East coast bias

A great league developed on the West Coast called the Pacific Coast League, it was one of the premier leagues in the country during the early 20th Century. This documentary did not address that at all. There is more to baseball than just the American and National Leagues.

Actually baseball originated in England. Ever heard of rounders and cricket? Oh and by the way the St.Louis Cardinals just won their 10th World Championship! :-) The most of any other National League team and the only other team besides the yankees to have World Series titles in double digits. Even back in 1982 when they won their 9th World Championship they had the most of any National League team. HAHA!

The St. Louis Cardinals were the westernmost team for decades; thus their huge fan following to the west and south of them, territorially speaking. The Dodgers and Giants left the hated New York (by some, apparently) for the west coast, where previously had existed only minor-league teams. For a long while, New York had been supporting THREE Major League teams: the Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants! The reasons the Dodgers and Giants LEFT New York for the west coast in 1958 are in Ken's documentary. History should be LEARNED, not re-visioned! As far as east coast, or New York-hating goes, I'll be the FIRST in line to say: "I HATE THE YANKEES!" Being a Cleveland Indians fan, almost every season in the 50's (except "54) the Indians were in second-place...right behind the Yanks. At least they took the pennant away from them in '54, and in style, winning a RECORD 111 games, against only 43 losses! Then, being a Dodger fan, you also have to hate the Yankees- every time the Dodgers made it to the World Series, there were the cross-town rival Yanks, who managed to win all of their Series against "Da Bums", except one- 1955. Then after they moved to L.A., in '77 and '78, there were the Yankees, again beating them in the World Series. Revenge was sweet in '81, when the Dodgers sent the Yanks to the showers! How anyone could stomach George I-can-buy-anything-or-anyone Steinbrenner, Billy I'll-kick-dirt-on-you-while-I-have-my-tempertantrum Martin, and Reggie EGOMANIAC Jackson for "heroes", I'll never understand...(perhaps the "winning is the only thing that counts" gang...) Ringling Brothers must have envied THAT act! On the other hand, certain individual Yankee players MUST be respected for their individual accomplishments- the Babe, Joe, Roger, Yogi; but "I STILL hate the Yankees"! By the way, some current Major League teams were playing organized professional baseball BEFORE the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral in 1881 !!! It would be hard to imagine going from Tombstone to Phoenix to watch a ballgame after the gunfight! P.S. Reggie Hotdog Jackson holds ONE record I'm proud of him for: he's STRUCK-OUT MORE TIMES than ANY OTHER HITTER in the HISTORY of baseball. "Hey Reggie- Take off that cap and put on some mustard!" (An actual comment hurled at him from the rightfield stands at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, circa 1977-1981, from a fan, an African-American no less, who obviously was not going to be taken in by the "bribe"- Reggie would get unmercilessly boo'd by the fans at every plate appearance, a phenomenon not uncommon at other towns the Yankees visited)...This particular evening, it was announced over the P.A., that "Reggie Bars" were being passed-out, to all fans in attendance, courtesy of Reggie Jackson, as a way of introducing us to these new candybars. Well, WE weren't going to be swayed over to the enemy camp THAT easily- who did he think we were. a bunch of Benedict Arnolds?!? So, we ATE the candybars- they weren't too bad, actually...HOWEVER, we BOO'd him even MORE vociferously upon each new at-bat, RECOGNIZING his attempt to "buy us out", or perhaps just a blatant advertising campaign for his new business attempt! His other unfortunate response from the agitated crowd was in direct response to a PARTICULARLY awful plate appearance, with Reggie SCREWING HIMSELF INTO THE GROUND on THREE consecutive pitches, apparently attempting to hit EACH pitch into Lake Erie, or perhaps he was aiming for New York! Obviously, he struckout- again! And upon his return to right field, we gave him a STANDING OVATION! His response was to turn around and glare at us, prompting the pelting of Reggie with hotdogs...NOT the buns, ONLY the WEINIES!! This, too, prompted even more glares from Mr. SuperEGO! To my recollection, no profanities were ever directed toward him, and NONE of the weinies actually hit him...but his rightfield position was FILLED with bunless weinies the remainder of the game...HAD to be amusing to any TV audience viewing the game that evening. Ahhh, memories. And YES, the Indians drubbed the Yanks that night- unfortunately, that didn't happen too often back then. I relate this story because I WAS THERE! Several things you see DON'T make the record books OR the documentaries. (Especially when you're in a non-contending team's town, averaging around 5-8,000 fans a game, and are usually ignored by the mass media!) Did you ever hear the one about Sudden Sam McDowell sliding spikes-high into Gene Michael at 2nd Base, at an Indians game in the 60's, touching off a rhubarb? Yes, I was there for THAT one, too! Also the infamous Beer-Night "riot"...saw Yaz's last career homer- and Nolan Ryan's last shutout...they weren't Indians, but we were on our feet, giving 'em a standing "O"...we appreciated their efforts...unlike Mr. Hotdog! Er, uh ReggieBar.. Good Night.

[deleted]

There is no doubt about the bias. I love this documentary, but yes, it's New York & Boston all the way. First of all, Ken Burns is from New York as are the vast majority of his commentators - save for those who actually played baseball. I suppose it also goes without saying that they are also quite the left-wing bunch (save for usual token George Will and perhaps a few precious others). Should it be so lopsided? I totally understand the slant towards these teams and what they represent in the games’ history but there are certainly other perspectives/stories to be heard. Sure, there are some interesting vignettes – and the typical trashing of Ty Cobb (whom Okrent describes as "the single black mark on baseball") – but the concentration is pretty hard to ignore. And why aren't there more players represented? There are plenty that could speak for themselves better than anyone.

The New York connections:

1. Billy Crystal - actor/comedian, NY native, grew up a Yankees fan

2. Roger Angell - writer for "The New Yorker" Magazine and NY native. One of many Harvard alumni involved with the doc.

3. Mario Cuomo - Governor of New York, born & bred in Queens

4. Doris Kearns Goodwin - Historian, Brooklyn-bred, staunch Dodgers fan, and Harvard grad. In college, she converted to a die-hard Boston fan!

5. Stephen Jay Gould - background primarily in science. Faculty member at Harvard, raised in Queens, New York

6. George Plimpton - Journalist who, although usually associated with New England's upper-crust as well as his alma mater, Harvard University, was actually born & bred (and died) in New York City.

7. John Sayles - New York native & filmmaker. Made "Eight Men Out" about the 1919 Chicago White Sox.

8. Studs Terkel - Although typically associated with Chicago, Studs was born & raised in NYC until he was 10. Indeed, his presence here is mostly devoted to talking about the Dodgers.

9. Daniel Okrent – Editor-in-chief at the New York Times for many years.

10. Robert Creamer - New York native, Sports Illustrated writer and Babe Ruth biographer.

11. Red Barber - Broadcaster primarily known for work with the Brooklyn Dodgers and later the NY Yankees.

12. Bob Costas - New York native broadcaster and unabashed Yankees fan.

13. Mickey Mantle – NY Yankees legend

14. Marvin Miller - Union organizer and Bronx native.

15. Rachel Robinson – Georgia native and wife of Brooklyn Dodger legend, Jackie Robinson.

16. Vin Scully - Bronx native and voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers.


Red Sox Connections:

1. Ted Williams - Red Sox legend

2. Bill Lee – Nutty Boston Red Sox pitcher in the 70s.


No immediate connections (but arguments could be made):

1. Hank Aaron – Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves legend

2. Buck O’Neil – Kansas City Monarchs legend

3. Thomas Boswell – Washington DC native and Post columnist.

4. Shelby Foote – novelist/historian and Mississippi native primarily known for Civil War work.

5. Gerald Early – Philadelphia native and professor/essayist on African-American culture

6. Shirley Povich – Maine native and Washington Post columnist for an incredible 75 years.

7. George Will – Illinois native, Oxford/Princeton grad and political pundit.

8. Bob Feller – Cleveland Indians legend.

9. Curt Flood – Cardinal center-fielder who challenged the reserve clause.

10. Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe – Negro League legend.


That's all of 'em. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s 18-10 (16 alone are New York-centric; 12 of them were actually born there). It should also be noted too that this stat doesn’t reflect the amount of time these commentators receive. And, if you want to go just "East Coast-centric", Boswell, Will, Povich and Early all have obvious associations there, making this score 22-6. If I throw Ken Burns himself in there, it becomes 23-6.

I'm no whiner. The doc is what it is, and it's Ken Burns' vision, to be sure. I think it's a great piece of filmmaking. But let's not kid ourselves either; it's not definitive or balanced by any stretch. How could it possibly be with all these New Yorkers on hand?

How the game started has nothing to do with the issue at all.