Reel World: Batter Up
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Grab your peanuts and popcorn, March 28, 2024, is opening day for Major League Baseball.
As a small child I remember watching the Chicago White Sox with my grandpa, thus installing a lifelong enjoyment of watching baseball, and silently rooting for the White Sox (his favorite team). Although many of us can’t catch a professional game in person, we may be able to watch games at home or listen to a game on the radio. While waiting for the opening pitch, scoop up some our many baseball related DVDs. Here are some of my favorites to get you started.
The League (2023)
This documentary celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball's triumphs and challenges through the first half of the 20th century. The story is told through previously unearthed archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with legendary players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neil – whose early careers paved the way for the Jackie Robinson era – as well as celebrated Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. The League explores Black baseball as an economic and social pillar of Black communities and a stage for some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game, while also examining the unintended consequences of integration.
Baseball: The History of America’s Most Beloved Pastime (2020)
Learn about baseball's history, highest-profile moments and what makes this sprot so attractive to American fans year after year.
50 Summers (2020)
Follow Minor League Baseball's evolution over the last half century through the ups and downs of the Kansas City Royals' Omaha affiliate as they kick-off their historic 50th season – the longest in all of Triple A baseball. The film goes deeper than just Omaha, providing an in-depth look at the changing business of minor league baseball. You'll see interviews with George Brett, Warren Buffett, Alex Gordon, Jack McKeon, Branch B. Rickey, and dozens of MiLB executives. 50 Summers also pulls back the curtain on game-day life for the small, passionate front office staff on Opening Day. Narrated by Rob Riggle.
Play Ball! (2019)
Change the way you think about baseball as a guide from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum covers the fascinating evolution of America's national pastime. These 24 lectures paint a portrait of baseball's remarkable past, taking viewers from the decades before the Civil War to the pivotal year of 1920, the film strikes a perfect balance between sports lore and cultural history.
More baseball
Still need to experience a game. Scout out our local up-and-coming talent. Take in a game at Washburn University, one of our local high schools, or the Ken Berry and SCABA leagues complexes. Who knows, one of those athletes may hit the big leagues and you can say you saw them play when they were just starting out.
Want more history and enjoy museums? Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum just an hour’s drive east of us in Kansas City.
The big show is about to get started, batter up!
