BUCKET LIST UPDATE No. 161: Watch the Ken Burns “Baseball” documentary (1994)

I love baseball – always have, always will - and when it comes to baseball, arguably the greatest baseball movie ever produced is the Ken Burns documentary, “Baseball.” I’ve had this movie on my “bucket list” for several years, and during the past week, I finally finished watching the entire thing.

For those of you unfamiliar with “Baseball,” it originally aired on PBS between Sept. 18 and Sept. 28 in 1994. Burns released a supplemental movie to the series called “The Tenth Inning,” which aired on PBS in late September and early October 2010. Burns, who made a name for himself with his famous 1990 documentary “The Civil War,” co-produced and co-wrote “Baseball.”

“Baseball” basically tells the complete history of the sport from its inception in the mid-19th Century all the way up to the modern steroid scandal. Along the way, Burns details baseball’s early stars like Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson, the infamous Black Sox Scandal, the rise of Babe Ruth, the Negro Leagues, Joe DiMaggio’s record-setting hitting streak, Jackie Robinson, the effect of World War II on the game, baseball in New York City, Roger Maris, the rise of football and its impact on baseball, pro baseball’s expansion into Canada, Kurt Flood, free agency and the rise and fall of Pete Rose. The original 1994 film wraps up with the player strike that resulted in no World Series at the end of the 1994 season.

“The Tenth Inning” updates viewers on events in baseball between 1994 and 2010. “The Tenth Inning,” which is really a separate movie altogether, details the steroids era, great modern players like Cal Ripken Jr. and the first World Series title for the Boston Red Sox in almost 90 years.

Burns brings all this to life with great still photographs, game footage and the use of interviews and commentary with great players, managers, historians and fans. Appearing in the film, in no particular order, are such personalities as baseball legend Hank Aaron, tennis star Arthur Ashe, sportscaster Bob Costas, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, comedian Billy Crystal, the aforementioned Flood, Civil War historian Shelby Foote, baseball great Mickey Mantle, sports broadcaster Keith Olbermann, the late George Plimpton, baseball commissioner Bud Selig, legendary hitter Ted Williams and “Men at Work” author George Will. Probably the person I enjoyed hearing from the most during the movie was Buck O’Neil, who was just a great interview subject.

It took a while to watch the complete film because the entire 1994 movie is 18-1/2 hours long not to mention 2010’s “The Tenth Inning,” which is about 4-1/2 hours long. Thanks to NetFlix, which makes “Baseball” available on DVD and streaming, I started watching the movie on May 3 and watched the final DVD on Friday afternoon. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s 12 DVDs in all.

In the end, how many of you have watched Ken Burns’ “Baseball”? What did you think about it? Do you know of any other great, bucket list-worth baseball movies? Let us know in the comments section below.