2013 World Series Collector's Edition: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

2013 World Series Collector's Edition: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie Review

Blu baseball.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 8, 2014

The Red Sox have been so good, so dominant of late (excluding the miserable Bobby Valentine fail of 2012, of course) that 2004 feels like, well, 2,004 years ago. It seems like an eternity since the "Curse of the Bambino" went from very real hex to very distant memory, replaced by tears of joy and a hopeful future for continued success. But there was still one thing missing: a World Series win in front of the home crowd. The Red Sox won the championship while out-of-town in both 2004 and 2007. Sure, the Fenway faithful and all of the Nation were more than satisfied to celebrate in front of their television screens, but to actually witness it in person, to see the players spill out of the dugout and bullpen, to pile atop one another in the middle of the field, to experience the chilling, euphoric, once-in-a-lifetime satisfaction in person, with the team, in all of that man-made electricity is something so special nothing else could possibly compare. For that, Red Sox fans say "thank you" to their beloved worst-to-first 2013 squad.

The lineup of champions (for an NL ballpark).

Official 2013 World Series Collector's Edition Set is the purist fan's dream come true. Unlike the season documentary that provides a neat overview of the year that was in Red Sox baseball (the Boston bombings day, primarily, before jumping ahead rather quickly to the postseason run), this eight-disc collection provides fans with pristine Blu-ray copies of each of the six World Series games, the final game of the ALCS, and a bonus disc with a rather skimpy and disappointing selection of extra content. Yet this set succeeds at making the super fan's life significantly easier, allowing him or her to clear out some room on the DVR and instead enjoy a slightly more pristine but broadcast-authentic presentation that even removes the commercials for good measure. While none of the pre game and only a little bit of the post game commentaries, documentaries, and interviews are included, the games are presented with no interruption, no noticeable cuts, no jumps in the action to a more important point in the game. Every pitch from the top of the first in game one to the top of the ninth in game six are included, and a convenient chapter selection allows fans to jump right to the beginning of every half-inning of each game. It's clean, well-played ball on Blu-ray as it should be.

Below is a game-by-game and disc-by-disc breakdown of this set's primary content.

• Disc One, World Series Game One (2:30:00): Wednesday, October 23, 2013, from Fenway Park, Boston Massachusetts. Wainwright (STL) vs. Lester (BOS). Boston jumped ahead to a 5-0 lead to put a stranglehold on game one, tacking on three more runs before St. Louis pushed across a single tally in the top of the ninth. Lester pitched into the 8th inning before giving way to the Boston bullpen. Boston leads the series 1-0.
• Disc Two, World Series Game Two (2:19:39): Thursday, October 24, 2013, from Fenway Park, Boston Massachusetts. Wacha (STL) vs. Lackey (BOS). The Cardinals counted on the continued success of postseason rookie hero Michael Wacha to win game two, and win he did. The Cards earned the victory behind a good start start in which Wacha surrendered a pair of earned runs, scattering four walks behind six punch outs. Boston would take a 2-1 lead after six but relinquish it in the top of the seventh when the Redbirds rallied for three runs to secure the 4-2 victory. Series tied 1-1.
• Disc Three, World Series Game Three (3:06:31): Saturday, October 26, 2013, from Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri. Peavy (BOS) vs. Kelly (STL). As the series shifted to St. Louis, the home team retained the momentum earned in the game two victory. The clubs would trade runs throughout the course of the game, culminating in a 4-4 tie headed into the bottom of the ninth. The Cardinals would score the winning run on an unusual obstruction call at third base. St. Louis leads the series 2-1.
• Disc Four, World Series Game Four (2:47:39): Sunday, October 27, 2013, from Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri. Buchholz (BOS) vs. Lynn (STL). Boston left fielder Jonny Gomes blasted a three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and secure a victory for Boston. Boston starter Clay Buchholz pitched only four innings but gave way to a stingy Red Sox bullpen that would surrender only a single run the rest of the way. Series tied 2-2.
• Disc Five, World Series Game Five (2:20:13): Monday, October 28, 2013, from Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri. Lester (BOS) vs. Wainwright (STL). St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright struck out ten and allowed only one walk through seven innings, but surrendered a single run in the first and a pair in the seventh en route to losing his second game of the series. Mound opponent Jon Lester fanned seven through seven and two-thirds innings pitched, giving way to Boston Closer Koji Uehara for a one and one-third inning save. Boston leads the series 3-2.
• Disc Six, World Series Game Six (2:58:34): Wednesday, October 30, 2013, from Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts. Wacha (STL) vs. Lackey (BOS). St. Louis' hopes of extending the series to a seventh game rested on the young but battle-tested shoulders of Michael Wacha. The rookie would struggle for the first time in his young postseason career, surrendering six earned runs in less than four innings pitched. Boston veteran John Lackey would scatter nine hits but allow only one run in six and two-thirds innings pitched en route to earning the series-clinching win. Boston wins the series 4-2.
• Disc Seven, American League Championship Series Game Six (3:04:44): Saturday, October 19, 2013, from Fenway Park, Boston Massachusetts. Scherzer (DET) vs. Buchholz (BOS). Detroit's 2013 ace and eventual American League CY Young winner Max Scherzer walked five, fanned eight, and surrendered four hits and allowed three earned runs in six and one-third innings pitched. The Red Sox pushed across four runs in the seventh inning on a grand slam off the bat of Shane Victorino to secure a third trip to the Fall Classic in nine seasons.

2013 World Series Collector's Edition: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Official 2013 World Series Collector's Edition Set doesn't really improve over the broadcast television presentation, but that's not really a bad thing. Though it's certainly problematic, it looks about as good as sports can look in HD right now. Colors are rich and many, with emphasis on the bold green grasses and the even red lettering and trim found on the Sox home jersey and the Cardinals' home and away uniforms. Details are excellent in close-ups of textured uniforms, caps, and faces. The image finds some trouble with aliasing around graphics and down the chalk lines, for example. Far distant definition suffers, leaving the crowd to look like mostly undefined blobs. Light compression issues are also evident in places. This is by no means reference material, but fans who frequently watch sports on television will at least find themselves comfortable with this presentation.

2013 World Series Collector's Edition: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Official 2013 World Series Collector's Edition Set features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. This is, in essence, a simple reproduction of a television broadcast presentation. Quality is practically identical. The limited front end range means no major immersive crowd ambience like is found on many wrestling discs, for example, that sport 5.1 tracks. Crowd din is shallow but helps set the stage for the game, rising and falling with key pitches and big hits but generally staying at a constant level for the duration. Occasionally, field and crowd microphones pick up cat calls or the ramblings of a rowdy fan. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver commentary plays neatly and accurately up the front middle portion of the stage. Music playing over the lineup card readings is a bit shallow, but there is nice clarity and presence to the familiar Fox Sports music that plays when the program returns from the here removed commercial breaks.

2013 World Series Collector's Edition: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Official 2013 World Series Collector's Edition Set contains a handful of brief extras on the final disc. Brief post game MLB Network reports are accessible with each game from the pop-up menu's "Inning Selection" tab or accessible simply by letting the game play through to its conclusion.

• Season Highlights (HD): Includes a selection of Walk-off Wins (7:38), memorable Milestones (10:44), and footage from Red Sox Clinch AL East (2:15).
• Postseason Highlights (HD): Clips from ALDS Game 1 (4:28), ALDS Game 2 (3:45), ALDS Game 4 (4:38), ALCS Game 2 (4:44), ALCS Game 3 (4:59), and ALCS Game 5 (2:56).
• More Official MLB DVDs: Previews for additional MLB home video releases.

2013 World Series Collector's Edition: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Official 2013 World Series Collector's Edition Set will certainly call out to the diehard Boston Red Sox fan, but probably not find much favor with casual baseball watchers or those whose allegiances lie with another team. It's a fine set, but it's also a bit pricy for the everyday Royals or Padres fan. Its target audience, however, should be lining up in droves to get it. This is a collection to treasure, not so much for the presentation -- which is fine -- but instead the content, the memories, for something other than that bowl of tasty clam chowder to warm the soul in the dead of winter and on the way to spring training. Lionsgate's Blu-ray release of Official 2013 World Series Collector's Edition Set offers video and audio that's perfectly acceptable for a release of this nature. However, the relative lack of bonus content is highly disappointing. A must-own for Red Sox fans, more than likely a pass for everyone else.