Since Little League Baseball was founded in 1939, about 40 million kids have played the sport. The list includes future Hall of Famers like Carl Yastrzemski, Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan, and hundreds of other future Major Leaguers. But of all the kids who ever played Little League, the best of the best was a boy you’ve probably never heard of: Art “Pinky” Deras. In the summer of 1959, he led the team from Hamtramck, Mich., to the Little League World Series title, and in the process, he put together a Little League season the likes of which we might never see again. His amazing story comes to life in “The Legend of Pinky Deras: The Greatest Little-Leaguer There Ever Was,” a new film from Blue Hammer Films. Pinky received a ton of national publicity back in 1959, but then he fell off the map. In the half-century since he lit the Little League world on fire, there have been no films about him, no magazine stories, not even a single newspaper article.
Star-studded group featuring Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson, Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz to bring viewers inside Maddux’s legendary career;
100 Years of Wrigley Field celebrates a century of the greatest moments and best personalities of the ballpark on Chicago's North Side.
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.
Born in 1918 in San Diego, Williams was a latchkey child from a broken home, raised by a mother more dedicated to the Salvation Army than to her two sons, and by a father who spent more time away from home than in it. Williams found salvation by doing the one thing he loved most: hitting baseballs. In his rookie season with the Red Sox, where he would spend his entire career as a player, Williams batted .327, socked 31 homers and led the league with 145 RBI. Over the next 21 years, despite losing five seasons of his prime to active service as a U.S. Marine Corps pilot, Williams hit 521 home runs, twice captured the Triple Crown, and became the oldest man ever to win a batting title. He finished his career with a .344 lifetime batting average, was the last man to hit over .400 in a full season, batting .406 in 1941, and was a first-ballot inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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.
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.
Documentary on the life and career of Babe Ruth.
It was an all-California World Series - the first ever between two wild card teams - and both the Anaheim Angels and the San Francisco Giants were in search of a dream. The Angels were in the World Series for the first time in their 42-year history. The Giants hadn't won one since they moved to San Francisco in 1958. The result was a Fall Classic that will forever be remembered for one of the most astonishing comebacks in history.
The Houston Astros overcame the worst start in franchise history to win the National League.
"Michael Jordan Above and Beyond" provides a much-needed look at Michael Jordan's fantastic return from retirement in 1995. The first 20 minutes or so recap his retirement, attempt at minor league baseball, and his dealing with his father's murder. It picks up when it starts looking at the huge frenzy that was his return to the NBA in the Spring of 1995. It covers his mediocre first game back against the Pacers, his Friday night Chicago return against the Magic, and his subsequent return to form with a game-winning shot against Atlanta, and a career night dropping 55 on the Knicks.
This film is an intimate and moving cinematic record of Shohei Ohtani's journey to MLB stardom. A faithful portrait of his talent development and battle with injuries, and his unique mindset to become a superstar ballplayer breaking all the barriers of race, language, discipline, and culture.
Inside the life of former baseball star Curt Flood whose fight against MLB's 'Reserve Clause' led to reform, but destroyed his career.
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.
The Indians and Yankees, both in a tight race with the White Sox, met at the Polo Grounds on August 16th, 1920. In the fifth inning, Carl Mays threw one of his "submarine" pitches that hit Ray Chapman in the head. Chapman collapsed at the plate. He was rushed to the hospital and died the next day, the only Major League Baseball player ever to be killed in a game. Grief tore through Cleveland and the pivotal moment led to an explosion on and off the field. The Indians, sparked by the addition of young shortstop Joe Sewell, recovered in time to win their first World Series Title. What resulted was a rivalry that would last 100 years.
The 1995 World Series featured the two best teams in baseball. The Cleveland Indians won 100 games in a shortened season, and they made it to the World Series for the first time in 41 years. The Atlanta Braves had been here before, twice in the previous four years. With the best pitching staff in baseball, they were called the team of the '90's. Still they needed a World Series Title to claim that crown. This official documentary of the 1995 World Series includes all the dramatic moments of the six-game battle between the Indians and the Braves including: Eddie Murray's game-winning single at frenzied Jacobs Field. Orel Hershiser's gutsy performances against the incredible Greg Maddux. Dave Justice talking the talk...and then walking the walk. Tom Glavine, the series MVP, pitching one-hit baseball under phenomenal pressure.
One of sport’s first and most influential megastars, beloved baseball icon and 5-time World Series champion Reggie Jackson contemplates his legacy as a trailblazing Black athlete fighting for dignity, respect, and a seat at the table in this intimate and revealing documentary exploring his life and barrier-busting career.
An examination of the story of the infamous 1983 George Brett pine tar incident. This documentary is a behind the scenes making of a fictional film, "Tar Wars," the little known tale of the aftermath of George Brett's unforgettable blow-up.
This is a recap of the 2004 Boston Red Sox season that finished with them breaking a winless drought of 86 years by coming back against the New York Yankees and later sweeping the world series.
In honor of Homer's journey to the Hall of Fame, MLB all-stars and Springfield locals look back at the greatest corporate softball game ever played.