Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

2011 World Series Champions: St. Louis Cardinals Blu-ray Movie Review

The Spirit of St. Louis.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 9, 2012

There’s that old running joke that goes something like: “If you look up the word [insert any word here] in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of [insert name of related subject the word describes here].” More often than not, this joke is used for pejorative purposes, but in the case of the word “comeback” and the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, it’s nothing less than an heroic acknowledgement that this team which had so much stacked against it was able to rise to unimaginable heights. And not just once. What’s so immediately apparent from this official 2011 World Series film released by Major League Baseball is how consistently the Cardinals overcame a number of issues to repeatedly step back from the brink of disaster and, against all odds, triumph again and again. This brisk hour and a half feature whisks the viewer quickly through both the regular season and the incredibly eventful post-season, intercutting a lot of game play and color commentary with brief interview snippets from both members of the Cardinals as well as a few guys from opposing teams. The entire outing is held together with enjoyable, albeit a kind of rah-rah cheerleader feeling, narration voiced by Jon Hamm (Mad Men), as it recounts a series of improbabilities which ultimately led to the St. Louis Cardinals holding a record number of World Series title championships for a National League team.

There were a series of calamities that got the Cards off to a less than stellar start at the head of the regular season, not the least of which was pitcher Adam Wainwright being waylaid by surgery that kept him out of play for the entire season. But even beyond Wainwright, there was almost a Murphy’s Law situation with regard to several other injuries which continued to hobble the team. The Cards were off to a pretty lackluster 2-6 start, and few thought they had any chance for a post-season berth. A well publicized trade deal with Toronto brought some new blood to the team, but it also at least temporarily set the team askew, as it took a few games for the new assemblage to find their sea legs with each other. But with the help of a much needed spark provided by David Freese and Lance Berkman, the Cards finally did seem to find catch fire, and while there were plenty of challenges to overcome, suddenly the pundits were discussing the very real odds of the Cardinals making to the post-season.

The Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies found the Cards perhaps unbelievably the second best team in the National League after its inauspicious opening. As would soon seem to be a recurring motif in the Card’s post-season story, the team found itself backed into a corner right off the bat (no pun intended), when the Phillies fairly easily took the first game. But as would be a corollary to that story, the Cards simply refused to die and battled back, albeit fitfully, as the series ping ponged back and forth with victories between the teams until the Cards finally cinched an ultimate win.

Next up was the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, a long simmering rivalry which, all things considered, turned out to be a relatively easy contest for St. Louis. Though once again considered the underdogs, somehow the long history between Milwaukee and St. Louis somehow unleashed the Card’s fury, especially that of Albert Pujols. Along the way, the Cardinals became the first team ever to score first in every game of a best of seven League Championship Series.

Finally we’re on to one of the most exciting World Series in recent memory. Hamm’s narration has a bit of a humorous slant when it describes the Cards and the Texas Rangers as two “highly offensive teams.” The Cards were the number one slugging team in the National League and the Rangers the number two slugging team in the American League, but it was the flip side of that slugging ability—namely the pitchers—that frequently seemed to spell the momentum of any given game. The pitching on both sides kept runs in the first game to an absolute minimum, and in fact not a single championship game in 2011 went as long as Game 1 in the Series did without a hit.

The pendulum swung fairly evenly between the teams as the Series wore on, with the match up reaching its zenith in Game Six, which is caught in this film in all its glory. (I might add that that horrible screaming sound you may have heard that evening was me getting home after the game had aired and realizing I had forgotten to set my DVR). The sixth game couldn’t have been more incredible if it had been scripted to play out the way it did, and this Major League film makes the most of the unbelievable turn of events by starting with one (just one of a few, incredibly) of the times the Cards were backed into a corner, down by at least a run, with two outs and two strikes and a do or die moment staring them in their face.

What this film also reveals in a laugh out loud montage is how crazily sloppy Game Six was, something some of the players mention in their commentaries. It was like balls were made of Super Stuff, bouncing out of gloves. Guys tripped and weren’t able to make outs, sometimes by what look like millimeters. And yet despite this completely comical turn of events, Game Six turned into one of the most incredible epic matches in the entire history of baseball. In fact, this film probably could have used a little more footage from this game in its overall scheme of things, so unbelievable were the final innings of the game.

Game Seven is kind of an anti-climax after the incredible turn of events of Game Six. Things play out with some occasional flashes of drama and excitement, but by the time the game gets into its final innings, the handwriting is more or less on the wall, and the Cards blast through to a decisive victory in Game Seven, becoming the National League team with the most World Series Championship titles to their credit.

This Major League Baseball film is admirably edited and includes a nice selection of color commentary from both local outlets as well as the national broadcasters who covered the events. While the interstitial interviews with the coaches and players lend a lot of interesting anecdotal commentary to the proceedings, ultimately it’s all about the game play, and this film has that in spades—no “card” terminology pun intended.

2011 World Series Champions: St. Louis Cardinals Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

2011 World Series Champions: St. Louis Cardinals is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of A + E Networks Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. For the most part this is an extremely sharp and appealing looking high definition presentation that benefits from excellent clarity, robust and well saturated color and some really amazing fine detail, especially in the copious close-ups of various players. Despite the interlaced presentation, there are few combing artifacts, and in fact about the only artifact of any notice is some pretty bad alias and shimmer on a couple of establishing shots of St. Louis, which may in fact be stock footage. Otherwise, this is a crisp and colorful presentation which boasts excellent contrast despite a variety of lighting conditions, with solid and consistent black levels.

2011 World Series Champions: St. Louis Cardinals Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

If you've ever wondered what it might sound like to stand at center field in any major league ball park, 2011 World Series Champions: St. Louis Cardinal's astoundingly effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix gives a pretty amazing simulation. Crowd sounds roar in from the side and rear channels, while the crack of a bat meeting ball suddenly pans overhead. This is a really well rendered track that ably supports the bombast of tens of thousands of screaming fans and then just as easily captures a quiet moment with one of the players at a neighborhood diner. Dynamic range is exceptional on this track, and fidelity is similarly great, so much so that individual catcalls or cheers from the huge crowds can be heard easily. The surround channels really kick into high gear in the game sequences, otherwise narration and interview segments remain anchored in the front channels.

2011 World Series Champions: St. Louis Cardinals Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NLDS Game 5 (1080i; 2:01:54)
• This Week in Baseball: Lance Berkman (1080i; 3:55)
• Prime 9: Tony La Russa (1080i; 1:53)
• Cardinals Clinch NL Wild Card (1080i; 1:41)
• NLDS Game 5: Last Out and Celebration (1080i; 3:33)
• NLCS game 6: Last Out and Celebration (1080i; 2:46)
• WS Game 3: Pujols 3 Home Runs (1080i; 3:46)
• WS Game 6: Freese Triple to Tie (1080i; 1:35)
• WS Game 6: Berkman Single to Tie (1080i; 1:50
• WS Game 6: Freese Walk-Off Home Run (1080i; 4:37)
• WS Game 6: Berkman/Freese Presser (1080i; 00:52)
• WS Game 7: Freese Double to Tie (1080i; 00:57)
• WS Game 7: Last Out and Celebration (1080i; 1:38)
• WS Parade (1080i; 00:53)
• Want More? (1080i; 00:24)

2011 World Series Champions: St. Louis Cardinals Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The 2011 season was one of several improbabilities for the Cards, probably not the least of which was any hint that they might take the pennant, or indeed even have a chance at making it to any championship game at all. This excellent official film of the season gives a great overview of a really epic year in the Cardinals' iconic history. With great snippets of game play interspersed with some equally great commentary by the various teams, this is a fitting wrap up to one of the most incredible seasons in recent memory. As an added bonus, it helps fill in dunderheads like yours truly who forget to set their DVR for what is arguably the greatest Series game of all time. Recommended.