Blu-ray Review: 2016 World Series The Complete Game 7: Ultimate Edition

I’m from Massachusetts and so while I didn’t grow up a Cubs fan, I of course, as a Red Sox fan had a certain affinity for, and understanding of, Cubs fans. Both groups of fans went through the same sorts of heartache and frustrations, year after year, decade after decade. Cubs fans had two more decades of it than did Red Sox fans. So after the Indians took the Red Sox out of the post-season last year, I started rooting for the Cubs. This seemed to be their year. They had the best record in Major League Baseball. But of course things can get weird in the post-season. It all came down to one hell of a Game 7, one of the most incredible games in the history of baseball. And now, thanks to Shout! Factory’s release of the two-disc set, 2016 World Series The Complete Game 7: Ultimate Edition, we have a chance to revisit it.

This game is almost as exciting the second time around as it was the first, and I found myself cheering as if it were happening now. This game has it all – stolen bases, picked-off base runners, double plays, home runs, sacrifice bunts, errors, blown leads, an extra inning and even a rain delay. And a couple of firsts in baseball. Dexter Fowler starts the game with a home run, the first ever lead-off home run in a Game 7 of the World Series. Later there is the first ever game-tying home run in the 8th inning or later of World Series Game 7 (this by Rajai Davis). That stuff is great, but the entire game is exciting. You certainly don’t need to be a Cubs fan to enjoy watching this one again (but it might be tough for Indians fans).

This set presents a couple of audio options, which is cool. You can listen to the audio of the television broadcast (in English or Spanish), but also listen to either the Cleveland radio network or Chicago radio network broadcast. And of course all commercial interruptions are cut (and most of the rain delay is also cut – we have three or four minutes of the seventeen-minute delay). The first disc contains approximately twenty minutes of post-game coverage, including presentation of the trophy and the Most Valuable Player award.

The second disc contains Cubs postseason game highlights, including the National League Division Series against the Giants, and the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers (like that wild moment stealing home), as well as footage from the first six games of the World Series against the Indians. This footage totals approximately an hour and seventeen minutes. There is also footage of the Cubs World Series victory parade, as well as the team posing for photos on the field, and footage of speeches from a few players. This is approximately sixteen minutes.

2016 World Series The Complete Game 7: Ultimate Edition is scheduled to be released on Blu-ray on and DVD May 9, 2017 through Shout! Factory.