I watched the last half of Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series on the MLB Network. Mel Allen called the first half of the game and Vin Scully (who's still calling games more than half a century later!) called the second half.
Scully observed the baseball tradition of never mentioning that Larsen had a no-hitter going, only noting how many straight Brooklyn battersLarsen had retired, and later mentioning that it could be a historic day.
The Yankees had an all-white starting lineup while the Dodgers started four blacks out of eight. Most of the men in the crowd were wearing suits. The crowd was loud but far more restrained than they would be today.
The original broadcast was very watchable, the only drawback being the black and white, grainy nature of the film. The action was shot from several basic camera positions, there was the occasional graphic, and of course no replays. I found it more in tune with the natural pace of the game. Today's broadcasts are filled with a new camera shot every two seconds, shots of individual members of the crowd, ultra-close-ups of players' faces, reflecting today's infantile attention span. Today's crowd likewise must be constantly revved-up and manipulated with constant music and scoreboard antics.
Some of the Gillette commercials from the game were shown, which were entertaining.
At varioustimes Bob Costas interviewed Larsen and Yogi Berra in a studio with an audience about what Larsen was feeling at various points in the game.
Costas is a real student of baseball andvery knowledgeable, albeit politically correct to the core, but I'd rather see him on this network than just about any other MSM broadcaster.
MLB Network commercial breaks had endless promos of the network's upcoming Negro Leagues documentary.
There was also a break when the network went to a "Hot Stove" studio grouping of five announcers who discussed Jim Rice's election to Cooperstown. All five were wildly in favor of it. Bobby Valentine did the best pandering, saying what a "good guy" Rice was, as if that had anything to do with whether he should be in the Hall of Fame or not. So much for a good old-fashioned baseball argument. The panel had two blacks out of the five members -- or 40 percent; MLB is 9 percent black, the U.S. population is 12 percent black.Edited by: Don Wassall
