The Ringer’s Review: TRUE linkswear LUX Pro, The Bubble Games Finale: FTS Picks the Champ, Russell Wilson showed why he’s one of the leagues best in Week 1, Making a Case: How Each Remaining Team can win a ‘Ship, Lakers looking for their 17th Championship, The Dodgers are two losses away from another October disaster, National League Championship Series Preview & Prediction, American League Championship Series Preview & Prediction, Dodgers Prove against Padres that this year may be different, National League Division Series Preview & Predictions, How a Colorado Avalanche Fan is Feeling This Off Season (So Far), Taylor Hall to Buffalo… Yes, You Read That Correctly, Jamie Benn is a dirty player, and the NHL lets him get away with it, Gambling with greasy – stanley cup finals, Here Comes The Money: From The Campus Bets Week 4, We made it! The hoopla and attention that month of home runs created around Sosa and the Cubs were far greater than what the doc showed. As of now, we’re not sure what the next installment will be, which is totally understandable given that four films have been expedited to air ahead of schedule and a lot of projects are probably in hiatus due to COVID-19. On the other hand, the film will also give you something to think about. }); I graded this more modestly because I had a higher expectations for the film, thinking it would be a bit more substantive and would deliver more introspection, context, and discussion of complex topics. Your email address will not be published. Also, Long Gone Summer has a difficult time juggling all of the stories that make up the ’98 MLB season. During the lead up to the documentary, we were lead to believe that Sosa was going to give a direct answer. McGwire is the chosen one. Griffey’s clean record on steroid use doesn’t really matter here. Look at Kirby Puckett’s 1991 World Series walk-off shot that set the table for a Twins’ title, or Kirk Gibson’s one-legged Game 1 bomb that, in his only plate appearance, launched the ’88 Dodgers to a pennant, or even Kyle Schwarber, the greatest home run hitter of all time, going yard three times in four games during the 2015 Divisional playoff series vs. the hated St. Louis Cardinals — a rival the Cubs had to put in their rearview before, one year later, winning their first World Series in over a century. They didn’t seem to open up or volunteer much in any major way, so we really don’t get much extra insight into the chase than what we already had. hitType: 'event', You could tell that McGwire appreciated Sosa for the fact Sosa knew what McGwire was going through. gads_event = event; The fact that it was an afterthought that he still had 56 home runs that year is laughable to me. Mark McGwire being interviewed for “Long Gone Summer”. Much has changed since I was an adolescent gazing at the heroic sluggers’ race to beat Roger Maris’ single-season home run record, with steroid scandals and corked bats tarnishing the purity of the players, as well as a sport that still relishes its virtuous image. “Long Gone Summer” doesn’t bother with the tough questions, nor does it pose them to McGwire and Sosa. ga('ads.send', { But by the end of the season, "Slammin' Sosa" was a hero. All Rights reserved. },false) if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ The bulk of the film is just a timeline of home runs and how the hysteria exploded exponentially. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), hitType: 'event', Cubs and Cardinals fans may love this one. Unfortunately for you the haters coming at me wanted some equality and... https://fromthestadium.com/wp-admin/themes.php?page=zoxpress-options#. ESPN whiffs at a fastball low and outside in the unfortunately feel-good documentary Long Gone Summer, recapping the riveting historic home run chase of 1998 between Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs. Overall, Long Gone Summer is a nostalgic ride through one of the most fun MLB seasons ever. But I can’t. },false) Schnack prefers to provide brief glimpses of each players’ pre-’98 career, rather than the scandal that changed everything a few years later. Another broadcaster has been kicked to the curb by the Phillies. It looks like Schnack's concept was simple: Forget the drugs, just remember the season. Griffey’s clean record on steroid use doesn’t really matter here. McGwire speaks briefly about coming to terms with being a fly-ball, home-run hitter — instead of a five-tool ballplayer — but Schnack doesn’t bring in any hitting experts to extol on the difficulties of belting dingers. B1G and Pac 12 Postpone Fall Sports To The Spring, Stanley Cup Winning Scout Jake G. Talks Tortorella, Tiger Woods and Yoga, Racing Golf Carts With NASCAR Driver Ty Dillon, Julien Trudeau Gets His Big Break On The FromTheBackTees Podcast, Jonathan Randolph Chats US Open, Rickie Fowler and New Covid Protocols on KFT, ESPN aired it’s latest 30 For 30 documentary, “Long Gone Summer,” about the 1998 home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa on Sunday night. ga('ads.send', { The Jets aren't just struggling on the field. Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. ga('ads.send', { In a rare interview, @E60’s @JeremySchaap asks former @MLB All-Star Sammy Sosa about PEDs – watch the full story Sunday 9am ET on ESPN pic.twitter.com/LldoFXXsCf, Owner and editor of @AwfulAnnouncing. The documentary does a good job detailing the home run race and the subsequent home run numbers throughout the season. Pity that not all share the same flow of thought. if(document.querySelector("#ads")){ I think this film may have registered higher for me if it was slimmed down, but then once again, I think I’m probably not the specific audience ESPN is aiming for. Look at Kirby Puckett’s 1991 World Series walk-off shot that set the table for a Twins’ title, or Kirk Gibson’s one-legged Game 1 bomb that, in his only plate appearance, launched the ’88 Dodgers to a pennant, or even Kyle Schwarber, the greatest home run hitter of all time, going yard three times in four games during the 2015 Divisional playoff series vs. the hated St. Louis Cardinals — a rival the Cubs had to put in their rearview before, one year later, winning their first World Series in over a century. That may be true, but, even if you set the scandal aside, it doesn’t mean much in hindsight: 2019 saw ongoing complaints about too many home runs, contrasted by a record-setting drop in attendance. A majority of fans have left baseball, and with the NBA (see: Michael Jordan) and NFL taking the forefront, baseball needed something big to gain the interest of fans once again. While "Long Gone Summer" disappointed, Episode 4 of The Last Ride on WWE Network did not. You will be redirected back to your article in, Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox. In no way do you walk away feeling like you have a better understanding of Sosa or McGwire, which was something that was achieved in both Lance and The Last Dance. Both individuals were a combination of both guarded and flat in their interviews, and the others that were interviewed didn’t add much of a unique perspective. }); I say that not as anyone who dislikes either Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa or hates baseball. My girlfriend and rewound this moment about ten times and continue to be totally split on this. Copyright © 2020 Nerd Reactor. Much has changed since I was an adolescent gazing at the heroic sluggers’ race to beat Roger Maris’ single-season home run record, with steroid scandals and corked bats tarnishing the purity of the players, as well as a sport that still relishes its virtuous image. It did not truly capture how big of a story the home run chase in ‘98 was. The sport’s best(-ish) sluggers step to the plate and launch long ball after long ball into stands of “ooo”-ing and “ahh”-ing spectators. On Friday, we asked if it will be able to capture how big of a story the ‘98 home run chase was? In case it’s not painfully clear, I’m a lifelong Cubs fan and thus the ideal audience for a feature-length documentary on the 1998 home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Schnack’s documentary tries to evade the more complicated aspects of history to deliver the same “feel-good story” post-strike fans were desperate to see in ’98 and, with another MLB season in jeopardy, it makes a certain sense to try to relive whatever glory days we can. But “Long Gone Summer,” directed by A.J. eventAction: 'load' And for some gym rats out there who use Creatine, they can take note that the supplement has been in debate since the early '90s. “Long Gone Summer” doesn’t bother with the tough questions, nor does it pose them to McGwire and Sosa. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('impressionViewable', function(event) { Of course, you can’t talk about the home run race without talking about the consequences of what happened in the years that followed—stuff such as steroids or HGH. For his part, as he has done in interviews since his retirement, Sosa deflected the question and did not answer it directly. But “Long Gone Summer,” directed by A.J. It was riveting. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of It went over how in 1997 both he and Ken Griffey had finished that season with 58 and 56 home runs respectively. “Long Gone Summer” airs Sunday, June 14 at 9 p.m. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Notifications can be turned off anytime from browser settings, Although we wish we had a pair of tinted glasses, this just doesn't help forget the fact that these were most probably (almost certainly) juice-fuelled achievements, window.adsContainer = 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