Ken Burns’ ‘Baseball’ Is Now Available to Stream

With ‘The Civil War,’ Burns Reinvented the Television History Documentary — Now He’s Doing It Again With ‘Baseball’

Unlike football and basketball, America’s national pastime has a deep and storied history that Ken Burns plumbs in nine episodes, or “innings,” and 18 hours of this 1994 miniseries. His deft use of photos, paintings and lithographs brings the past alive, as do voices of actors and writers reciting first-person accounts from baseball legends.

Burns also has a knack for showing how baseball’s past reflects the larger American story. One of the most powerful moments occurs when he examines the racism that dogged baseball, from 19th-century superstar Cap Anson’s objections to playing with black players to the hate mail Hank Aaron received after breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record.

In a remarkable moment, he also points out that baseball was more progressive than many other professional sports in terms of racial equality, desegregating the game 17 years before the Civil Rights Act passed. This is a documentary that not only captures the love of the game, but the passion for the nation’s heritage.

While the DVD is not yet available to stream, it’s worth a look for fans of the game who want a deeper understanding of its history. And it may help keep fans engaged during the current labor dispute by reminding them of what they love about baseball – from the search for racial justice to the clash of labor and management.