I would never call myself a Chicago White Sox fan, but I do have something of a soft spot in my heart for both Chicago baseball clubs, the Cubs and the White Sox. Chicago has long been my favorite big city and the baseball fans there are knowledgeable and passionate, so, as a devout Philadelphia Phillies fan, I can empathize with the heartbreak they’ve endured for so long. Before 2005, both Chicago clubs had gone more than 80 years without winning a World Series title. The Sox history is excruciating, beginning with the infamous 1919 Black Sox scandal, when several players conspired to throw the Series that year. Many felt the Sox were cursed after that and there’s little doubt this was one of the lowest points in the history of America’s greatest sport. This story is beautifully depicted in a little film called Eight Men Out, my top choice when it came time to rate the 10 Greatest Baseball Films last fall.

A&E Home Video has once again teamed up with Major League Baseball to release an astonishing set of DVDs. As was the case with the phenomenal 1986 World Series set, this isn’t just a highlights video. This is all four games of the World Series in their entirety. Not a second of game footage is missing. And it’s not just these four games. We’re also treated to the series-clinching games for the White Sox in both the ALDS and ALCS. And to top that, there’s a bonus disc included. To say this is a comprehensive set would be an understatement.

I’m a real baseball fan, not someone who simply claims to enjoy it, so I can say with all honesty that I’ll gladly watch stuff like this when the opportunity presents. But I also have to be honest and say that a set like this does not at all provide the same level of nostalgia and enthusiasm that I had for the 1986 set. Don’t get me wrong, the 2005 games were fun – amazingly, this was the first World Series ever where a team won three straight games in which it took the lead in the eighth inning or later – but it’s hard for me to get that excited about something that happened less than six months ago, especially when this Series ended in a sweep. I’m sure I’ll enjoy this set quite a bit more 10 years from now, but even then it will pale in comparison to the 1986 set. Not that that’s a bad thing in any respect. This was a good Series with a very nice DVD release.

One other mark against this set must be mentioned. Unlike the 1986 Series which featured the brilliant play-by-play work of the incomparable Vin Scully for seven great games, here we’re stuck with the dreadfully uninteresting Joe Buck, who makes everything out to be bigger than it is, and the pompous Tim McCarver, who is my least favorite person in the history of broadcasting. If not for these boobs, this set would have rated at least half a pant higher. Yes, they suck, but if you’re into the games and/or like the teams, you learn to ignore them to a degree.

Video
This was my biggest disappointment in regards to this set. Not that I was expecting anything special in the video department, but I really was surprised by what they did with it. All of these games were originally broadcast in High Definition so I was expecting crisp, clean transfers in anamorphic widescreen. But this isn’t what they did. The games in this set are presented in a letterboxed 4:3 aspect ratio which leaves a good deal of disc space devoted solely to black bars. Why did they do this? It’s 2006. Companies should not be releasing widescreen programming in a non-anamorphic format. Hell, Warner Brothers has been taking advantage of the benefits of anamorphic presentations since 1997. Why couldn’t they do this in 2006? I don’t get it. Anyway, the picture suffers somewhat because of this decision, but it’s still watchable. Details are fine, colors are good, and you won’t feel like you’re missing much, but you will know it doesn’t look as good as the original High Definition broadcast. It’s a shame because it could have been so much better.

Audio
No complaints here. It’s a standard stereo audio track. Dialogue is clear and that’s all that really matters. But again, where are the subtitles or closed captions? I know the games were broadcast with captions. How hard would it have been to include captions for the hearing impaired in this set?

Extra Features
It’s not so well organized, but there’s a lot to like. If you choose “Play Ball” on the Bonus Disc, you’re treated to 20 chapters of bonus features totaling just over 56 minutes. Included are Interviews with Manager Ozzie Guillen, Coach Don Cooper, General Manager Ken Williams, and players Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, Scott Podsednik, A.J. Pierzynski, Mark Buehrle, and Aaron Rowand. These are typical interviews, but they’re worth a viewing.

Also included on this disc is footage of the Clubhouse Victory Celebration, the Official Trophy Presentation, Parade Footage and Player Speeches, and Special Game Footagewhich included the White Sox clinching their division. Again, typical stuff, but nice to see included in a set like this.

Packaging
Exactly like the 1986 set, it’s terrific. Seven discs, each packaged in a translucent slim case with each case having a sleeve insert which provides great information on each game. The discs are packaged in a very sturdy cardboard box which will look great on any shelf. The front cover for each disc case features the line score for the game plus little bits of trivia about this series, for instance Game 1’s cover tells us that there were 57 foul balls in the game. The back cover for each game features a box score for that game and the inside features play-by-play recaps for each inning. Great stuff.

Parting Words
This is a very nice set and I’m thoroughly pleased that A&E and Major League Baseball are doing such a comprehensive job with these releases, but I was a little disappointed by the video quality. I also found it difficult to get excited by something that just happened last fall, but I’m sure time will be good to this set. I recommend this set to baseball fans and highly recommend it to White Sox fans.