| | |  | Collectible & Novelty Items | Home » » Nine Innings From Ground Zero: The 2001 World Series | | | | | | | Description: | | Short, well-made documentary showing how the NY Yankees vs. AZ Diamondbacks world series games, just a month after 9-11, provided welcome relief from the uncertainty New Yorkers, and the nation, felt about how to proceed with their lives. The Yankees, during the series, came to symbolize and re-strengthen everything that was, and is, New York... and America. | | | Features: | |
• Officially Licensed
• Highest Quality Recording
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| John Ashcroft, Bob Brenly, Scott Brosius, Joe Buck, George W. Bush | | Format:
| Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Subtitle:
| English, Spanish, French | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Hbo Home Video | | Run Time:
| 60 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| March 29, 2005 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 10 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 A Tear-Jerker That Shows What Baseball Is Really All AboutJun 22, 2009
All too often, I think that baseball fans get a bit too caught up in the everyday minutiae of the game to reflect on what the sport really means to them. A few examples would be criticizing the manager for a pitching change or getting on the case of a batter in a terrible slump. However, this DVD will remind you that the game of baseball stands for so much more.
This documentary really shines on two different levels. First, is the action transpiring on the field. Starting with President George W. Bush throwing out the opening pitch (a perfect strike) at Yankee Stadium on the first night back after the terrible 9/11 disaster, the film chronicles the Yankees' amazing run to a division title, a playoff series (against Oakland) that might have been lost if not for Derek Jeter sprinting out of nowhere, and the intensely dramatic World Series that, although it didn't end well for NY, contained a decade-worth of Yankee Stadium drama. The filmmakers are able to very effectively turn those events into a sort of metaphor for the city of New York.
The second level this movie succeeds on is in recounting the personal stories that were going on "behind the scenes" while the Yankees and Mets were doing their best to entertain the masses. In one instance, a young girl who lost her father on 9/11 only began finding herself again after a simple phone conversation with Derek Jeter. On other occasions, NYC firefighters and rescue workers were touched by personal appearances from Yankee players, allowing them (if only for a brief time) to think of something other than the terrible events that were involved in. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is also a very articulate presence throughout the film, as his words serve as a representation for the entire New York population at that time. Despite their sorrow, they wanted to see their Yankees.
As a person who has also experienced a difficult time in my life and been helped through it by the steadying presence of baseball, I found this documentary to be a very accurate portrayal of the lingering emotions during that time period. Through all the fear and anxiety, the sport of baseball was able to provide fans a respite (even if at first they were wary of looking at anything the same again) from the shocking events/changes around them. And that, ultimately, is the legacy of this fine sport...bringing people together over a common interest.
Thus, I recommend viewing this film on every September 11th from now until eternity, as it will help you remember how a frightened nation was helped to be resurrected by a simple (yet oh so grand) game.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Our Pastime!Feb 09, 2009
Nine Innings From Ground Zero says a lot, shows a lot. Smiles, tears, laughter, joy, and sorrow. Narration is spot on sympathetic and poignant without being overly maudlin. Lot's of stuff in here you may have forgotten, or see for the first time. You need not be a New York Yankees fan to feel the enormous emotion as you see our former President grace the pitcher's mound in pride, defiance, humor, and care...and throw a strike right into the heart of the enemy, and our conscience.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
For more than just baseball fansJun 01, 2008
This is one of the best made documentaries by HBO. Among many things, it shows how baseball helped New York and America survive the shocking aftermath of September 11, 2001.
8 of 23 found the following review helpful:
 Sugar-Coated GlurgeOct 27, 2007
This ridiculous pile of maudlin crud would be funny if it wasn't so darned sad. First, the common theme is "New York NEEDED this World Series in it's recovery from September 11" and "New York DESERVED this World Series" and "It was America v. Arizona," etc. Never mind that the Yankees payroll was three times that of Arizona and that the Yankees had won four of the previous five October classics- nope, they were SUPPOSED to win this one because...um, well, because terrorists attacked New York, I guess.
The DVD also doubles as a campaign commercial for Rudy Giuliani, who manages to appear in WAY too many segments. One of the most unintentionally funny moments comes when the series goes back to Arizona and one of the Mayor's spokesmen talks about the "tough decision" concerning whether Giuliani should fly to Phoenix to be there- "what if we were attacked again in his absence?" Hmm, yeah, what if? I guess NYC would have had to get by without the Mayor wandering around the rubble looking for his command center with a bullhorn in his hand.
Another great moment comes when a Pwecious Wittle Girl reads a letter she wrote to Derek Jeter about how she weally, weally woves him and hopes he wins the whole thing. I had to pause the DVD and go brush my teeth after that part.
There's a lot more, but the message woven throughout the film remains the same- the people of NYC are Heroes who were Bent but not Broken, the New York Yankees ARE the city of NY, and it was Wrong and Bad for the Diamondbacks to win that Series. It was as if the Terrorists had Won.
Watch the DVD with some friends for a laugh, and supply plenty of booze. But don't invite any diabetics, this will send them into shock before the halfway mark.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
remember 9/11May 17, 2007
the main reason i bought this video is because the price finally dropped. i happened to be at this - my first- world series. i watched games three and four in yankee stadium after making the long trek out from colorado in late october. i'm very experiential and had to visit ground zero. every time i'm in nyc i visit the same corner. jeter's november heroics are memorable and by kim's meltdown. he never really recovered from those home runs. kim was just traded from the colorado rockies to the marlins. unfortunately, the yankees lost that one on a luis gonzalez's bloop single off mariano rivera, but there was nothing like watching president bush throw out the first pitch, the wtc flag unfurled over yankee stadium and lee greenwood singing.
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