the tenth inning is a new documentary from documentarian/historian ken burns.  if you’ve seen his documentary on the civil war then you know exactly what to expect.  when it ended the other night, i wanted more.  it reminded me of my youth and that made me incredibly happy.

in my 29 years, baseball has been a pretty big part of my life.  i grew up being able name every player on every team.  i obsessed over it.  i played it (although i wasn’t very good).  when the strike happened, i didn’t understand it.  i thought how in world could these players be complaining over making millions of dollars, so i turned my back on baseball.  it took almost 7 years for me to accept it again.

the tenth inning tells baseball’s history from the 1990’s to now.  it’s an incredible piece of film making.  i watched last night like a 10 year watching his favorite team play in the world series.  i couldn’t help but sit there and think one day i’m going to share this with my boy and tell him everything i remember about this period – from strikes to steroids to 9/11.

if you get a chance to check it out, do so.  i recorded both parts and am planning on watching them again tonight.  baseball might not be america’s favorite past time now, but it will always be an important part of our history.  it’s a shame we don’t recognize that more.