The highly anticipated “The Tenth Inning” is a two night, four hour documentary on baseball from the 1990s to the present day, by award-winning film-maker and historian Ken Burns.  Burns, who wrote and directed PBS’ Emmy Award Winning, “Baseball,” has structured his latest effort to continue where the latter left off.

From the PBS website:

“The film highlights dramatic developments that transformed the game: the crippling 1994 strike that left many fans disillusioned with their heroes; the increasing dominance of Latino and Asian players who turned baseball into a truly international game; baseball’s skyrocketing profits, thanks to new stadiums, interleague play, and the wild card; the rise of a new Yankee Dynasty; the Red Sox’ historic World Series victory; the astonishing feats of Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds; and the revelations about performance-enhancing drugs that cast a shadow on many of the era’s greatest stars and their accomplishments.”

“The Tenth Inning” will air on Sept. 28-29; 8:00 – 10:00PM ET on PBS

At first glance, there wouldn’t appear to be many similarities between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees. The Yankees regularly top the league’s payroll, shelling out $206 million in player salaries to lead the way once again in 2010. This year the Rays have climbed to number 21 on the list and their payroll is still barely a third of New York’s. The Yankees make a habit of throwing as much money at as many big names as possible, landing blockbuster free agents every offseason as opposed to developing their farm system. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, has been led this season by homegrown talents Evan Longoria (3b, drafted by Rays in 2006) and the AL’s All-Star Game starting pitcher, David Price (drafted by Rays in 2007). The Yankees also happen to be the most storied franchise in baseball, if not all sports, and have won a record 27 World Series titles. The Rays only became a Major League team in 1998 and lost in their only World Series appearance. Yet despite these seemingly overwhelming differences, at the All-Star break both teams share one important trait: winning games.

Continue Reading ‘Evan Longoria and the Rays Battle Baseball’s Evil Empire’