DVD Corner

The San Francisco Giants: 2012 World Series Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review

San Francisco Giants fans will adore this Blu-ray set.

After an intense victory over the Oakland A’s and a sweep of the New York Yankees, it seemed like the Detroit Tigers were poised to win the World Series (or at the very least have a very competitive series against the San Francisco Giants). Alas, it turned out to be fairly anti-climactic as the Tigers were completely dominated by the Giants.

With Justin Verlander pitching in game 1, you’d figure the odds would be in the Tigers favor for this game. However, Verlander wound up only lasting 4 innings as he gave up 5 runs and 6 hits before being pulled. Meanwhile, the Giants were hitting up a storm as Pablo Sandoval (the eventual World Series MVP) had a whopping 4 hits, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs to lead the Giants to an 8-4 victory.

Game 2 turned out to be pitching duel between Doug Fister and Madison Bumgarner. While Fister pitched a really good game, the Tigers couldn’t get anything going offensively. The Giants, however, managed to get 2 runs thanks to the efforts of Hunter Pence and Angel Pagan.

Game 3 was another low scoring affair with the Giants winning 2 zip thanks to Hunter Pence and Gregor Blanco each scoring a run. Much like with game 2, Tigers pitcher Ryan Vogelsong pitched a superb game, but received no help from the Tigers sluggers like Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera.

Game 4 was certainly the best of the series as it went to extra innings (10 to be exact). While the Tigers bats woke up a bit with Miguel Cabrera and Delmon smoking a homer each, it wasn’t enough to win the game. Giants player Marco Scutaro hit a single in the 10^th to eventually win the game and the World Series. Of course, Giants closer Sergio Romo deserves credit for shutting out the Tigers at the bottom of the 10^th to secure the historic victory as well.

In addition to the 4 World Series games, 3 additional games have been included on this set as well. First up is game 5 of the 2012 NLDS between the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds. Things were looking grim for the Giants early on in this 5 game series as the Reds won the first 2 games. The tables soon turned in game 3 as the Giants wound up winning 3 straight to win the series and advance in the playoffs. Even though Matt Cain didn’t pitch a great game here, the batting support from Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Hunter Pence, and Angel Pagan did the job.

Next up is game 5 of the 2012 NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals. Once again, this was a crazy series as the Cardinals were up 3 games to 1 before the Giants miraculously won 3 straight. Game 5 was the clear turning point with Barry Zito shutting out the Cards and Pablo Sandoval hitting 2 homers.

Last, but not least, is the June, 13, 2012 game. This is not a playoff game, but it’s a historic game in SF Giants and baseball history. This was one of the 3 perfect games from the 2012 season (Matt Cain’s perfect game to be precise). In this outing against the Houston Astros, Cain showed why he is one of the league’s best pitchers as he displayed confidence and skill in this big win. While not the headline, the Giants hitting was equally impressive here as well as they get a whopping 15 hits and 10 runs.

Video/Audio:

All of the games are presented in widescreen 1080p and this is the way they should all be seen. Hi-definition was made for sports.

As for the audio tracks, all of the games are presented in crystal clear 5.1 DTS-HD. Viewers have the option of playing the following tracks as well (depending on the game): Astros and SF Giants Radio Network tracks, Cardinals TV play-by play and Giants and Cardinals Radio Network calls, Reds TV play-by-play, Giants and Reds Radio Network calls, and Giants and Tigers Radio Network calls for the World Series.

Extras:
* MLB Network 2013 and MLB DVD ads. There is also an unskippable MLB Productions ad on every disc which may annoy some viewers.
* A collection of walk-off winners from the Giants’ 2012 season.
* Post-Season Giants highlights from NLDS games 3 and 4 as well as NLCS games 2, 6, and 7.
* 3 separate season highlights under the titles “Pitching Highlights,” “Twenty-Game Hit Streaks,” and “Giants Clinch NL West.”

Summary: 2012 is arguably the best year in Giant’s baseball history. If you are a Giants fan that wants to relive all of the glorious moments, you should check this set out.

December 28, 2012 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Barry Zito, Justin Verlander, Matt Cain, Pablo Sandoval, SF Giants, The San Francisco Giants: 2012 World Series Collector's Edition Blu-ray Review