Anniversaries are great topics for books and documentaries. This year marked the 20th for the first World Series championship for the Boston Red Sox in generations.
Ever since Ken Burns released the iconic Baseball miniseries, fans have endured the same old same old: interviews with talking heads interspersed with still photos and video clips. So the question is, how do you make it special, different? Part of it has to do with the people you put on camera. How much of a role did they have in the event? How high up on the food chain were they? And do they make for interesting storytelling?
In the case of The Comeback, now streaming on Netflix, the producers made a lot of good choices. We get to hear from the main “idiots” like Kevin “Cowboy Up” Millar, manager Terry Francona, and wunderkind GM Theo Epstein, as well as Johnny Damon, Jason Varitek, Pedro Martinez, and David Ortiz, among others who had roles both large and small. Even Curt Schilling (who manages to keep his political views in check) contributes some great anecdotes.
The main theme behind this three-part docuseries is the rivalry between the Sox and the hated New York Yankees. In 2003, Boston wasn’t able to shake the “Curse of the Bambino,” losing to New York in the ALCS on a 10th inning walk of home run by Aaron Boone. The next year, the Sox clawed their way back from 10½ games back in mid-August to once again face the Yankees in the playoffs. Down three games to none, they did what had never been done in the post-season. All this is told with a good mix of heart and a little bit of hate.
That they swept the St. Louis Cardinals (shades of 1967!) in the World Series is anti-climactic and receives surprisingly little screen time.
Although The Comeback is very well done, it probably could have been condensed into two hours. But the extra backstories (the failed trade for Alex Rodriguez, who ended up on the Yankees; the promotion of Epstein as the youngest GM in history, the disappointing managerial performance by Grady Little) make for entertaining filler.
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