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.