The Boys of Summer (of Sam)

The Boys of Summer (of Sam)
by Mark Anthony Neal

The game of baseball was never really made for television. For every great moment in the history of baseball that was televised—Henry Aaron’s 715th homerun, Carton Fisk’s walk-off homerun in game 6 of he 1975 World Series, and Bill Buckner flubbing a ground-ball in game 6 of the 1986 World Series, to name a few—there are literally millions of 3-2 counts, foul pop-ups and pitchers throwing over to first base that have driven folks away from the game. While watching baseball on television is perhaps only a thing for purists, in contrast, baseball nostalgia makes for great television. Such is the case with the HBO documentary Brooklyn Dodgers: The Ghost of Flatbush and ESPN’s mini-series The Bronx is Burning.

Read Full Essay at CRITICAL NOIR @ Vibe.com