Nine Innings from Ground Zero

...could the renewed strength and spirit that all New Yorkers felt possibly have gone even higher? It's doubtful. The city had already reached a zenith when the Yankees took all three home games during the series. What had started as continued mourning at the beginning of the series did indeed change to hope and cheering and even happiness for the people of New York. It was just what they needed. Just what the doctor ordered.

I loved the advice Derek Jeter had for George W. who was to throw out the first pitch for their home game... You can't stand in front of the mound... they'll boo you. And don't bounce it in... or they'll boo you. Left Dubba feeling a little insecure, but he did just fine with the pitch, after all.

And I didn't know that one of the umpires was really a secret-service agent. Not during the game, of course, just during the opening pitch.

This documentary is just short enough to have kept me interested. It flashes into new subjects quickly and tries to give a piece of information about everything. The world series is background for everything else presented. It contains no mushiness, no pro-America propaganda, not even any anti-terrorist themes... it just shows us how that world series was able to change the feelings of us all. To help us mend.

For the people saying anything baseball oriented you should just shut you mouth. When it comes to this documentary you people should understand that this was about the affect baseball had on peoples lives that were constantly reminded of those tragic events on 9/11. Just because you people weren't in New York or around it when it happened doesn't mean you should dismiss this and try to undercut the affect it had on people. I lived in Connecticut, about 20 minutes out of the city and even I was affected. Talk to the millions of lives that were affected by this or try explaining to the little girl that lost her father and than the Yankees send her to hang out with the team and talk to Derek Jeter. Did you people just not feel connected or is it jealousy that allows you to appear to be such dumb asses. You people say that this was lame obviously didn't know (and still don't) that you witnessed the best World Series ever. I am a Yankees fan and I am saying that and they lost. You had Jeter's flip play - Jeter backhanding a ball in the stands - Tino's shot to tie with 1 out left- Jeter becoming Mr. November - Scott Brosius doing it again the next night off the same closer- and than the Diamondbacks beating the Yanks. It was magical and it gave people something to believe in. Maybe its just that you don't have memories of sports becoming something bigger than you ever thought it could be. Maybe your teams never gave you anything to believe in and move you to emotions you didn't think you could express as fans. I highly recommend this documentary and for those of you that hate on it I just simply feel bad for.

Gary aka Coach K

Nine Innings from Ground Zero (2004)

**** (out of 4)

Terrific documentary covering baseball following the September 11, 2001 attacks on America. The documentary picks up on the day of the attacks and then continues as the New York Yankees forced the Arizona Diamondbacks to a Game 7 in the World Series. This is a pretty remarkable and well-balanced documentary that pays great respect to the tragedy that happened but it also showed how important the sport was for people suffering through their pain. We get to hear from various family members of those killed who explain what meeting various baseball players meant to them. This is an incredibly touching documentary that shows what it was like watching baseball in the days and weeks after the terrorist attacks. We see some of the September 21st game between the Mets and Braves as this was the first game played after the attacks. From here we see the ride that the Yankees went on as they fell down 0-2 in the first round to Oakland only to fight back and win. Once they hit the World Series they lost the first two games in Arizona only to return home and win all three in quite a remarkable way. I think this documentary is really going to touch those who watch it because just seeing these emotional games and what they meant to people was something special. As the documentary stated, even if you hated the Yankees you couldn't help but see them as America's team. We get interviews with Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Derek Jeter, Joe Torre, Bobby Valentine, Paul O'Neill, Bob Brenley, Jim Joyce and even President Bush who threw out a famous first pitch at Game 3.

Well, as a documentary it's all right, but most of the people in it annoyed the hell out of me. It takes on the theme that the Yankees "deserved" to win the World Series because of September 11th, when it all actuality Arizona was the better team. It's another documentary of New Yorkers wanting to claim September 11th as "their own." What the filmmaker and most people involved need to realize is that Sept. 11th was an attack on America, not just New York (apparently the Pentagon and Pennsylvania crashes aren't as important). Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm not sympathetic, it's just that if anyone deserved to win this World Series, it was Arizona because their team was better.

All too often, I think that baseball fans get a bit too caught up in the everyday minutiae of the game to reflect on what the sport really means to them. A few examples would be criticizing the manager for a pitching change or getting on the case of a batter in a terrible slump. However, this DVD will remind you that the game of baseball stands for so much more.

This documentary really shines on two different levels. First, is the action transpiring on the field. Starting with President George W. Bush throwing out the opening pitch (a perfect strike) at Yankee Stadium on the first night back after the terrible 9/11 disaster, the film chronicles the Yankees' amazing run to a division title, a playoff series (against Oakland) that might have been lost if not for Derek Jeter sprinting out of nowhere, and the intensely dramatic World Series that, although it didn't end well for NY, contained a decade-worth of Yankee Stadium drama. The filmmakers are able to very effectively turn those events into a sort of metaphor for the city of New York.

The second level this movie succeeds on is in recounting the personal stories that were going on "behind the scenes" while the Yankees and Mets were doing their best to entertain the masses. In one instance, a young girl who lost her father on 9/11 only began finding herself again after a simple phone conversation with Derek Jeter. On other occasions, NYC firefighters and rescue workers were touched by personal appearances from Yankee players, allowing them (if only for a brief time) to think of something other than the terrible events that were involved in. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is also a very articulate presence throughout the film, as his words serve as a representation for the entire New York population at that time. Despite their sorrow, they wanted to see their Yankees.

As a person who has also experienced a difficult time in my life and been helped through it by the steadying presence of baseball, I found this documentary to be a very accurate portrayal of the lingering emotions during that time period. Through all the fear and anxiety, the sport of baseball was able to provide fans a respite (even if at first they were wary of looking at anything the same again) from the shocking events/changes around them. And that, ultimately, is the legacy of this fine sport...bringing people together over a common interest.

Thus, I recommend viewing this film on every September 11th from now until eternity, as it will help you remember how a frightened nation was helped to be resurrected by a simple (yet oh so grand) game.