Red Carpet event for the premiere of the 2019 World Series documentary

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Andrew Lang

The event kicked off with a quick Q&A with (L to R) Ryan Zimmerman, Mike Rizzo, Mark Lerner, Lindsay Czarniak, Craig Melvin; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

The premiere showing of the 2019 World Series documentary from Shout! Factory Productions was debuted last night to a sold-out crowd of 3,000 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. This red carpet event was attended by Ryan Zimmerman and general manager Mike Rizzo as well as principal owner Mark Lerner, and the narrator of the film Craig Melvin. Local sportscaster Lindsay Czarniak who is married to Melvin acted as the emcee for the Q&A discussion in which Mike Rizzo talked about that he got married in Jamaica last week and said since the end of the World Series, “I’ve been drunk for a month.” That was met with applause and laughter. Much of the Q&A was met with applause and laughter as Craig Melvin asked Lerner if he could buy the Redskins.

In a question asked to Lerner, he talked twice about the moment he knew his team was going to win the World Series and he said that was the moment when Astros manager A.J. Hinch pulled Zack Greinke in Game 7. That was the point when the Astros were winning 2-1 and Will Harris was brought in to face Howie Kendrick and the rest is history. In the film, we saw a view of Kendrick’s home run from behind the foul pole, and that was so special about the documentary as the video was fantastic and creative with many field angles taken artistically through small openings, unique vantage points, and from the dugout.

Before the documentary began, Melvin told the story that last year’s premiere for the Red Sox World Series video was not a sell-out as compared to the Nats event which was a complete sell-out at The Anthem venue. Ryan Zimmerman walked on the stage carrying the Commissioner’s Trophy and thrusted it high over his head which sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy.

“It’s definitely been fun here,” Zimmerman said. “The joy in the city, and the people that you talk to kind of the ride — not only that we went on, but I think everyone went on  was a lot of fun for all of us, for the whole city, and for the organization. Yeah, it was a heck of a ride man. It was a lot of fun.”

Zimmerman also touched on his future at the red carpet portion of the event.

“I think I’ve made my intentions pretty clear,” Zimmerman said. “It’s either play some more here or play more golf.”

Zimmerman did say his reps talked with Rizzo at the GM Meetings in November.

The fans in attendance seemed to thoroughly enjoy the 80-minute documentary of the entire World Series although it started in the home of Astros shortstop Carlos Correa which was the only odd portion considering the Nats won the World Series, and I would have liked an opening geared more towards the Nats. Some might not like that there was several minutes of Astros behind-the-scenes in the video but most of it told the story and narrator Craig Melvin led the viewer in the right direction. There was no video inside the “Watch Party” at Nats Park during Game 7 but they used footage from Walter’s Sports Bar. They did not include Brian Dozier dancing to Calma or any backstory on “Baby Shark” with Gerardo Parra which was a key part of my personal enjoyment of the 2019 season. But overall, it was well done in filming, editing and production, and I look forward to more viewings of it.

The official release date of the documentary is today and it comes in two ultimate Fall Classic DVD/Blu-ray Mementos: THE 2019 WORLD SERIES FILM, the official documentary from Major League Baseball and 2019 WORLD SERIES COLLECTOR’S EDITION: WASHINGTON NATIONALS.

With numerous camera crews capturing exhilarating pitches,  historic home runs and mesmerizing moments from every postseason game, THE 2019 WORLD SERIES FILM, a thrilling and expertly crafted documentary, edited from hundreds of hours of original hi-def footage, the Nationals breathtaking World Series run is chronicled in inimitable fashion. There is also comprehensive bonus features which I look forward to watching when I get my DVD. There are Regular Season Highlights, Clinching Moments, Postseason™ Highlights and the unforgettable World Series Parade, that fans can relive with the Nats first World Championship again and again.

For those die-hard members of Nats Nation is the 2019 WORLD SERIES COLLECTOR’S EDITION: WASHINGTON NATIONALS, an 8-disc set that includes all includes all seven COMPLETE games of the World Series against the Astros™ along with a bonus disc featuring the pennant-clinching NLCS™ Game 4 versus the St. Louis Cardinals™ in its entirety. Additionally, each game includes four audio options, allowing home audiences to watch the games while listening to the television broadcast, Washington Nationals Radio Network, opponent’s Radio Network or a Spanish-language version of the broadcasts.

The director of the documentary is Jed Tuminaro who has done numerous World Series Films from Major League Baseball. Each year, Jed is in charge of MLB crews in both stadiums, capturing hundreds of hours of footage – this year was one of his most exciting!

With the successful 2019 season, Mike Rizzo pointed out on the stage that since 2012, no team has more wins than the Nationals except for the Dodgers. That comment was greeted with loud applause. The crowd was there to celebrate and why not. There was no chanting “Sign Rendon” or any negativity during this celebration even though even Zimmerman’s future is in question. Don’t let Mike Rizzo’s “drunk for a month” comment confuse you as he has clearly been sober enough to make business decisions for this team and while the event was going on the Nats PR was tweeting news of the non-tender of Javy Guerra who could be seen in the film.

The Fight may be Finished, but you can enjoy watching the documentary and games over and over with never before seen video and interviews with players like Sean Doolittle, Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman. The behind the scenes footage was well-edited to flow with the action on the field including vintage flashbacks. One thing for sure, the Washington Nationals won the World Series as Mark Lerner said on the stage that he woke up many times in the last month wondering if he had been dreaming. Some would say this was a dream season going from 19-31 through five elimination games in the postseason.

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