When America Took the Field

This 100-year celebration has rare footage of Red Sox southpaw Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove. This superb documentary bridges the gap to Ted Williams, whose hitting heroics are captured in living color along with the history of Fenway Park itself, from Opening Day, 1912, through the "Impossible Dream" season of 1967.

The World Series champion Mets of 1969 and 1986 were embraced by fans for their pitching, personalities, and perseverance. In 1969, the world was mesmerized by man's first steps on the moon. The world of baseball was equally transfixed by the Mets. New York relied on pitching from Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, and the hitting of Tommie Agee and Cleon Jones to register the Club's first 100-win season. It took the 1986 Mets two games to recover from a grueling NLCS, and then the fiery Lenny Dykstra led the charge. With two road victories pushing the Fall Classic back to Shea Stadium, the stage was set for Game Six--and arguably the most remarkable comeback in baseball history...

On Oct. 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. PT, soon after Al Michaels and Tim McCarver started the ABC telecast for Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics, the ground began to shake beneath Candlestick Park. Even before that moment, this had promised to be a memorable matchup: the first in 33 years between teams from the same metropolitan area, a battle featuring larger-than-life characters and equally colorful fan bases. But after the 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake rolled through, bringing death and destruction, the Bay Area pulled together, and baseball took a backseat.

This DVD tells the story of the men who made the season memorable -- the players and personalities who made the first season at Busch Stadium unforgettable. The surprising rookies and reliable veterans, the superstars and the role-players, the fan favorites and the late-season new faces, are all saluted here, in a tribute to the heroes who brought Baseball Heaven to life and a joyful Cardinals Nation to its feet in 2006.

A look at Hall of Fame inductee Mike Piazza's improbable rise from a 62nd-round draft pick to baseball immortality.

In this animated short, Tigers ace Jack Morris recalls the adventures of getting his team pizza after winning the 1984 World Series.

An intimate, funny and compelling take on the unique relationship and shared legacy of Tommy John, the chatty Indiana lefty who won nearly 300 Major League games, and Dr. Frank Jobe, the unassuming L.A. Orthopedist who conceived and performed a revolutionary elbow operation on John in 1974.

The season's schedule for major league baseball affects the lives and moods of millions of Americans. Each year executives and managers ridicule the logic, sportswriters and broadcasters question the sanity, and athletes and fans cast blame. Yet not many people know how it is that the MLB schedule is figured out, and even fewer have any idea what is involved. The masterminds for 25 years behind this massive logistical undertaking were Henry and Holly Stephenson. A husband and wife duo working out of an upstairs bedroom in their Staten Island home with a computer, a pencil and a great deal of cooperation. How did this mom-and-pop team ever end up with the daunting and thankless job of MLB scheduling? This is the story of how the Stephensons landed their first MLB contract and became "The Schedule Makers."

Red Sox legend Ted Williams grew up in front of America during baseball’s golden age. He served his country as an ace fighter pilot in Korea and was the last man to ever hit over .400 for a season. This story isn’t about how he lived, but about the mystery surrounding his world after his death. Williams’s head (yes, his head) is preserved in cryostasis in a facility in Arizona. How this came to be remains a mystery shrouded in claims that his children mistreated him and wrapped in a notorious dirty cocktail napkin.

The film will tell the story of Mackey Sasser, a talented catcher for the New York Mets, who could hit, call pitches, block the plate and fire missiles down to second base but he couldn't throw the ball back to the pitcher. Through interviews with Mackey, his sports psychologists and commentators, as well as footage of his playing days and his treatment (which involved using a baseball to find the boyhood traumas underlying his career-ending anxiety), this program will look at the mental side of sports and probe what takes a player in and out of the "zone".

After the Chicago Cubs blow an opportunity to reach the World Series in 2003, Cubs fans blame the team's misfortune on fellow fan Steve Bartman, who interfered with a foul ball and prevented Moises Alou from making a catch.

Baseball can be a stately game. It can even seem slow and a little old-fashioned. However, this Major League Ball production, which edits together a collection of professional baseball players committing errors, blunders, collisions, tumbles, stumbles, and pratfalls, makes it look like the Keystone Kops have taken up America's Pastime. And that tends to make people laugh. Includes a segment titled "The Field of Bad Dreams."

The story of Baseball Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg, the first major Jewish baseball star in the Major Leagues, is told through archival film footage and interviews with fans, former teammates, friends, and family. As a great first baseman with the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg endured antisemitism and became a hero and source of inspiration throughout the Jewish community, not incidentally leading the Tigers to Major League dominance in the 1930s.

In Fernando Nation, Mexican-born and Los Angeles-raised director Cruz Angeles traces the history of a community that was torn apart when Dodger Stadium was built in Chavez Ravine and then revitalized by one of the most captivating pitching phenoms baseball has ever seen. Nicknamed “El Toro” by his fans, Fernando Valenzuela ignited a fire that spread from LA to New York—and beyond. He vaulted himself onto the prime time stage and proved with his signature look to the heavens and killer screwball that the American dream was not reserved for those born on U.S. soil. In this layered look at the myth and the man, Cruz Angeles recalls the euphoria around Fernando’s arrival and probes a phenomenon that transcended baseball for many Mexican-Americans. Fernando Valenzuela himself opens up to share his perspective on this very special time. Even 20 years later, “Fernandomania” lives.

When the night of October 16, 2004 came to a merciful end, the Curse of the Bambino was alive and well. The vaunted Yankee lineup, led by A-Rod, Jeter, and Sheffield, had just extended their ALCS lead to three games to none, pounding out 19 runs against their hated rivals. The next night, in Game 4, the Yankees took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, then turned the game over to Mariano Rivera, the best relief pitcher in postseason history, to secure yet another trip to the World Series. But after a walk and a hard-fought stolen base, the cold October winds of change began to blow. Over four consecutive days and nights, this unlikely group of Red Sox miraculously won four straight games to overcome the inevitability of their destiny. Major League Baseball Productions will produce a film in "real-time" that takes an in-depth look at the 96 hours that brought salvation to Red Sox Nation and made baseball history in the process.

Love them or hate them, the Yankees dominated baseball for more than four decades, then sagged under ownership by CBS until a 42-year-old shipbuilder named George Steinbrenner led a purchase of the team in 1973. He turned that $10m investment into a billion-dollar business, and the 'House that Ruth Built' inspired generations of fans. Deteriorating facilities and changing revenue streams inspired Steinbrenner to build an impressive new stadium marking the end of one grand era and the beginning - perhaps - of another.

Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: Of the Father and of the Son

Major League Baseball has been transformed by the influx of Cuban players such as Aroldis Chapman, Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu. But a special debt of gratitude is owed to two half-brothers, whose courage two decades ago paved the way for their stardom. "Brothers in Exile" tells the incredible story of Livan and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, who risked their lives to get off the island.

Part of ESPN's 30 for 30 Shorts. On October 30, 2001, with the United States of America still reeling from the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, George W. Bush took to the mound at Yankee Stadium to throw the "first pitch" of the 2001 World Series' third game. Includes interviews with former United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice; former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani; Yankees shortstop, Derek Jeter; former Yankees manager, Joe Torre; former United States Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet; members of the Bush family; and the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush.

Fans and ballplayers have congregated for more than 80 years to witness history... they cheer their hearts out, realize their dreams and heal their souls in this ultimate baseball cathedral. Yankee Stadium has meant so much to so many. Babe Ruth christened 'The House That Ruth Built' with the first home run on opening day in 1923. Yankee Stadium has since seen it all. From World Series championships to pitching perfection; from tear-wrenching good-byes to chances for redemption... Yankee Stadium has witnessed the wonder that baseball has to offer, treating its fans to a seemingly endless list of memorable moments.