Top of the Tenth -
tenth inning

In 1994, the national pastime faces its worst crisis in 70 years when a bitter and prolonged strike forces the cancellation of the World Series, infuriating fans dismayed by the athletes and teams they once worshipped. Baseball has to rebuild. And rebuild it does, with new stadiums, an infusion of new players from Latin America and the shattering of historic records previously considered unbreakable. Cal Ripken Jr. sets an amazing record of consecutive games played, helping rekindle the country's love of the game. Barry Bonds, son of the great right fielder Bobby Bonds, signs the most lucrative contract to date in baseball history and thrills San Francisco fans. Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Greg Maddux pitch the Atlanta Braves to the pinnacle. Dazzlingly talented Latino players make an indelible mark on the game. The Yankees, led by manager Joe Torre, return to glory after two decades of disappointment. Bulked up sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa captivate the nation as they chase Roger Maris' single season home run record. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, more and more players are making life-altering decisions about how far they are willing to go to succeed. Part one of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's two-part series THE TENTH INNING.

Episode Duration: 1 hour 58 minutes and 43 seconds

Episode Number: 101

No future air times were found for this episode.

About Tenth Inning:

Thousands of bats, three home run records and one "curse" have been broken since Ken Burns last explored the history of America's national pastime with his 1994 series BASEBALL.

Now, Burns and co-director Lynn Novick update the series with THE TENTH INNING.

Beginning with a crippling strike that alienated millions of fans and brought the game to the brink, this film tells the tumultuous story of our national pastime up to the present.

It celebrates baseball's new Golden Age -- an era of unprecedented home run totals, popularity and prosperity -- and sheds light on one of the game's darkest chapters -- the steroid era.

The film examines the compelling stories of Joe Torre, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Pedro Martinez, Ichiro Suzuki, Cal Ripken Jr.

and Barry Bonds and features insightful commentary from an eclectic lineup of writers, broadcasters, fans and all-stars.