The good people at A&E, who do a large number of official Major League Baseball DVDs, from time to time contact us for product reviews and promotions. Which means we get to have fun giving away Cardinal-related DVDs to our readership, something that was very enjoyable after the 2011 season, when we gave away all sorts of World Series DVDs.
I’ve got another contest for you if you stick through this post, giving you a chance to win your copy of an iconic Cardinal game, but before I get to that disc and how you can get it, I want to review a different DVD set that I received from A&E.
The World Series: History of the Fall Classic is a four-disc set that traces the entire history of baseball’s championship game. Two discs are dedicated to a film that goes through all the various World Series, finishing up with the 2011 St. Louis victory. Narrated by Bob Costas (who I personally always enjoy listening to), there are clips and descriptions of every series, plus interview highlights with some of the people that participated in them. It’s been a while since I’ve watched this, but I’m pretty sure Ozzie Smith is one of those people who will pop up in it from time to time.
The other two discs are bonus features. I’ve not explored them fully, but just looking at the list of what’s on there makes you get excited. You can see official game programs and scorecards of various series. You can see fuller versions of those interviews. You can see the final out of different WS clinchers. There’s even some of the ceremonial first pitches, which is an interesting thought and should let you see some of the greats of the game.
This set is well worth having in your collection, no matter what team you are a fan of. (Well, I don’t know if Cub fans will find it all that intriguing, at least not after the first decade.) It’s a lot of fun and I would highlight recommend grabbing it up. There’s a lot of history and it’s great seeing some clips of the former players as well.
However, now you don’t have to worry about where you’ll put it on your shelf.
I’ve said in the past that I’d like to see MLB get more into the digital realm and they are moving in that direction. While they aren’t where I’d like them to be yet–where you could purchase any game from the season to store on your computer–there are some cool things that you can find digitally.
For example, here’s what the presser from A&E describes:
“Aside from MLB Bloopers and Prime 9: MLB Heroics, available programming includes The Best of the Home Run Derby and “Prime 9: All-Star Moments;” Official World Series Films dating back to 1947, including the 1969 and 1986 films; the first season of “This Week In Baseball,” which originally aired in 1977; a documentary offering a fresh perspective on Jackie Robinson’s life and career; recent productions including a comprehensive film chronicling every era of World Series play and documentaries created to celebrate notable anniversaries for the Mets, Astros and Red Sox; bloopers titles highlighting the funniest MLB moments; and many other titles. Any of these films can now be downloaded from the iTunes store (www.iTunes.com/MLB). Prices range from $1.99 for individual episodes of “Prime 9” and “This Week in Baseball” to $19.99 for the Official 2012 World Series Film in HD.”
Yes, that highlighted portion above is the same film I’ve been discussing in this post. I don’t know that the bonus features come with it, but being able to download the film to your computer or other device is pretty awesome. I’ve checked out that iTunes page and you can get a couple of the TWIB episodes for free, which is neat. I do hope they continue to put those out digitally, because TWIB is a great way to get a feel for the past.
So let’s get to what’s in it for you. I have one copy of the DVD/BluRay combo pack of Game 6 of the 2011 World Series. This is part of Baseball’s Greatest Games series and, well, I really don’t have to tell you more about it, do I? To win it, send me an email (cardinal70 AT gmail) telling me which game you would buy if every game was available digitally. Would it be a famous contest, maybe Cal Ripken‘s 2,132nd straight game or Mark Whiten‘s four-homer game? Or would it be something that was only important to you, like maybe a game that you were at or a game you remember watching with family on TV? Tell me what game and why, plus include your mailing address and get it to be before midnight next Saturday, July 27. I’ll pick a winner and get your information to A&E, who will send you the disc.
If you don’t win this, don’t worry. Each blog on here is going to have the opportunity to give away a copy of this DVD, so you’ll have lots of chances. Keep checking back!
