Do you love classic baseball, and, in particular, are you a hardcore Yankees or Pirates fan? Does sitting down in front of a 50-year-old baseball game define the phrase "Sunday Afternoon"? Does your heart race at the thought of watching watch Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roberto Clemente and Roger Maris play? If you answered yes to all of those questions, then you already know the drama of this game and may well want to own it.
If your not one such fan, you probably wont want to purchase this, but it does have some interesting points for more casual fans of the game (this reviewer included). It’s one of the last remaining baseball television broadcasts from its era, (accidently preserved in Bing Crosby’s wine cellar) and it’s fascinating to see how the game has changed in 50 years. There are no billboards or ads in the stadium, no on-screen data (at the end of every half inning they just cut to a shot of the scoreboard), and the game is called with much less “color” and a much greater focus on the play-by-play.
It’s not a very exciting game if you’re not invested in the result. Save the drama of the last two innings, its mostly a slug fest, and if it weren’t for the World Series winning ninth inning homerun (granted, a very exciting moment) for the casual fan its not much more than an interesting study in contrast. Still, it’s charming to listen to the old school commentary and fun to see how, without all the extra information, the narrative of the game builds more organically, almost hypnotically.
DVD Bonus Features
A whole disc's worth: a film about the world series (a highlight reel mixed with interviews and commentary), highlights of the Pirate’s 1960 season, a newsreel about the season, the world series, and brief interviews with major players both from the Yankees and the Pirates years after the game.
"Baseball's Greatest Games: 1960 World Series, Game 7" is on sale January 11, 2011 and is not rated. Sports. Starring Various.
