This is about New York teams again for much of it anyway. It starts, of course, with the Yankees again. The home run race between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle starts things off. Of course, it was the Dodgers again, fresh from New York. A focus on the great Sandy Koufax. Then there is the Pirates defeat of the Yankees, though outplayed badly in three games (someone actually called it a tragedy and Mickey Mantle cried). The sixties were the property of two franchises: The St. Louis Cardinals and the Baltimore Orioles. We got a look at Carl Yastrzemski. We got a look at Pete Rose. We got a really brief look at Stan Musial. This poor guy has been, for all practical purposes, ignored throughout this whole series, even though he broke the National League record for hits. We got a look at Bob Gibson who may have been the most frightening pitcher for anyone to bat against, ever. Casey Stengel is focused on and the hapless Mets. Of course, like they ignored the Milwaukee Braves at the end of the last episode and Lew Burdette's great achievement, they ignore the Twins, who won the pennant for the first time. Of course, about ten minutes is devoted to the 1969 Mets. If they had not been in New York, you would have not seen them on this show. Finally, Curt Flood is about to challenge the reserve clause, setting up the next episode. While there is something wonderful about this series, it becomes pretty shortsighted at times.
Review of A Whole New Ballgame
