DVD Release Date: June 27, 2006

Cast:

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By Eli Kazin

While Major League Baseball players are the best in their profession, they are not perfect, and occasionally will make mistakes, some of which are humorously referred to as bloopers. Most baseball bloopers involve misplaying a ball, dropping a sure catch, or other good-natured pranks. With Shout! Factory’s MLB Bloopers: The Funny Side of Baseball, baseball fans get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the best bloopers and other light-hearted moments from the past few seasons.

THE MAIN PRESENTATION:
MLB Bloopers: The Funny Side of Baseball is contained on a single disc, and the main presentation runs for approximately seventy-five minutes. This presentation looks at the humorous and lighter side of baseball, including numerous bloopers and plenty of behind-the-scenes action. Most of the bloopers and behind-the-scenes action are from the past few years, although it is interesting to note that some of the players featured are currently on a different team than during the production of the disc.

The main presentation is broken into nine chapters, with each chapter focusing on a specific theme related to the game. One chapter focuses on the various means of transportation that players use to get to a stadium, from the standard modes such as cars to the more random modes such as a rickshaw. Another chapter focuses on what the players are saying to each other during a game, using microphones to pick up comments during and before the games. There is also a chapter on pranks, from the traditional bubble gum on top of the cap or the pie-in-the-face given to the player who is giving a post-game interview to the more complex pranks that take place at the visiting team hotel. Other chapter themes include players who are natural comedians, the workings of the multifaceted handshakes players perform, and baseball cliches.

Since the main presentation focuses on bloopers from the past two seasons, some well-known bloopers from earlier seasons are not included on the disc. Some of these bloopers include Jose Canseco misjudging a fly ball and having it bounce off his head and over the wall for a home run, Mike Piazza’s press conference to announce he is not a homosexual, Randy Johnson hitting a bird with a pitch and causing an explosion of feathers, Randall Simon hitting the Italian Sausage in the head with a bat in the Milwaukee Brewers Sausage Race, and Lloyd McClendon pulling first base out of the dirt and taking it to the clubhouse with him after being ejected from a game. Also, while there is likely no footage of either incident, the chapter on how players travel to the ballpark could have included a mention of Derek Bell of the New York Mets arriving at Shea Stadium on his private boat and Atlanta Braves pitcher Pascual Perez getting lost by circling the I-285 Atlanta Beltway twice on a night he was scheduled to make his first start of the 1982 season.

SOUND AND VISUALS:
MLB Bloopers: The Funny Side of Baseball is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio that preserves the aspect ratio of how sports programming is viewed on television. The audio is available in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound in English only, and there are no subtitles available. Chris Kattan, best known for his work on Saturday Night Live, provides the narration, which mainly consists of brief introductions before each chapter. Play-by-play from radio and television broadcasts is included to augment some of the bloopers, and commentary from players is plentiful.

PACKAGING AND LAYOUT:
MLB Bloopers: The Funny Side of Baseball comes in a standard black plastic case and features a close up graphic of a baseball with a backdrop of a baseball stadium on the front of the case. The back of the case features a summary of the disc contents, a list of bonus features, and photos of players in lighthearted settings. On the inside of the case is a one page insert that lists the chapters of the main presentation and the bonus features, and on the back of the insert is an advertisement for Shout! Factory releases. The menu screens are simple to navigate, and allow for viewing the main presentation from the start or by clicking on the Innings option, which allows for selecting a specific chapter to view. There are nine innings to choose from, which is the number of innings in a regulation baseball game.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
There are twelve special features included on MLB Bloopers: The Funny Side of Baseball, and they total approximately twenty minutes. The special features can be viewed by clicking on the Extra Innings option on the main menu screen. Specifically, the features are:

- 1993 Florida Marlins Grounds Crew ‘s Tarp Troubles - The Marlins began play in 1993 as an expansion team, and their home games frequently featured rain delays due to the South Florida weather. In a game against the New York Mets, the grounds crew struggled for more than twenty minutes to get the tarp in place during a rain delay, and when they finally succeeded, the rain had stopped and the umpires were ready to resume the game.
- In-Game Blooper: Ruben Rivera - “The Worst Base Running In The History Of The Game” - Ruben Rivera of the Giants is on first base when Marquis Grissom hits a long fly ball that is almost caught. Rivera initially thinks the ball is caught, so he turns back toward first, but when he realizes it is not caught, he turns to continue running, but misses second base. Rivera, looking confused and lost the entire time he is running, turns for home after an error on the throw to third, but is out at home plate by a good distance.
- In-Game Blooper: Nook Logan Hits A “Little League Home Run” - On a simple single with two runners on, Nook Logan of the Detroit Tigers ends up with an error-assisted “Little League Home Run”. The initial throw home hits the runner trying to score, and when the next runner tries to score because the ball caroms into the infield, the throw home is wide and goes to the backstop. Logan, who never stopped running, sprints around third and scores easily.
- In-Game Blooper: Jason Lane Forgets How Many Outs There Are In An Inning - Jason Lane of the Houston Astros makes a catch for the second out of the inning, but he loses track of how many outs there are, and thinking it is the third out, he tosses the ball into the stands to a lucky fan. This has actually happened numerous times in baseball history, although it is still a minor occurrence.
- Blooper Gone Good: Mike Cameron Falls And Makes A Great Catch - Mike Cameron of the New York Mets, considered one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball, slips on the wet outfield grass while running to where he will make a catch. While lying on his stomach, Cameron sticks out his glove, and the ball falls right into it seconds later. Had Cameron not slipped, it would have been a routine and uneventful out.
- In-Game Blooper: Chad Cordero Trips On The Mound While Throwing A Pitch - Chad Cordero, the closer for the Washington Nationals, slips on the pitcher’s mound while in his windup and ends up throwing a pitch that hits the ground midway between the pitcher’s mound and home plate. What is impressive is that his throw was still on line with home plate, going right through the strike zone. It was called a ball, however, because the pitch had hit the ground prior to going through the strike zone.
- Other features included are: The Bruce Chen and Steve Kline Show, Dontrelle Willis and Jimmy Rollins talk about growing up together, the aftermath of the Tim Hudson/Eddie Perez prank, Blooper Stories: Randy Wolf and Mike Lieberthal talk about Mike’s pre-game dance, Blooper Stories: Ryan Dempster’s Harry Caray Impersonation, and Blooper Stories: Johnny Damon recalls when Manny Ramirez cut off one of his throws in the outfield.
- The disc also includes promos for Pure Heat - Ultimate MLB Flamethrowers, Red Sox vs. Yankees: The Ultimate Rivalry, World Series 2005 - Chicago White Sox, and MLB Superstars Show You Their Game.

YOU’RE WITH ME, LEATHER
The one disc for MLB Bloopers: The Funny Side of Baseball takes less than two hours to view in its entirety, and it provides fans with a behind-the-scenes look at baseball players and the funny side of baseball. However, most of the bloopers and behind-the-scenes action are from the past two seasons, leaving a large amount of potential bloopers off of this disc. Baseball fans who are looking for something to keep them entertained should give this disc a look, but rather than being a collection of bloopers, it actually provides a deeper analysis of what makes a blooper.

DVD Main Presentation Score: C+
DVD Sounds and Visuals Score: A-
DVD Packaging and Layout Score: B-
DVD Extras Score: B
DVD Overall Score: B-

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