A review of Ken Burns’ “Baseball” (PBS)

“♪ Katie Casey was baseball mad,
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev'ry sou
Katie blew. ♪

♪ On a Saturday her young beau
Called to see if she'd like to go
To see a show, but Miss Kate said 'No,
I'll tell you what you can do:' ♪ ”

– The unknown first verse of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” (1908)

When Ken Burns' “The Civil War” came out in 1990, it was the most popular program in PBS history; and it still holds that record today. This program received significant critical acclaim, and it certainly deserved this acclaim. But when Ken Burns was asked what he was going to do next, he was met with raised eyebrows when he said “baseball.” For many people, baseball seems like something less than a “serious” historical topic; and probably seemed like a waste of Ken Burns' talent to boot. But to me, this is no “anticlimax” – this is a legitimate historical topic in its own right. You can learn a lot about the history of America by studying the history of its baseball, I think – at least, for the periods after baseball was invented. I will return to this theme multiple times in this post, as I give some related anecdotes from baseball history. Suffice it to say for now that it gives some great insights into this country; and that if you really want to understand America, you would do well to study this game in detail.

National League Baltimore Orioles, 1896

Christy Mathewson, known as “The Christian Gentleman”

National League formed 1876, American League formed 1901, and the two leagues combined together in 1903

The first episode begins with a great introduction that pulls you into the series. I've returned to it many times over the years, since it helps to communicate what baseball is about. The rest of the first “inning” (since that's what each episode is called) talks about baseball history before 1900, including how the game of baseball was invented. They also cover the formation of the National League in 1876 in the first “inning.” The rest of the “innings” each focus on a single decade, with the second “inning” going from about 1900 to 1910. This episode covers the formation of the American League in 1901, and the combining of the two leagues into a league called “Major League Baseball” in 1903. The writing of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is also discussed here, since the song was written in 1908 (in the period that this episode covers). This song is played many times throughout the series, in different styles to reflect the different time periods being depicted here. The song is played in happy moods to reflect great excitement, and in sadder moods to reflect somber episodes like the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. Their coverage of this infamous gambling scandal is worthy of special note here, since the gamblers paid the players of the Chicago White Sox to deliberately lose ballgames. This allowed the gamblers to win enormous amounts of money by betting against their team, and allowed the players to gain money from cheating in this infamous way. When it came out that the players had deliberately lost the World Series in 1919, the public confidence in Major League Baseball reached an all-time low. The public thus had a hard time forgiving this scandal for a long time, but the sport was fortunately saved by the advent of Babe Ruth in the 1920's. This popular player is still the icon of many schoolchildren worldwide, and is thus covered in great detail in this series.

Chicago White Sox team photo, 1919

Babe Ruth, possibly the most famous player in baseball history

Segregated leagues before 1947, the advent of Jackie Robinson, and the integration of baseball

Before Jackie Robinson broke the sport's color barrier in 1947, professional baseball was segregated in the United States; with a separate league for whites and others (called the “Major Leagues”), and a separate league for blacks calling itself the “Negro Leagues.” (The word “Negro” was considered non-offensive at this time.) This documentary gives extensive coverage of the “Negro Leagues,” many of whose players have now been inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. There is coverage of these black leagues throughout the early episodes, but they become particularly prominent in the 1930's episode, which is appropriately titled “Shadow Ball” (due to its difficulty escaping the shadow of larger white leagues). The 1940's episode covers Jackie Robinson, and the integration of baseball following his breaking of the color barrier in 1947. This was, of course, long before the civil rights movement of the 1960's; and a major event in American race relations as a whole. Baseball has long been something of a prism through which these larger events can be understood, and this profoundly conservative game thus managed to be years ahead of its time.

Jackie Robinson, the man who permanently broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball

Josh Gibson, one of the most famous players from what was then called the “Negro Leagues”

The rare problems of the series, and comments on the good coverage of the players' unions

My complaints about the later episodes are both common ones: too much East Coast bias when the series hits the sixties, and too little coverage of the seventies and eighties. Most of the episodes focused on one decade, and were quite good as a result. But the ninth inning tried to cover everything from 1970 to the present – which was 1994, at the time the series was made. This means that the ninth inning tries to cover 24 years, in contrast to the 10 years common to other episodes. Seventies and eighties baseball are thus somewhat neglected as a result, although his later update of the series does more justice to nineties baseball. (More on this update in a later paragraph.) This East Coast bias is a relatively minor issue, and I can deal with that more easily. But the neglect of seventies and eighties baseball is a somewhat greater weakness, although one that can be overlooked in light of the series' many strengths. Their coverage of the other decades is simply superb, and helps to understand the country as a whole. Labor history is covered in great detail throughout the series, with the presence of the players' unions throughout most of baseball history. Many important events for the history of American labor came in the twentieth century, and so the series helps to understand this subject as well. Of course, you could learn about labor history by studying other industries as well; but baseball gives you access to the soul of the country in a way that other industries don't. As with the race relations issues, baseball is a prism through which these labor issues can be understood. Thus, the series' focus on baseball is much appreciated here.

Lou Gehrig, one of my favorite players

Willie Mays, one of my favorite players

Comments on the update to the series in “The Tenth Inning” (which was quite good)

The original series premiered in 1994, and was divided into nine “innings.” But just as baseball games sometimes go for extra innings, so did Ken Burns decide to do an “extra inning” in 2010. It was just called “The Tenth Inning,” although this inning was twice as long as the others. The “Top of the Tenth” was almost like its own episode, and the “Bottom of the Tenth” was almost like its own episode. I have no complaints, though, given that this was necessary to do justice to the subject of 1990's and 2000's baseball. These innings cover, among other things, the players' strike of 1994, and how Major League Baseball was affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The 2001 World Series was delayed because of these attacks, and extended all the way into November – an unusual thing, given that most Major League World Series are over in October.) Because I am an Arizona Diamondbacks fan, I particularly enjoyed their coverage of this series, even despite their rooting for the Yankees in this segment. Given that the Yankees represented the city that had just been attacked by terrorists, though – namely, New York City – I won't complain too much on this score here. “The Tenth Inning” also covers the steroids scandal of this larger period, which may have reflected larger drug problems in the country as a whole. Again, baseball is a prism through which to view these kinds of problems. Major League Baseball was concerned that Ken Burns would spend a lot of time on this steroids scandal in these episodes, but Ken Burns assured them that he “[wasn't] out to do a hatchet job” on Major League Baseball. True to his word, he noted how the game has improved in this regard, and how Major League Baseball has become tougher on performance enhancing drugs than any other professional sporting league.

Tony Gwynn, one of my favorite players

The Arizona Diamondbacks (my favorite team), in the 2001 World Series

Conclusion: Ken Burns' “Baseball” is a true joy to watch

So Ken Burns' “Baseball” is a true joy to watch. The original series is 19 hours long, and “The Tenth Inning” is 4 hours long. But if you like either baseball or American history (and I like both myself), it won't feel long when you watch it. It will surprise you in its drama and captivate you in its footage, and give you the panorama of twentieth century America.

Ken Burns' “Baseball” DVD (which includes “The Tenth Inning”)

“♪ Katie Casey saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names.
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along,
Good and strong. ♪

♪ When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song: ♪ ”

Chorus:

“ ♪ Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back. ♪

♪ Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win, it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game. ♪ ”

– The unknown second verse and popular chorus of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” (1908)

If you liked this post, you might also like:

“Hockey: A People's History” (Canada)

Ken Burns' “The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson” (a famous boxer)

Ken Burns' “Jackie Robinson” (the great baseball player)

Ken Burns' “The Civil War”

Ken Burns' “Jazz”