David Von Pein
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A few (additional) general observations re. this 1975 World Series Collector's Edition..........
While re-watching WS Game #1, I took note of these things that were commonplace in 1975 that are no longer par for the course in the 21st century:
1.) The "Split-Screen" camera shot. Doesn't this shot bring back memories whenever you see it? You never see the "split-screen" done today on MLB broadcasts (do we?)....I don't think it's utilized anymore. But IMO it was a very good camera shot, keeping an eye on both the pitcher and batter on the left side of the screen; while we get a look at the runner leading off first base on the right side. Whenever Joe Morgan is on base, you're likely to see this camerawork.
2.) The camera angle from a low POV directly behind home plate. I don't believe this low, behind-home angle is ever featured in MLB games nowadays either. But this nearly-ground-level shot from behind HP is a terrific shot, and gives you a true sense of the vast speed of a Don Gullett fastball, or a Luis Tiant hummer.
3.) Wet and/or semi-dirty baseballs that are not thrown out of play between pitches. .... This I noticed many times in Game 1, which was a rainy, messy day in Boston too, making it more surprising -- esp. from a 2006 POV, when the umpires are changing baseballs virtually every pitch.
But in the 70s, when a Reds' pitcher would toss a pitch in the dirt...Johnny Bench would pick it up and just give it right back to the pitcher. It wasn't tossed out of play....even on a rainy, crappy day like in G.1 of this '75 WS. It'd take two or even three in-the-dirt plays to get that ball tossed out. I found that quite interesting.
4.) During powwows at the pitching mound, the players in '75 didn't give a darn about covering their mouths with their gloves while talking to each other (as we always see in today's era). Are players truly THAT paranoid in the modern era...fearing their lips will be read by the opposition, thereby giving the other team a slight advantage? Anyway, that's something you're never gonna see circa '75.
5.) Batting helmets -- That is to say: the lack of the protective ear flap on many of the helmets worn by players in the 70s. Most of the Reds' players opted to wear the helmet sans the ear flap (Bench, Morgan, Rose, Geronimo, and Perez all went "flapless"; with Concepcion daring to go without the ol' flap some of the time as well). I challenge anyone to watch a baseball game today and find a player whose batting helmet lacks the protective ear flap. I don't think such a helmet exists today. (Is the "flap" actually a rule in today's baseball environment? It might be; I'm not sure.)
Of course, in the even-older olden days, no players wore any type of helmet while batting. The batting helmet didn't become a regular sight in MLB until the 60s.
While re-watching WS Game #1, I took note of these things that were commonplace in 1975 that are no longer par for the course in the 21st century:
1.) The "Split-Screen" camera shot. Doesn't this shot bring back memories whenever you see it? You never see the "split-screen" done today on MLB broadcasts (do we?)....I don't think it's utilized anymore. But IMO it was a very good camera shot, keeping an eye on both the pitcher and batter on the left side of the screen; while we get a look at the runner leading off first base on the right side. Whenever Joe Morgan is on base, you're likely to see this camerawork.
2.) The camera angle from a low POV directly behind home plate. I don't believe this low, behind-home angle is ever featured in MLB games nowadays either. But this nearly-ground-level shot from behind HP is a terrific shot, and gives you a true sense of the vast speed of a Don Gullett fastball, or a Luis Tiant hummer.
3.) Wet and/or semi-dirty baseballs that are not thrown out of play between pitches. .... This I noticed many times in Game 1, which was a rainy, messy day in Boston too, making it more surprising -- esp. from a 2006 POV, when the umpires are changing baseballs virtually every pitch.
But in the 70s, when a Reds' pitcher would toss a pitch in the dirt...Johnny Bench would pick it up and just give it right back to the pitcher. It wasn't tossed out of play....even on a rainy, crappy day like in G.1 of this '75 WS. It'd take two or even three in-the-dirt plays to get that ball tossed out. I found that quite interesting.
4.) During powwows at the pitching mound, the players in '75 didn't give a darn about covering their mouths with their gloves while talking to each other (as we always see in today's era). Are players truly THAT paranoid in the modern era...fearing their lips will be read by the opposition, thereby giving the other team a slight advantage? Anyway, that's something you're never gonna see circa '75.
5.) Batting helmets -- That is to say: the lack of the protective ear flap on many of the helmets worn by players in the 70s. Most of the Reds' players opted to wear the helmet sans the ear flap (Bench, Morgan, Rose, Geronimo, and Perez all went "flapless"; with Concepcion daring to go without the ol' flap some of the time as well). I challenge anyone to watch a baseball game today and find a player whose batting helmet lacks the protective ear flap. I don't think such a helmet exists today. (Is the "flap" actually a rule in today's baseball environment? It might be; I'm not sure.)
Of course, in the even-older olden days, no players wore any type of helmet while batting. The batting helmet didn't become a regular sight in MLB until the 60s.
