The New Breed

An investigation into the downfall of the Montreal Expos, Canada's first Major League Baseball team — and who was ultimately responsible.

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.

In 2014, Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West Little League became the first all-Black team to win the Little League U.S. Baseball Championship. Along the way, 13 twelve-year-old athletes from the South Side turned into media superstars—their faces were splashed across magazine covers and major TV networks, garnering them millions of fans around the country. They were even invited to the White House to meet President and Mrs. Obama. But it all came crashing down after a rival coach accused the team of breaking residential boundary rules.

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.

In this short film, two starstruck movie fans hire a tour guide and see a plethora of Hollywood stars.

Yankee Stadium has seen a plethora of legends over the franchise's storied history, but few have left a legacy as unique as Jim Abbott's. On September 4, 1993, the pitcher, who was born without a right hand, threw a no-hitter in front of the Yankee faithful. This astonishing achievement is merely one in a lifetime of perseverance, as Abbott continues to advocate for people with disabilities.

Montreal Expos star catcher Gary Carter visits Japan to learn about the customs and traditions of baseball in the Far East. He also encounters other "foreign" baseball players he once played with in the MLB.

100 Years of Wrigley Field celebrates a century of the greatest moments and best personalities of the ballpark on Chicago's North Side.

The Philadelphia Phillies 2008 World Series Collector's Edition begins where it should, with the final games in the Phillies' pre-World Series, post-season contest against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's exciting to revisit the Phillies' comeback in the eighth inning of game four, when they were down 5 to 3 but rallied on home runs by Shane Victorino and Matt Stairs. Watching winning pitcher Cole Hamels shut down the Dodgers in game five demonstrates why he was named series MVP. Moving on to the Phillies' domination over the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series, this box set neatly packages each game on its own disc in a plastic case covered in vital information: player statistics, the temperature during the game, stadium attendance, etc. Additionally, each disc includes the option to listen to alternative broadcasts of a game, one from the Phillies Radio Network, the other from the Rays' equivalent.

Jeff Santo explores the life and career of his father, Chicago Cub great Ron Santo.

The Zen of Bobby V focuses on former MLB manager Bobby Valentine and his current job managing the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan.

In late 2021, Cleveland’s baseball team was reborn as the Guardians. This documentary, directed by Lance Edmands, chronicles the saga of that name change, which has its roots in a forgotten legend named Louis Sockalexis, and the tragedy that enveloped his story more than a century ago.

"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.

Follow Willie Mays’ life both on and off the field over five decades as he navigated the American sports landscape and the country’s ever-evolving cultural backdrop, all while helping to define what it means to be one of America’s first Black sports superstars. He left an indelible mark in New York City and San Francisco, building a love affair with both cities’ fans.

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.

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.

On the evening of September 11, 1985, before a sellout crowd at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Pete Rose stood on the edge of history. With one swing he would collect more hits than anyone in the history of the game he loved. 4192: The Crowning of the Hit King is a love letter to baseball that highlights the playing career of one of the game s most honored and controversial stars. It is a story that began in 1963 when Rose ran to first base on a walk. It spanned more than two decades and brought numerous individual awards as well as three World Series titles. But there is more to this story than just awards. It is about baseball and what drove this man to chase what many thought was an unbreakable record and become The Hit King.

1969, New York City, 3 teams won World Championships, the Jets, the Mets and the Knicks.

Alaska may be best known as the land of moose, bears and intense winters, but few know about the hidden jewel that is the Alaska Baseball League. For the first time on film, Touching The Game Alaska takes a captivating inside look at this fascinating institution and its incredible history as a proving-ground for more than 500 Major Leaguers and Hall of Famers like Tom Seaver and Dave Winfield, many of whom appear in the film. This feature length documentary is highlighted by superb baseball, stunning imagery and humorous anecdotes, from planes crashing on fields during games to bear encounters to salmon fishing misadventures to the more than century old tradition of the Midnight Sun Game. Four years in the making, the film not only showcases baseball played in a place where the summer sun never sets, but also gives insight into the colorful, rugged and fiercely independent people of this frontier land.

Told with humor in the face of heartache, this acclaimed documentary, about the curse of Babe Ruth on the Boston Red Sox, combines archival footage with contemporary interviews and focuses not on the Red Sox players that have come and gone, but on the diehard fans who live their entire lives lamenting what some have come to call The Curse of the Bambino.