WHEN IT WAS A GAME - TRIPLE PLAY COLLECTION

WHEN IT WAS A GAME - TRIPLE PLAY COLLECTION - 1992

RATING - NR but G. Very family friendly.

RATED - 24 Amazon (5/5), 19,967 Netflix (3.8/5), 157 IMDB (8.6/10).

STARRING - Every old time baseball star you can name and then some.

AWARDS - Winner of 1992 Television Critics Association Award for OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SPORTS.

THEME - Baseball - WHEN IT WAS A GAME!!

STORY - This HBO documentary is divided into three one hour segments, each remembering a different era. You can buy or rent them individually but I recommend watching all three. The entire series consists of 8mm and 16mm clips shot entirely by fans and players. Almost all are in color and none are done by professional photographers. The quality is amazing considering the sources -clear, sharp pictures. There are special features on Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and others. This is for those of us who remember or want to know about when players lived in our neighborhoods, shopped at our stores and had second jobs during the off season to make ends meet. Dick Raddatz recalls making $6,000 pitching for the Red Sox during the season and $11,000 during the off season as a furniture mover. We lived for several years next door to Camilo Pascual, the great pitcher for the Senators and Twins. We would play catch in the back yard and my sisters would babysit his children. Jim Kaat shopped at my (future) in-laws corner grocery store and lived down the block. They were real heroes to all of us and they were regular people, too. This series starts in the 30's (they really did have color film) and ends in 1970 with the advent of free agency, which arguably changed the game forever, whatever you might think of its validity. This is nothing but three hours of fun and nostalgia. If you're a baseball fan, it would be hard to recommend anything else that would be as much just plain fun. None of us can turn back the clock but for three hours you can relive those years when baseball was just a game. Enjoy. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 06/22/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB