2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 17, 2016

It's not every year that the "Fall Classic" is actually a "classic." The Indians have been involved in two in the past two decades, the Marlins' walk- off win in 1997 and their heartbreaking defeat to the Chicago Cubs in 2016. The Indians also lost to the Braves in 1995, marking Atlanta's only World Series win in its ridiculously long stretch of division-winning excellence in the Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz era. As for the Cubs, well, they haven't even made it to the world series since before most of the current fan base was born, and by many decades at that. The last time the North Siders stepped onto the field with the championship on the line was way back in 1945, about the time World War II was wrapping up. Last Series win? 1908, a few weeks before the country would elect William Howard Taft President. Yikes. That's a whole lot of "wait until next year" but, in its own way, a lot less heartbreak compared to pained Indians fans over the last two-plus decades who could practically taste it, twice. The two long-suffering franchises met on the field and got there in different ways, the 103-win Cubs powering through the National League field as predicted and the Indians fending off a more open field in the American League in rather decisive fashion, sweeping the Red Sox in the ALDS and beating the mighty Blue Jays 4-1 in the ALCS. The Series went a full seven, with the Cubs at one point trailing the Indians 3-1, a feat no team had overcome since the 1985 Royals. This Blu-ray release, which is best enjoyed in conjunction with the documentary-style World Series film, offers up all seven World Series games on seven discs, plus a special added bonus, game six of the NLCS in which the Cubs punched their ticket to the World Series, defeating the Dodgers 5-0.

The Skipper.

Below is a brief review of each game included in the set.

World Series Game One, Disc One
Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians

By virtue of the American League's victory at the 2016 All-Star game (thanks Bud...?), the American League champion Indians hosted the National League champion Cubs at Progressive Field. The Indians pitched 2016 All-Star and 2014 Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, who faced off against the Cubs' lefty veteran John Lester, who was also a 2016 All-Star and finished second in NL Cy Young voting on the year behind the Nationals' Max Scherzer. The Indians jumped out to a 2-0 first-inning lead, but the scoring would be remembered for ninth-place hitter Roberto Pérez's two-homer game. Kluber twirled a gem, pitching six innings of no run, no walk, four hit, and nine strikeout ball before giving way to the Indians' dominant bullpen, led by ALCS MVP Andrew Miller. Final Score: Indians 6, Cubs 0.

World Series Game Two, Disc Two
Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians

Even as the Indians had cruised through the playoffs, accumulating an 8-1 record after nine games and hosting game two, it was no time to slack off or take anything for granted. The Indians started Trevor Bauer, a young pitcher who was recovering from a freak accident involving a drone and a sliced finger on his pitching hand that delayed his game two start in the ALCS and cut his game three appearance well short after the wound reopened during the first inning. The Cubs countered with 2015 Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, a pitcher who last year rose from relative obscurity and mediocrity in Baltimore to one of the most dominant starters the league had ever seen. Anthony Rizzo opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning, a lead that would balloon to 5-0 by the fifth. The Indians would answer with one in the bottom of the fifth off Arrieta, but it wasn't nearly enough. The Cubs' ace pitched well enough, going 5.2 innings and surrendering the lone run on two hits, three walks, and 6 strikeouts. The Cub bullpen held the Tribe in check for the rest of the game. Indians fans have to wonder what might have been had it not been for Bauer's accidental injury. Final Score: Cubs 5, Indians 1.

World Series Game Three, Disc Three
Cleveland Indians at Chicago Cubs

With World Series action shifting to Wrigley Field for the first time since the 1940s and, more importantly in the here-and-now, with the series knotted up at a game a piece, the home team turned to another ace-quality pitcher in Kyle Hendricks who put up a monster season for the North Siders in 2016, finishing with a 16-6 record and a microscopic 2.13 ERA. The Indians, in turn, pitched longtime Tribe righty, and Texas native, Josh Tomlin. Despite not surrendering any runs, neither pitcher could make it out of the fifth inning. Terry Francona turned to his bullpen early with Tomlin surrendering only two hits and a single walk. The Cubs' Joe Maddon similarly pulled his starter after only 4.1 innings of work; Hendricks surrendered six hits and two walks while whiffing six. Both clubs' bullpens kept their opponents in check, but the Cubs' Carl Edwards, Jr. gave up an RBI single to Coco Crisp in the seventh for the game's only run. Final Score: Indians 1, Cubs 0.

World Series Game Four, Disc Four
Cleveland Indians at Chicago Cubs

The Wrigley faithful returned maybe a little apprehensive, but they were rooting for a 103-win team with no quit and a ton of talent. The Cubs staked their game four hopes on veteran John Lackey, himself no stranger to World Series competition. The Indians turned back to game one star Corey Kluber, tasking him with twirling another gem and giving his team a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Cubs got to Kluber for a run in the first, but the Indians would score a pair in the top of the second and add several more throughout the night, which included a three-RBI performance from second baseman Jason Kipnis. Kluber pitched six and struck out six en route to the win and all but ensuring the Indians their first World World Series title since 1948. Final Score: Indians 7, Cubs 2.

World Series Game Five, Disc Five
Cleveland Indians at Chicago Cubs

And that's why they play best-of-seven. The Cubs charged game one starter Jon Lester with toeing the rubber for game five and saving the season for a return trip to Cleveland. The lefty faced Trevor Bauer, who was hoping for better results, and improved health, for his critical start. Bauer would fan seven and walk none over four innings of work, but the young Indians hurler also surrendered three earned runs on six hits, all coming in that fourth inning. Lester was fine, pitching six, surrendering two, and K'ing five. Hard-throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman earned the save, going an untraditional 2 2/3 innings to get the job done, secure the win, and keep the Cubs' dreams of curse-breaking alive for at least one more game. Final Score: Cubs 3, Indians 2.

World Series Game Six, Disc Six
Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians

Life. The Cubs still had life and two shots, albeit must-win shots, to finally capture the pennant, but they were going to have to win them both back in Cleveland. Chicago kept up with the rotation and went with Jake Arrieta, who matched up against the Tribe's Chris Tomlin. Even as the Indian faithful were still settling into their seats, the Cubs struck first, struck fast, and struck hard, putting up a three-spot in the top of the first inning thanks to a home run off the bat of eventual National League MVP winner Chris Bryant and a double by Addison Russell. The Cubs would add four more in the third, chasing Tomlin after only 2.1 innings pitched, surrendering six earned on six hits and a walk. Arrieta would go 5.2, giving up runs in both the fourth and the fifth while striking out an impressive nine batters along the way. It was a night dominated by the Cubs who would, in impressive fashion, force a winner-take-all seventh game. Final Score: Cubs 9, Indians 3.

World Series Game Seven, Disc Seven
Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians

The last time the World Series went seven, Madison Bumgarner pitched a gem in 2014. In 2012 the excitement of game seven came in game six, and who can forget some other classics: Luis Gonzales in 2001, Edgar Renteria in 1997 (sorry, Cleveland), and Bill Mazeroski in 1960. The all-hands-on-deck game seven featured a pitching matchup of Kyle Hendricks and Corey Kluber, though both would be on a short leash. The Cubs scored another first-inning run thanks to a Dexter Folwer leadoff homer. The Tribe tied things up in the third, but the Cubs would jump out to a 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the fifth. The Indians scored a pair to bring the game with within two. Chicago tacked on another run in the sixth, but the resilient Indians would force three runs across in the bottom of the eighth, which included a Rajai Davis home run off the unhittable Aroldis Chapman, to tie the game at six. Then the rains came. In a surreal moment, the majors' two teams trapped in the longest championship droughts saw the cleansing rains come, interrupting the game but seemingly preparing the way for one of the clubs to wash away the pain. The Cubs plated a pair of runs in the top of the tenth off hits from Ben Zobrist and Miguel Montero. The Indians didn't go away, but could only score one in the bottom of the inning, sending the Cubs storming onto the field, a city into frenzy, and a team into the record books. Final Score: Cubs 8, Indians 7.

National League Championship Series Game Six, Disc Eight
Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs

The Dodgers hoped to extend their postseason run and World Series dreams by throwing regular season ace and postseason mediocrity Clayton Kershaw against the Cubs' Kyle Hendricks, the regular-season ERA leader. The Cubs touched up Kershaw for two runs in the first and another in the second. The Wrigley faithful watched the home team tack on two more, one in the fourth and another in the fifth off home runs from Willson Contreras and Anthony Rizzo, chasing Kershaw after five. Hendricks, meanwhile, cruised through 7.1 innings, surrendering just two hits and no walks while fanning six en route to the win and a trip to the Fall Classic. Final Score: Cubs 5, Dodgers 0.

2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs features a 720p transfer (the packaging claims 1080i) framed at the broadcast 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The image is fine, reflecting the TV broadcast as it was, and fairly precisely. Macroblocking in backgrounds is occasionally visible, sometimes severely, and aliasing is also prevalent and usually around letters on jerseys, but at-a-glance the presentation satisfies. Uniform details are adequately revealing of finer material and stitching both on the fabric and various letters, numbers, and patches on jerseys and ball caps alike. Facial definition isn't movie level complex, but basic pores and flaws, as well as some thick facial hairs, are well defined. Dirt and grass on the field can look a bit flat; there's not a lot of nuance. Colors are impressive with good basic saturation on the bright Cub blue, Indians red and navy, and green grasses. Background details in the dugouts, signage around the ballpark, and fans in the stands aren't too terribly exciting, but basic sharpness is fine. Expect this to look about the same as the TV broadcasts. Note that all of the World Series games are from FOX broadcasts while the NLCS game is from FS1, but there's no perceptible differences in quality, unsurprising since they're two branches of the same outfit.

2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs contains four audio options, three English language tracks and one Spanish track, all presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless audio. The tracks include the FOX TV broadcast, Cubs and Indians radio, as well as a Spanish language call. The tracks are fine, with the radio presentations a bit better. The TV broadcast isn't particularly great. Dialogue struggles to push to the middle, sounding like it's dual-flowing from the sides and stuck somewhere between the front left and right speakers and the middle of the stage. Background crowd chants are a bit muffled, as is stadium music and other ambience. Bats on balls and balls into the catcher's mit are identifiable, but not particularly realistic. The radio broadcasts fare a little better. Background ambience is more muted in comparison, and play-by-play is a little more clear and conscience with a slight bit better push to the middle.

2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only "supplements" included on-disc are minutes-long MLB Network postgame coverage clips. These are tacked onto the runtime at the end of each game. The set does come with a booklet that details each game included with box scores and factoids. The main menus screen for each disc offers only selections to skip ahead by inning (top and bottom alike) and choose from any of the audio broadcasts.

2016 World Series Collector's Edition: Chicago Cubs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cubs fans really can't go wrong with this release, particularly when paired with the highlight film disc. While that was a dramatized recap, this is just a collection of the games, as they aired, and minus commercials. It's a simple release but one that's well worth treasuring (and that clears up room on the DVR). Video and audio are fine for what it is, and no supplements beyond the booklet is no surprise, and no big deal. For Cubs fans, this is a must-buy. For baseball fans, it's a piece of history. Recommended.