2017 World Series Collector's Edition: Houston Astros Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

2017 World Series Collector's Edition: Houston Astros Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 14, 2017

Baseball fans have been spoiled these past few years. The term "The Fall Classic" has taken on new meaning last year and this. Last year...wow...not much to say. Two franchises, starved for a World Series win, battled seven games, with the final seventh game a back-and-forth affair with the added drama of a late-inning rain delay to slow down, but not stop, the Cubs' ride to destiny. Add in the interesting even-year Giants trifecta, the handful of Red Sox wins breaking that organization's curse, back-to-back appearances, and one win, for the small market Royals, and the baseball gods have certainly beens smiling on fans so far this millennia. In 2017, the matchup was between the upstart Houston Astros -- a sabermetrician's dream team -- and the storied Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that went on a historic run earlier in the season that was looking to win its first World Series since 1988 when a gimpy Kirk Gibson, an amazing Orel Hershiser, and their scrappy teammates defeated the mighty Oakland Athletics. The series would be pushed to seven games, with two of the seven -- games two and five -- instant classics that elevated the series into the top tier of all-time great World Series. As with every recent World Series, there's a companion documentary release that tells the Astros' story; this package simply drops all seven games, plus game seven off the ALCS, on eight Blu-ray Discs.

The following games are included in the set:

Disc One
Houston Astros at Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series Game 1

As is often the case in the first game of the fall classic, game one saw two aces take the hill: Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers, Dallas Keuchel for the Astros, both past Cy Young award winners and primed to carry their teams to postseason glory, though with Kershaw's shaky record and performance in the postseason over the years, nothing was a given. Kershaw mowed down the Astros 1-2-3 in the top of the first but Dallas Keuchel surrendered a leadoff bomb to Chris Taylor in the bottom of the first. The game would remain 1-0 until the top of the fourth, when Astros third baseman Alex Bregman would blast a homer off of Kershaw to knot the game at a run apiece. Both pitchers would keep runs off the board until the bottom of the sixth when Keuchel would surrender another home run, this one a two-run shot off the bat of Dodgers redhead sensation Justin Turner, giving the Dodgers a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish. Kershaw would pitch seven very strong innings, strike out 11, and ease any fears Dodgers fans might have had about their ace coming into the biggest game of his life. Final Score: Dodgers 3, Astros 1

Disc Two
Houston Astros at Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series Game 2
Dodgers Lead Series 1-0

The Astros were widely criticized at the July 31 trading deadline for failing to acquire a starter, but the team picked up one heck of an ace at the last moment on a waiver claim trade, right before postseason rosters had to be set, trading for Tigers ace Justin Verlander. Verlander dazzled for the Astros down the stretch and was now called upon to ensure the World Series would return to Houston tied at a game apiece rather than with a 2-0 Dodger lead. Los Angeles countered with Rich Hill, a two-WAR pitcher who put up a very respectable ERA in the mid-threes. The game would remain scoreless through two. The Astros would push across a run in the third but the Dodgers would answer with a single tally in the fifth and two more in the sixth for a 3-1 lead. The game would be turned over to the bullpens early; Hill pitched only four complete, Verlander six. The Astros would push across runs in the eighth and the ninth, the latter a Marwin Gonzalez leadoff home run on an 0-2 pitch off Dodgers All-Star closer Kenley Jansen to tie the game at three and send the contest into extra innings. And what classic extra frames they would be. In the top of the tenth, the Astros' Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa hit back-to-back homers to give their team a 5-3 lead. But the Dodgers would battle back, beginning with a Yasiel Puig solo home run, followed by an RBI single by Kike Hernández that would push the game to the eleventh tied at five. The Astros' George Springer would blast a two-run dinger to give Houston a 7-5 lead. Los Angeles would not go quietly. Charlie Culberson, with six career homers, would blast one with two down in the inning to cut the deficit to one, but Chris Devenski would finish off the Dodgers and secure the wild win. Final Score: Astros 7, Dodgers 6

Disc Three
Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros
World Series Game 3
Series Tied 1-1

Lance McCullers threw the first-ever World Series pitch in Houston, Texas for a ball, and he would toss a decidedly mediocre game for the Astros. The mid-rotation twirler surrendered three runs on four hits, along with four free passes and three punchouts in 5.1 innings. But Dodgers starter and trade deadline acquisition Yu Darvish was much worse, surrendering four runs in the second, including a Yuli Gurriel home run to lead off the inning (that would result in him making an unfortunate gesture that will cost him a few games to start the 2018 season), that would chase him after just 1.2 innings pitched. The Dodger bullpen would pitch well, surrendering, collectively, only a single unearned run in 6.1 innings pitched. The Dodgers would pick up two more runs off McCullers in sixth, but Brad Peacock would pitch extraordinarily well in relief, throwing 3.2 innings of hitless baseball for the unorthodox but much-needed extended save to put the Astros up in the series, 2-1. Final Score: Astros 5, Dodgers 3

Disc Four
Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros
World Series Game 4
Astros Lead Series 2-1

Former Pirate Charlie Morton (remember that name), a pitcher with "electric stuff" who modeled his approach after the late, great Roy Halladay but never found sustained success on the mound, started the critical game four for Houston. Morton would pitch a good game -- 6.1 innings, no walks, seven strikeouts, one earned run -- but the Houston bullpen would implode late in the game. The contest would remain scoreless through five. Houston would plate a run in the sixth on a George Springer home run. The Dodgers would tie it up in the top of the seventh. With the game knotted at one apiece heading into the top of the ninth, Astros closer Ken Giles would toss a disastrous inning, surrendering three earned runs. The inning was capped off by a Joc Pederson three-run dinger off reliever Joe Musgrove to give the Dodgers a commanding five-run lead. The Astros would plate a single tally in the bottom of the inning, but Kenley Jansen slammed the door to give the Dodgers the critical win and tie the series at two wins each. Final Score: Dodgers 6, Astros 2

Disc Five
Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros
World Series Game 5
Series Tied 2-2

Game five will likely be remembered amongst the top two or three games in the history of the World Series. The game was a high scoring back and forth affair, which was the last sort of game anyone expected with game one aces Clayton Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel toeing the rubber. The Dodgers would get to Keuchel right away, plating three runs in the first. The score would stay 3-0 until the Dodgers would add another in the fourth. Houston would storm back in the bottom of that frame, which included a three-run shot by Yuli Gurriel. Kershaw wouldn't finish the inning, Keuchel was already out, and the game would become a war of attrition of two ineffective bullpens. In the fifth, Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger (yet another in a long and storied lineage of ROYs for the Dodgers) blasted a three-run homer to give the Dodgers an 8-5 lead. Diminutive middle infielder and American League MVP Jose Altuve hit a three-run jack to tie the game at eight in the bottom of the inning. Los Angeles would score a run in both the seventh and eighth. The Astros scored five in those frames, which included George Springer, Carlos Correa, and Brian McCann home runs. The Dodgers would plate three in the ninth, two of which came off a home run by Yasiel Puig. Third baseman Alex Bregman's RBI single in the tenth would give the Astros the epic victory and 3-2 series lead. Final Score: Astros 13, Dodgers 12.

Disc Six
Houston Astros at Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series Game 6
Astros Lead Series 3-2

The action shifted back to Los Angeles for a do-or-die game six against an Astros team on the brink of bringing Houston its first World Series title. The Dodger mountain to climb was to be a tall one; Justin Verlander, nearly untouchable since coming over to Houston (and certainly not too bad prior, either), certainly had his mind set on pitching his team to a World Series-clinching win. Opposite him was Rich Hill, who previously pitched four strong innings in game two. Both pitched well. The Astros picked up single run in the third off the MVP bat of George Springer. Verlander would surrender a pair in the sixth but otherwise toss a good game, whiffing nine, walking none, and surrendering only three hits through six. But the Dodger bullpen would clamp down and hold Houston scoreless the rest of the way. Los Angeles would tally an insurance run in the seventh to secure the win and push the series to a decisive seventh game. Final Score: Dodgers 3, Astros 1.

Disc Seven
Houston Astros at Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series Game 7
Series Tied 3-3

For all the drama and excitement of several of the previous six games, game seven proved to be a bit of a letdown. The Astros jumped all over Yu Darvish, who may have been tipping his pitches, scoring two in the first and three more in the second, including a two-run homer off the bat of MVP George Springer, chasing the Dodger starter after just 1.2 innings pitched. Astros starter Lance McCullers only pitched 2.1 innings, leaving the game in the hands of the Astros bullpen. The key, and unlikely, man out of that pen: Charlie Morton. The righty would surrender a single run in the sixth but pitch four brilliant innings, earn the win, and secure the World Series victory for the Astros. Final Score: Astros 5, Dodgers 1.

Disc Eight
New York Yankees at Houston Astros
American League Championship Series Game 7
Series Tied 3-3

Charlie Morton and game seven...whodathunkit? The Astros righty, as would be a theme in the postseason, would twirl a gem against the upstart Yankees, going five scoreless with five punchouts and only one free pass. Lance McCullers would be the only relief arm the team would need. The Houston offense would put up four runs, aided by homers off the bats of Evan Gattis and Jose Altuve, to send the team to the World Series. Final Score: Astros 4, Yankees 0.

2017 World Series Collector's Edition: Houston Astros Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Though the games may be presented in 720p, the image holds rather stable and pleasant. Colors are very bright and bold. Astros orange is particularly eye-catching, but so too is Dodger blue and the green grass. Detailing is excellent, too. Meshy uniforms, complex patches and caps, caked-on dirt and pine tar, scuffs and wear on the bench, all of it enjoys very good, very tangible and tactile definition. Image clarity is excellent nearly across the board; fans are well defined in close-up, though certainly at any distance the image loses stability and clarity. Graphics are fairly sharp and only a bit of aliasing and other issues are evident. It's a good, enjoyable image, more or less reflective of the TV broadcast (with a bit more stability). Fans with those expectations should be happy with the presentation.

2017 World Series Collector's Edition: Houston Astros Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

2017 World Series Collector's Edition: Houston Astros 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, Astros and Dodgers 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 is boomy, as is the Fox music that plays in between innings. Balance is never a strong point, and lightning quick drops and pauses in sound in between innings are not uncommon. 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.

2017 World Series Collector's Edition: Houston Astros Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Each game ends with a few minutes' worth of postgame coverage from the team at MLB Network. The set does come with a booklet that details each game included with box scores and factoids. The main menu screen for each disc offers only selections to skip ahead by inning (top and bottom alike) and choose from any of the audio broadcasts.

2017 World Series Collector's Edition: Houston Astros Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What a series! Baseball fans have certainly been spoiled the last couple of years with back-to-back seven-game classics. This one had it all, including a pair of classic games and a franchise that had never won the series taking home the prize. It'll certainly be a tough road to repeat next year with the Angels picking up Shohei Ohtani and the Yankees landing Giancarlo Stanton, but the Astros certainly have the pieces in place to maintain what the organization has built and enjoy sustained success for the next several seasons. Shout! Factory's eight-disc Blu-ray release delivers a fair A/V presentation but the treasure is obviously owning all seven World Series games. Recommended for baseball fans and it's obviously a must-buy for Astros faithful.