MLB Network announced their latest round of “MLB Network Presents” documentary films that will be airing this month. The film series debuted last offseason on MLB Network and received high acclaim. With the offseason now well underway, a new batch will be aired to help baseball fans deal with the winter blues.
Thursday, December 10th, 8 PM: Royal in Kansas City, 30 Years Later. Members of the 1985 and 2015 Kansas City Royals discuss their journeys to a World Series title and the impact it made on an entire city. Narrated by Bob Costas, the one-hour program features Hall of Famer George Brett and teammates Danny Jackson, Darryl Motley, Bret Saberhagen, Frank White and Willie Wilson reliving Kansas City’s first World Series title in 1985, and their joy watching the Royals return to the baseball mountaintop 30 years later. Royals general manager Dayton Moore, manager Ned Yost and players Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas, and Ben Zobrist bring viewers behind-the-scenes of this year’s title run, and the deep connection the team developed with the Kansas City community.
Exclusive footage detailing the bond between the Royals and the Kansas City Fire Department is also featured, following the tragic deaths of two Kansas City firefighters during the Royals’ championship run.
Friday, December 11th, 9 PM: Lenny Randle, “The Most Interesting Man in Baseball”. A one-hour documentary on the colorful life and 12-year playing career of Lenny Randle. Narrated by comedian and diehard Mets fan Jim Breuer, the program travels to Italy to spend time with Randle and explore why Rolling Stone dubbed him “the most interesting man in baseball.” Randle discusses his role in some of baseball’s strangest moments, including playing in “10 Cent Beer Night” at Cleveland Stadium in 1974, standing at the plate at Shea Stadium during the New York City blackout in 1977, being suspended following his altercation with Texas Rangers manager Frank Lucchesi in 1977, and his famous act of blowing a baseball foul during a game at the Kingdome in 1981.
Rolling Stone writer Dan Epstein, New York Mets broadcaster Howie Rose, and Randle’s former teammates, including Baseball Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins, San Francisco Giants broadcaster Mike Kukrow, and former manager Bobby Valentine recall their unique experiences with Randle, including his days as a standup comic and soul singer during his career.
Sitting outside the Colosseum in Rome, Randle reflects on playing for Hall of Famer Ted Williams and becoming a baseball hero in Italy, where he now spends time trying to find baseball’s next great Italian star.
Tuesday, December 15th, 9 PM: The Eighth Wonder of the World. Marking the 50th anniversary of the Astrodome opening in 1965 and narrated by award-winning actor and Houston native Dennis Quaid, The Eighth Wonder of the World brings viewers back inside the Astrodome to relive its greatest moments and examine its place in history as one of the great innovations of the 20th century.
Featuring interviews with President George H. W. Bush, Houston native and award-winning news anchor Dan Rather, baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, tennis Hall of Famer Billie Jean King, and original Astros Jimmy Wynn and Larry Dierker, the one-hour program documents the history of the Astrodome, from Judge Roy Hofheinz generating the idea of this futuristic stadium to the Houston Astros’ dramatic six-game 1986 NL Championship series against the New York Mets.
The program details how the Astrodome was not only home to baseball games, but to all different kinds of events, including the “Game of the Century” featuring Elvin Hayes and the Houston Cougars ending UCLA’s 47-game winning streak, and the “Battle of the Sexes” featuring the nationally televised tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973. The Eighth Wonder of the World covers how the Astrodome hosted thousands of refugees from Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina, and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett discusses the potential of saving this iconic stadium from destruction.
These three all sound pretty great, and the Lenny Randle one seems the most interesting, simply because I know the least about him compared to the subjects of the other two films.
In addition to these three films, a pair of MLB Network Presents features from the summer will re-air in December. On December 22nd at 9 PM, The Story of Billy Bean will air, while Aaron, Bench, Koufax, and Mays will air on December 29th at 9 PM.
