Baseball (TV Mini Series) Something Like a War (1994) User Reviews

The Most Interesting Decade In Baseball History

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 12 August 2007]

This was an extremely interesting segment and decade, maybe the best of this nine-tape (or DVD) series. It was so interesting that I, myself, have gone and read a lot of books about this decade (1900-1909). I still think it is the most fascinating in baseball history. It featured famous characters such as Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, John McCraw, Rube Wadell,Rube Foster and many other colorful players. Not only were the people fascinating, their stories were incredible, especially the ones dealing with Cobb and Wadell.

The passion of America's baseball fans became unbelievable, and nowhere more than in the Polo Grounds of New York where the Giants were the dominant team with pitcher Mathewson and manager McGraw. I remember the first time I watched this being stunned how they allowed fans on the field back in those days. It's really tough when all those fans are threatening your players in the outfield. In Baltimore, a fight on the field turned into a riot one day. That, in turn, led to a fire and the stadium plus 13 adjacent buildings, all burned down

There is one amazing story after another in this decade, which I why I enjoy this segment above all the rest. If you really want to get a feel for the times and the players, check out Lawrence Ritter's famous book, "The Glory Of Their Times."

The Appearance of the Great Players

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 22 January 2015]

This is the introduction of the earliest of the Hall of Famers: Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Rube Wadell, John McGraw, etc. This is primarily a close look at individuals. The two greatest pitchers of their era played in different leagues, Johnson and Mathewson, and arguably the greatest hitter, Ty Cobb. The personalities are so varied. You had the great gentlemen and the sociopaths. You have Cobb who somehow managed to direct his anger at the game or he probably would have been hanged at some point. He was a racist, hated by his own teammates who actually congratulated another player who beat their teammate in the batting race. It also focused on the inimitable John McGraw, the 31 year manager of the New York Giants. This is when baseball truly began to have an identity, with real stars and great rivalries. It is the time of the first World Series. A really fine episode.

A Fine Formation

[unclesamsavage · 8/10 · 24 May 2019]

As I progress through this series again, appreciating all that I see now as a mature adult instead of my childish fascination, I find particular interest in these early years of professional baseball. There is a raucous edginess that Burns romanticizes as purely American in this episode with the help of many sportswriters, authors, and journalists. The first decade of the 20th century highlighted in this episode brings light to many staples of the baseball experience we enjoy today, from the ballpark frank to 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame'. It also honors the likes of Honus Wagner, John McGraw, 'Ban' Johnson and his formation of the American League, Connie Mack, Fred Merkle, Rube Waddell, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Ty Cobb, my personal favorite. The chapter on Ty has to be my favorite installment in this episode. And boy do I appreciate the organization Burns puts in his early work. Every chapter hangs around ten minutes, making it is easy to put down and come back to. There is also a great appreciation for marginalized groups like African-Americans and women throughout this episode and the whole documentary which I sincerely admire. Burns does a magnificent job at showing Baseball for the widely loved game it was during this time.

"(Cobb) would climb a mountain to punch an echo" has to be my favorite quote from the episode.

Excellent Second Episode

[Michael_Elliott · 6 June 2012]

Baseball: Second Inning 'Something Like a War' (1994)

**** (out of 4)

The second episode in the terrific Ken Burns' documentary series takes a look at the sport from 1900 to 1910. In this episode we cover subjects such as the formation of the American League, various race issues, the hot dog being introduced to stadiums, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, the first World Series and we also get a closer look at players such as Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson and the infamous Fred Merkle and his now notorious play in a game between the Giants and cubs. It really goes without saying but Burns' has done another terrific job with this episode and once again we're given some terrific stories about the period, the ways baseball was changing and of course there are some wonderful photos showing off the stadiums and people of the day. Some of my favorite moments were the stories involving how fights were constantly breaking out in the stands and how many times the fans would simply get on the field to fight with the players. There are some amazing photos of hundreds if not thousands of people on the field, interrupting the game just so they could fight with each other or the players. One of the best stories comes in the Fred Merkle case where he missed second base and the home team Giants thought they had won and with all the fans on the field, a couple of the Cubs players had to beat up some fans in order to get the baseball back so they could touch the base and get the runner out. All of the stuff dealing with Wagner and Cobb were fascinating as well. Another great job done.

this is the baseball Bible

[backnblack-06123 · 10/10 · 12 November 2021]

Look Burns is a full on Commie but nobody does documentaries better than him and this is baseball from the beginning to today with the best narrator you can find.

This is one stop shopping.

Al Stump's Version of Ty Cobb

[jgallanis · 6/10 · 5 July 2023]

As usual, Burns and his team do a terrific job of outlining the dead ball era of baseball. My major issue is that his portrait of the dominant player of that era, Ty Cobb, appears to have been taking verbatim from the unreliable and often misproven scribblings of Al Stump, the ghostwriter of the elderly Cobb's deathbed autobiography. I am a little surprised that Burns would fall prey to Stump's fairly obvious pulp fiction, but I guess it makes a more compelling story than an actual portrait of the complex, and certainly flawed individual that was Ty Cobb. When would I expect some sort of retraction or correction.