In today`s everchanging world, as values shift and technology surges by the moment-there isn`t a lot that stays the same. Grandfather and grandson don`t have as much to share as they once did. Major league baseball is one constant that is guaranteed to arrive every spring (well, except if there`s a contract dispute).
Rich Domich, vice president for home video for Major League Baseball goes so far to add, ”Baseball is the fabric of society.”
Domich admits that on a weekly basis baseball sometimes doesn`t do as well as football or basketball in TV ratings, but he says that baseball videos lead all other sports in total sales. In part, that`s because there are so many different videos available from Major League Baseball.
Of the six new Major League Baseball tapes available in Chicago, only two focus solely on last season, ”The 1991 World Series” and ”Baseball 1991: A Video Yearbook.” The others are a trip down memory lane, such as ”Baseball`s Greatest Moments” and ”The 50 Greatest Home Runs in Baseball History.”
”We don`t focus on action tapes as much as the other sports,” says Domich. ”Perhaps, we`ve been a little remiss, but it seems baseball fans like to look back.”
It`s ironic that a society that cares so little about history is seemingly addicted to baseball folklore. Many fans probably can`t tell you when World War I began, but know that Babe Ruth hit home run 714 on May 25, 1935.
Domich likens the nostalgic videos to listening to an old song on the radio. You remember other things going on in your life when Henry Aaron hit number 715 or for Cubs fans when their team got knocked out of the playoffs in 1989, as seen on ”The Boys of Zimmer.”
Unlike any other sport, baseball fans often recall where they saw the game, rather than the game itself.
Bob Hercules, co-owner of the Media Process Group (a Chicago production house) and director of ”The Story of America`s Classic Ball Parks,” released by Questar Video Inc., calls the experience of sitting in those parks
”downright romantic.”
”These classic ball parks helped to shape the neighborhoods, even the cities,” adds Hercules. ”And they were built specifically as ball parks not as multi-use stadiums.”
Chicago sportswriter Bill Gleason is on the classic ballpark video, and he comments, ”In Europe, they preserve places like this. They preserve their magnificent old buildings, but here they tear down everything. If we had a civilized society, these people would be sent to prison.”
Instead of focusing on fields of dreams, several Major League Baseball tapes highlight team memoirs, including the Cubs and the White Sox. Domich admits the team videos get stuck in time. For instance, the Cubs video was released in 1987, before the `89 Cubbies won the Eastern Division title.
Domich promises that if the Cubs or Sox make the World Series, Major League Baseball might just decide to invest the typical average of $5,000 to $300,000 to produce a new team tape.
Most of the Major League Baseball videos sell anywhere from 5,000 to 300,000 tapes through catalog sales and in retail outlets. However, the all-time sales record holder isn`t one of those nostalgic yarns or exhilarating action videos, it`s silly ”Super Duper Bloopers,” which sold 800,000 units. It`s no wonder, that another baseball comedy of errors was just released,
”Baseball`s Funniest Bloopers.”
There currently are 50 videos from Major League Baseball with more on the way. Domich says that he has plans to release some of baseball`s greatest games later in the season. Most Major League Baseball videos are available for purchase at Blockbuster Video (which has a special marketing arrangement with Major League Baseball), many department stores and drug stores, and for loaning at public libraries. However, even the most well-stocked store isn`t likely to have a full roster of videos. You can get a free catalog by writing: Major League Baseball Home Video, 3 Empire Blvd. South Hackensack, N.J. 07606 or order your tapes by calling 800-223-2200. For ease in ordering, we`ve included the catalog numbers with all Major League Baseball videos.
”The Story of America`s Classic Ball Parks” can be ordered by calling 800-633-5633.
What follows are descriptions the new videos released for this season by both Major League Baseball and Questar Video Inc., and some other Cubs and White Sox videos. All tapes are $19.95.
”Baseball`s Funniest Bloopers” (catalog No. 160). A montage of national anthems include many that make Roseanne Barr actually sound good. Bloopers from the last 15 years are edited together to a tongue-in-cheek operetta with lyrics such as, ”The ball goes up. The ball comes down. And no it`s not supposed to hit the ground.” Narrator Mel Allen describes some fractured flashbacks and there are outtakes from interviews. The most memorable moment is a blooper in the buff, when Steve Lyons of the White Sox nearly loses his pants after reaching first base.
”Baseball`s Greatest Moments,” (catalog No. 101). Joe DiMaggio`s 56-game hitting streak and Willie Mays` astonishing over-the-shoulder game-saving catch in the 1954 World Series are a pair of the 20 great moments featured. While it`s fun to see these highlights again, more interesting are the interviews. For instance, two all-time greats, Joe Sewell from the Yankees and Billy Herman of the Cubs, speculate about whether Babe Ruth called his home run in the 1932 World Series by pointing to the bleachers in Wrigley Field. Bobby Thompson describes his ”shot heard `round the world” game-winning home run at the old Polo Grounds in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the New York Giants a playoff victory over the Dodgers. Opposing reliever Ralph Branca recalls the moment and shrugs, ”Well, now I`m a part of history.”
”Baseball 1991: A Video Yearbook,” (catalog No. 162). Narrator Mel Allen begins, ”Every fan knows some things belong to only one season.” Last year, there was Jim Palmer`s attempted comeback in spring training, and Bo Jackson`s comeback, albeit a temporary one, with the White Sox. Among the seven no-hit contests, Dennis Martinez of the Expos tossed a perfect game, and Nolan Ryan earned a record seventh career no-hitter. Rickey Henderson of the A`s swiped his 939th stolen base, sliding by Lou Brock`s record. White Sox fans had a sinking feeling on opening day losing 16-0 after the christening of the new Comiskey Park.
”Baseball`s Record Breakers,” (catalog No. 102). If you think the Cubs have had their problems, how about those `62 Mets with a 40-120 mark, the worst ever in the big leagues. There`s Babe Ruth smacking number 714, and Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg commenting, ”People came to see him hit batting practice.” This is the video version of the baseball record book. They`re all here, from Ty Cobb`s .367 lifetime average to Pete Rose beating the odds, breaking Cobb`s all-time hit record of 4,191. It`s the obscure records that`ll impress your friends at a cocktail party or a baseball card show. For instance, who is the only person to get a hit with two different clubs in two cities on the same day? (Joel Youngblood on August 4, 1982 played for the Mets in an afternoon contest against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Later that day he was traded to the Expos, so he hopped on a place and arrived in Montreal in time for the night game).
”The Boys of Zimmer,” (catalog No. 152). 1989 was a roller coaster year for the Cubs. Starting in fourth place then climbing up then falling in the standings, fans never expected a first-place finish. Jerome Walton had a hit in a club-record 30 consecutive games (surpassing Ron Santo`s record) and won Rookie of the Year honors; Mitch ”Wild Thing” Williams led the club in saves, and Greg Maddux won 19 games. But there was no real shining star. Don Zimmer recalls what he says was a decentralized hero system. But this story ends as all Cub stories end; the Giants defeated the Cubs in the playoffs.
”Chicago and the Cubs: A Lifelong Love Affair,” (catalog No. 134). Tribune columnist Mike Royko narrates this sometimes tragic tale. After all, the Cubbies haven`t won a World Series since 1908. From 1910 to 1945, the team did win the pennant seven times, and they earned a division championships in 1984 and `89 (the `89 season came after this video was made). Great fans like Bill Murray and Ronald Reagan comment on the Cub condition. Only on a Cubs`
tape would you find bizarre memories like the college of coaches, who managed the club in the early 1960s or the fans who became a part of the games during the `69 season, known as the Bleacher Bums.
”The Chicago White Sox: A Visual History,” (catalog No. 138). Even before Bill Veeck, the White Sox had some characters. In the early 1900s, there was a pitcher who also was a part-time evangelist and a part-time dentist. In 1906, the Sox played in their first World Series, defeating the Cubs four games to two. The original Comiskey Park opened in 1910. The club made the World Series in 1917 and `19, winning the first series and losing the second. In one of the biggest scandals in the history of the game, several players accused of throwing the 1919 World Series eventually were barred from playing major-league baseball. In 1959, they were the Go-Go Sox, who lost to the Dodgers in the World Series. In 1983, the team captured the AL West crown by ”winning ugly.”
”The 1991 World Series,” (catalog No. 161). Both participants in this series were lovable come-from-behind underdogs, each finishing last the year before. Ten years from now, you can`t help but wonder if Atlanta fans`
Tomahawk chop and Minnesota boosters` waving of the white hankies won`t seem downright silly. In any case, it was a series that`ll long be remembered for its three extra-inning contests. In two games, including the deciding seventh game, John Smoltz of the Braves matched up against his boyhood idol Jack Morris of the Twins. Along with sparkplug Kirby Puckett of the Twins, usually lightweight hitters Mark Lemke of the Braves and Gene Larkin of the Twins were unlikely heroes.
”The Story of America`s Classic Ball Parks,” (Questar Video Inc.). Jeff Daniels narrates the stories of the game`s four oldest parks, Fenway Park in Boston, Tiger Stadium in Detroit, and Wrigley Field and old Comiskey Park in Chicago. Daniels strolls through Bridgeport as he talks about the old Comiskey, which was a pitcher`s park because owner Charles Comiskey was influenced by his star pitcher Ed Walsh to build it that way. Studs Terkel recalls that when the Sox won the `59 pennant, the fire commissioner ordered the blaring of air raid sirens. Thinking the Russians were on their way, several Chicagoans had heart attacks. Wrigley Field wasn`t originally built for the Cubs, it was the home of Chicago`s Federal League ball club, a competitor to the major leagues. When the Federal League went under, the Cubs moved into what was then called Cubs Park. Jack Brickhouse reminisces, telling how lights were nearly installed in 1941 and Harry Caray offers the lowdown of the local bar scene
”This Week in Baseball`s Greatest Plays,” (catalog No. 103). Young baseball fans know narrator Mel Allen`s voice from his work on the televised
”This Week in Baseball.” This video offers some of the best defensive plays from the 15-year history of the program. No-hitters saved by defensive gems, triple plays and examples of the old hidden ball trick are just some of the highlights. You`ll also see what Allen calls ”fielders with rockets in their sockets,” such as Bo Jackson and Dwight Evans.
