TV Alert - Prime 9

Today at 4 pm (EDT), the MLB Network's "Prime 9" program will feature the 9 best players of the 1960s.

ALERT: Willie Mays on TV tonight

Willie Mays will be interviewed by Bob Costas on the MLB network TONIGHT at 8 pm, 11 pm, and 2 am eastern time.


Update:

What a great interview this was. 2 hours of Willie Mays in the studio, and with an audience along the walls (which I don't remember seeing during other interviews).

Besides clips of Willie from 1951 to 1973, there were taped comments from Buck O'Neill, Joe Torre, and Juan Marichal (also briefly from Don Zimmer, Willie McCovey, Bob Gibson, and Joe Black).

Don't miss the funny stories involving Bob Gibson, Gaylord Perry, Ken Boyer, Joe Torre, Mickey Mantle, and Donna Reed (yes, Donna Reed)!


Two very touching moments (both in the last 15 minutes):

1. Willie showing emotion while reminiscing about the late Bobby Bonds (during a discussion of Barry Bonds)

2. Bob Costas' closing comments to Mays.


Don't miss this show!

MLB Network: Jim Bouton interview; 1967 review

Tuesday night at 9:00, Bob Costas will interview Jim Bouton, former Yankees and Pilots pitcher, and author of Ball Four.


On Wednesday night, the 1967 season is the subject of a Baseball Seasons episode.

Bob Costas interviewing Dick Allen on MLB

Earlier tonight, I was watching Bob Costas' Studio 42 interview show on the MLB Network. His guest was Dick Allen, who is surprisingly soft-spoken. Mixed in with studio chatter was video of Allen's highlights, as well as comments from Willie Mays, Cookie Rojas, and Stan Hochman (a Philadelphia sportswriter since 1959).

Some topics:

- Allen is friends to this day with Frank Thomas.
- He doesn't blame Gene Mauch for 1964's collapse.
- His off-field antics and in-game scrawling in the dirt were designed to get him shipped out of Philly.
- He was the first black player to play for the minor-league team in Little Rock AR, and took much abuse there.

These shows are usually replayed often [at least the McCarver episode was! :( ] Phillies fans should check it out.

Heads-up: MLB Network showing 1960s World Series

I just noticed that the MLB Network will be showing various games from the 1965, 1968, and 1969 World Series on Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight they are showing 1/2 hour summaries of the 1951 to 1955 WS, followed by Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 WS.

1968 World Series

I watched game #1 of the 1968 World Series on the MLB Network today. (I've seen this one earlier this year on MLB, but it's always a classic!)

The announcers were NBC's Curt Gowdy (as always), and Harry Caray (who was the Cardinals' broadcaster at the time). I think it's great that the network included the home team's regular announcer (as they would also do in 1969 with the Mets' announcer). The 2 of them each announced half the game, with the other one doing sparse color commentary.

The early buzz was 16-year veteran Tiger Al Kaline playing in his 1st series, and Detroit outfielder Mickey Stanley starting at shortstop (having only played there for 9 games in his pro career, including all of the Tigers' final 6 games in 1968). The highlight of the game turned out to be Bob Gibson's stellar performance, as he pitched a complete game victory and broke the World Series strikeout record with 17 strikeouts. Denny McLain (who won 31 games that year), pitched well for a few innings, but was outplayed by Gibson.

The Tigers eventually won the series, thanks to the way their manager Mayo Smith handled his pitching rotation. Gibson & McLain started games 1 & 4, with Gibson winning both. Nelson Briles and Mickey Lolich started games 2 & 5, with Lolich winning both for the Tigers. (The Cardinals also won game 3.) After 5 games, with the Cardinals leading 3-2, Smith brought McLain and Lolich back on short rest to pitch games 6 and 7, and the Tigers won both!

The 1968 World Series was the last hurrah for long-time sluggers Eddie Mathews (Tigers - PH) and Roger Maris (Cardinals - RF).

1969 World Series

Yesterday and today, I've been watching the rebroadcasts of the 1969 World Series between the Mets and Orioles on the MLB network.

These games bring back a lot of memories, not only of the Amazin' Mets and the great Oriole teams of the late 60s and early 70s, but of baseball in general back then.

These games were originally broadcast by NBC, and the announcer was regular Mets' play-by-play man Lindsey Nelson, with Curt Gowdy doing color. WHAT A DIFFERENCE in the broadcasting style back then! Nelson is informative, without being overbearing or a Mets homer, and Gowdy rarely says anything - preferring to say nothing when there's nothing to say. With every pitch, there are gaps of silence where you can actually watch the game and take in the atmosphere.

If only today's "announcers" like Joe Buck and that clown Tim McCarver would take note! (I'm not even going to start in on the amateurish bunch employed by TBS!)