The All-Star break affects more than just the ball clubs. It leaves fans hungry for something to watch and puts a big burden on the MLB Network and other sports channels to find content. After all, there are only so many highlight-reel shows you can watch.
So tonight at 9:30 (EST) ESPN airs Doc & Darryl, one of their 30-for-30 documentaries. Here’s a review by NY Times sports media columnist Richard Sandomir.
The 90-minute film ( so what exactly does “30-for-30” mean?) was co-directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio.
From the ESPN description:
When they were good, they were the biggest stars on a team that captured New York City and the 1986 World Series. But when they were bad, Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry broke the hearts of Mets fans. … Reunited at a diner in Queens, the pitcher and the power hitter look back on the glory days of the mid-’80s and the harrowing nights that turned them from surefire Hall of Famers into prisoners of their own addictions. Listening to Doc talk about missing the parade down the Canyon of Heroes, or Darryl counsel others at his ministry, you can only wish that these two very different men had not followed the same destructive path.
The premise is fairly standard, especially to us Mets fans of that era, and not particularly new. Doc and Darryl came on the scene very young, bright stars that burned out too quickly. Ironically, they got one of many second chances through the good graces of the rival Yankees and George Steinbrenner: Gooden threw a no-hitter and Strawberry had the chance to throw in a few nostalgic home runs.
The question in so many of these stories: what might have been?
Frankly, I’m tired of these programs that pull at the heart strings, the silent stares of the subjects as the look off into the distance while the audio offers highlights culled from old broadcasts. That’s basically the whole 30-second trailer, so I didn’t bother posting it here.
But since there’s nothing else to watch…
is available on Amazon.com,
Comments on this entry are closed.