In Ken Burns’ 1994 documentary, Baseball, over 18 hours of film covers the history of the game from the mid-1800s to the early 1990s. Throughout the series, every team (apart from 1990s expansion teams) is mentioned. Except one. One major league baseball team that is still playing today and has been playing for decades, was completely left out of the documentary, and in fact the story of their formation was also omitted.
The only hint that this team even exists was given when the narrator named one of their star players in a rundown of recent notable events — while not naming that player’s club or showing that player in uniform.
WHICH TEAM GOT DISSED???!!
My guess would be that the team you mention would be either the Astros or the Rangers and the star would be Nolan Ryan.
INCORRECT!!
The Astros were cited for the invention of Astroturf; the Rangers were cited for Nolan Ryan among other things.
It was the baseball team everyone forgets, especially pre-1995.
The Seattle Mariners.
I didn’t even think about astroturf and the Astrodome. Now that you mention it I even remember the segment. I forgot about Seattle, the other team I was thinking of was the Angels, just because they had done squat up to that point. Who was the player they mentioned, Griffey?
As a side note, I have a ton of issues with Burn’s documentary. I think the majority slips into masturbational material for NY/New England fans. What about my Tigers? The Tigers have won 4 World Series rings since Boston won their last. They also were the team of the player who was considered at the time to be the greatest baseball player of all-time Tyrus Cobb.
I also hate this revisionist crap about the character of Ty Cobb. It’s pointless to try and put the standards of our society now on what was done almost 100 years ago. Was he a rotten human being? Most likely, but things aren’t that simple. The man grew up in the deep south, we are only talking a generation removed from the civil war. Secondly, the man’s mother killed his father with a gun! That’s bounded to make you a little screwy.
Sorry for the rant. I could go on for about 20,000 more words.
Yeah the Yankees/Red Sox crap was waaaaaaay too much. There are two dozen other teams, most of whom were barely covered. East Coast bias reigns!
Charlize Theron witnessed her mother killing her father with a gun, that didn’t turn her into a racist pig. And she grew up in apartheid South Africa! Ty Cobb was a shithead, and he admitted himself later in life that he wished he hadn’t been so awful.
Oh I agree that he was a shithead, but I just don’t think he was MLB’s answer to Adolf Hitler, and really who cares if he was? He’s an athlete, why should we care what he has to think? I just don’t think its fair to use his racism as a way to minimize his abilities as a baseball player.
Look at all the moronic things athletes say these days about not wanting to play with “homos” or “fags”.
I read that Ty Cobb jumped into the stands and beat an amputee to death with his own wooden arm.
Also, he ate babies.
The guy was in a wheelchair……also the baby was black
Your boyfriend looks just like Conan O’Brien!!! You lucky, lucky, bastard.
Does he perhaps have a younger brother or cousin?
Yours truly,
Mimi
walter johnson
have you ever heard jonathan richman’s song about “baseball’s Walter Johnson”
i’m in the uk and am pretty ignorant about the game but jon richman’s baseball songs make my eyes go kinda teary for some reason