"), author Jean Hastings Ardell, and David Kipen, former director of literature for the NEA.
The life and times of New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra, a 10 time World Series champion whose unique personality and unforgettable Yogi-isms sometimes got in the way of his being recognized as one of baseball’s greatest players.
Documentary about legendary first baseman, of the New York Yankees, Don Mattingly.
With one swing of a bat, Bobby Thomson became a legend. His dramatic home run on October 3, 1951, led the New York Giants to win the National League pennant over the rival Brooklyn Dodgers. This documentary looks at the teams, personalities and events that combined to create one of the most heated pennant races ever witnessed...one that ended with an unforgettable homer.
Babe Ruth set a record in 1927 by hitting 60 home runs in one season. 34 years later, Roger Maris broke that record. Another 37 years passed before that record was broken by Mark McGwire. Five days after McGwire's feat, Sammy Sosa broke the brand new record. And the race was on! Fans watched breathlessly as the record passed between the two men and time left in the season dwindled. Relive it all, from Ruth, to Maris, to the final days of the 1998 Sosa/McGwire slug-fest.
100 Years of Wrigley Field celebrates a century of the greatest moments and best personalities of the ballpark on Chicago's North Side.
In 1987, a team of outsiders attempt to break a hallowed baseball record in a desperate bid for fame, fortune, and careers in the major leagues. Even if they succeed, no athlete can play forever — and what comes after the death of a dream?
Chronicling Latin baseball players in the minor leagues as they experience the ups and downs of pursuing the dream of playing in the Major Leagues.
Chronicling the Mariners' memorable run to their first-ever AL West title in 1995, when a team led by Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson helped keep baseball in the Pacific Northwest and punctuated the season with a stirring ALDS win over the Yankees.
In December 2021, Hideki Kuriyama began devoting his days to one singular goal: hoisting the championship trophy at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. How did he mold his players into one of the best and strongest Samurai Japan teams in history? A close-up documentary that looks back on Samurai Japan's path to becoming world champions, along with valuable behind-the-scenes footage captured by the team's dedicated crew.
Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on LSD, then worked for decades counseling drug abusers. Dock's soulful style defined 1970s baseball as he kept hitters honest and embarrassed the establishment. An ensemble cast of teammates, friends, and family investigate his life on the field, in the media, and out of the spotlight.
Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.
Just weeks after losing to the New York Yankees in the 2003 ALCS, the Boston Red Sox made it their mission to get the bat they needed to put them over the top. That bat belonged to reigning AL MVP Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers. Deals were offered. Plans were made. Everything was done. Rodriguez was headed to Fenway Park. Until he wasn’t. This is the story of the 36 hours when the best player in the league went from savior of the Red Sox to latest weapon of the Yankees.
In his own words, Sabathia narrates his story. As the highs and lows of his last season are chronicled, Sabathia looks back on his legacy as one of the game’s pre-eminent pitchers, as well as the profound challenges that shaped him, including his longtime battle with addiction that came to a head in 2015 while playing for the Yankees.
Winning their first World Series in 86 years, the Old Town Team made baseball history, and true believers throughout the entire nation. History Rings True offers complete coverage of the historic Red Sox Ring Ceremony that took place at Fenway Park on the 2005 Home Opener on April 11th 2005.
The story of Boston fans, from their "birth" as the 200 "Roxbury Rooters" in 1897 to their transformation into millions known today as RED SOX NATION. Through rare images and film the saga is told by Boston baseball legends like Johnny Pesky and Peter Gammons, historians, Red Sox players and officials, everyday fans and the Red Sox Nation members descended from the original "Rooters".
From its grand opening on April 20, 1912 Fenway has enthralled fans with its quirky shape, playing field oddities including the Pesky Pole, the Triangle, and Green Monster. John Updike called it, a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark, Hitters call it a haven, and the legions of passionate fans who inhabit Red Sox Nation call it home. This official MLB Productions program blends stunning archival footage, rare historic interviews, and all- new exclusive interviews with current and former Red Sox players to tell the tale of this wonderful ballpark. Fenway Park the heart of Boston, New England, and all of Red Sox Nation.
An entertaining and fresh retrospective of Gibson's historic walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
Records the highs and lows of a season that came close to winning the championship. Chronicles the 40-year love affair between a struggling blue-collar city and a perfectly matched blue-collar team.
In a time when America was on the brink of modernization, Carson "Skeeter" Bigbee emerged from rural Oregon to become an embodiment of national transformation. Born to working parents in 1895, Bigbee’s life as a multi-sport athlete, a baseball star with the Pittsburgh Pirates, a World War I enlistee, and a World Series hero, intersected with America's Progressive Era, the electrification of society, the First World War, and the onset of the Great Depression. His story, from hitting the decisive run in the 1925 World Series to managing in the American Girls Professional Baseball League, is a poignant reflection of ambition, patriotism, and the resilient spirit of an ever-changing nation in the early 20th Century.