Saw it today, and one has to say MLB is getting better and better with its films - now they are as good as the boys down in New Jersey at NFL Films.

Iassogna is of course, the star, but all of them come very well and do a good job of showing how umpires of all kinds REALLY think. As has been said, I dare ANYONE after watching this to put down Joe West again. Or any MLB umpire for that matter.

It should be noted that watching this, one can't help realizing just how far MLB has come in the way they treat their officials. Gorman in this sort of alludes to this when talking about his dad.

this should be mandatory viewing for all fans...

One more thing - it was very moving when O'Nora, I believe, pointed out the M.S. and HW patches on their sleeves, and how much that really meant to just about the whole crew, as most of them had some connection to either Springstead or Wendlestadt.

What an amazing film. Great work by all involved and amazing access to a room and scenes so few will ever get to see.

There is a preview on the MLB site!

MLB Network | Preview a clip from MLB Network's The Third Team - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia

In that link is this video:

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I have it DVR'd. I watched a little bit of it last night and liked it so far.

I was struck by how much of what they do is similar to what we do.

The conversations with the players and the managers.

The conversations with each other.

Loved it.

Rita

I loved it! When a tremendous presentation they did! I want to see it again!

Dan Iassogna reminded me of how I reacted when I received the notification that I had been selected for my first (in any sport) state final in baseball last June.

If anyone finds out when it's on again, please post the info! I've been to the MLB Network website, and it only lists their TV show lineup for the current day.

There is a calendar on there and you can search for different days.

I think the best thing that could have happened was the series only went four games with no major or minor hiccups.

Manny, my DVR has a search feature. If you have a DVR, it may also.

Rita

I would have enjoyed a hiccup. The only discussion about a bad call was the one at 1B by O'Nora. At the end of the game, there was a slight mention of hating to miss the calls. In fact, O'Nora seemed to shrug it off and the Supervisor (can't recall which one) even said it wasn't a big deal. A casual fan would have scoffed at the "it pains us, too" comment, especially after seeing how they felt in the locker room afterward.

If there had been something a bit more major (i.e., Iassogna's call at the plate was actually incorrect), it might have given a glimpse inside how the umpires really deal with it and how it affects them. If that had been portrayed well, the fans might have gained a bit more respect to the umpires and how hard they actually work to make the best calls possible.

I still think MLB could make this a season-long show. Either have a camera crew follow around an umpire crew for the year. Or, to show different personalities, park the camera crew in a multi-team city (Chicago, New York, LA) and film all the umpire crews as they come into town.

I have searched, and there's nothing showing up. The only thing that piqued my interest was a show about the 20 most controversial calls in MLB play.

Already done. We saw it with Jim Joyce's blown call on Armando Galarraga's lost perfect game.

But has there really been more respect displayed by fans? Initially perhaps. But it has gone away even faster.

Why????