THE SET
The St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series Collector’s Edition boxed set contains eight discs, one for each of the seven playoff games included in this set, plus one bonus disc. Each game is presented in its entirety, with commercial interruptions and the pregame opening being the only items removed from the original broadcast. All seven games were broadcast by FOX.

NLCS Game Five – Saint Louis 4, New York 2: With the best of seven series tied at two games apiece, rain delayed Game Five by one day, giving Tom Glavine and Weaver an extra day of rest. Weaver benefitted more from the extra day off, allowing just two runs in six innings, while Glavine was chased in the fifth inning after giving up the go-ahead run. The Mets threatened in the eighth inning, placing runners at second and third with one out, but Randy Flores retired Shawn Green on a fly out, and Adam Wainwright struck out Jose Valentin. Wainwright retired the Mets in order in the ninth to put the Cardinals within one win of the World Series as the NLCS shifted to New York.

NLCS Game Seven – Saint Louis 3, New York 1: The Mets won Game Six to force a deciding Game Seven in New York. David Wright singled home Carlos Beltran in the first inning to give the Mets the lead, but Ronnie Belliard’s sacrifice bunt tied the game in the top of the second inning. Both teams threatened in the sixth inning; Endy Chavez robbed Scott Rolen of a two-run home run in the top of the sixth with a leaping catch to grab a ball that was over the wall, and Jeff Suppan pitched out of a bases loaded one-out jam in the bottom of the sixth. Yadier Molina’s two-run home run off of Aaron Heilman in the ninth inning gave the Cardinals the lead, and Wainwright struck out Beltran with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the Cardinals second NL pennant in three seasons. This broadcast also includes the Cardinals on-field celebration following the final out.

World Series Game One – Saint Louis 7, Detroit 2: The Cardinals entered the World Series as heavy underdogs to the Tigers, and fell behind in the first inning as Anthony Reyes allowed one run on two hits. Rolen tied the game with a home run in the top of the second inning and the Cardinals scored three runs in the third inning to take the lead for good. Reyes settled down and retired fourteen Tigers in a row before allowing a single with one out in the seventh inning. With the win, the Cardinals franchise ended an eight game road losing streak in the World Series.

World Series Game Two – Detroit 3, Saint Louis 1: The Tigers won Game Two behind strong pitching from Kenny Rogers to even the series at one game apiece. However, this game is best remembered for the controversy surrounding Rogers and the discoloration at the base of the thumb on his pitching hand. Rogers claims that the discoloration was dirt, but some Cardinals contended that it could have been pine tar. After the umpires requested that Rogers wash his hands to remove the substance before the second inning, Rogers allowed just one hit and two walks over the next seven innings. The Cardinals threatened in the ninth inning, but Molina grounded out with the bases loaded for the final out.

World Series Game Three – Saint Louis 5, Detroit 0: Jim Edmonds two-run double in the bottom of the fourth inning broke a scoreless tie and gave the Cardinals the lead for good. Chris Carpenter, the Cardinals ace, pitched eight shutout innings, allowing only three hits and just one runner past first base. The Cardinals added two runs in the seventh inning on an error and one run in the eighth inning on a wild pitch.

World Series Game Four – Saint Louis 5, Detroit 4: Sean Casey’s home run and run scoring singles by Casey and Ivan Rodriguez gave the Tigers an early three run lead. Doubles by David Eckstein and Molina cut the Tigers lead to one after four innings. Eckstein led off the seventh inning with a fly ball to centerfield, but ended up with a double when Curtis Granderson slipped, and scored the tying run when Fernando Rodney overthrew first base on So Taguchi’s sacrifice bunt. Preston Wilson singled in the go-ahead run, but Brandon Inge doubled in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at four. Eckstein’s double off of the glove of a diving Craig Monroe scored what proved to be the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Cardinals put the Tigers on the brink of elimination.

World Series Game Five – Saint Louis 4, Detroit 2: Weaver pitched eight strong innings for the Cardinals, allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out nine Tigers. A two-run home run by Casey gave the Tigers a one-run lead in the top of the fourth inning, but the Cardinals answered right back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning that were partially aided by a Justin Verlander throwing error, the eighth error committed by the Tigers in the five game series. Rolen’s single in the seventh inning drove in an insurance run, and Wainwright struck out Inge with the tying run on first base to end the game. This broadcast also includes the Cardinals on-field celebration following the final out.

SOUND + VISION
The St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series Collector’s Edition is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio that preserves the aspect ratio of how sports programming is viewed on television. The audio is available in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo in English, and for the seven games, there is also an available Spanish audio track from the Fox en Espanol broadcast. There are no subtitles available, and the Spanish audio track is unavailable on the bonus features. The announcing team of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver anchors the broadcasts of all seven games. A transparent bug of the Major League Baseball logo is present in one corner of the screen during each of the games, but it is not a nuisance. The ambient sound (crowd noise, bat hitting the ball, etc.) is crisp and clearly audible.

PACKAGING/ LAYOUT
The eight discs for The St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series Collector’s Edition are stored in a sturdy five-sided slipcase. The top and bottom of the slipcase are emblazoned with the Cardinals logo, while the back of the slipcase gives a brief summary of the set and lists the features of the bonus disc. The front of the slipcase includes two pictures of game action, the Cardinals logo, and assorted trivia. Each of the eight discs is stored in its own slimline case, one disc for each of the seven playoff games included in the set, as well as the bonus disc. Each disc features SleeveStats, which includes a complete box score on the back of each case and a complete game log on the inside of each case. The front of each case has an assortment of information, including: date, length, and location of the game; the starting pitching matchup; a line score; attendance; game time temperature; and related trivia. There is a minor error in the box score for Game Four of the World Series, as Suppan’s pitching line is listed twice, with Suppan’s name next to one line and Carpenter’s name next to the other line. The SleeveStats for the bonus disc differ from the game discs, keeping the assortment of trivia on the front of the case, while featuring additional trivia and a listing of what is on the bonus disc on the back of the case. World Series batting and pitching statistics for the Cardinals are on the inside of the case. The menu screens for each game are easy to navigate, with the viewer having the option of viewing each game in totality from start to finish, or jumping to the inning of their choosing by scrolling through a line score, with a baseball graphic guiding the viewer. The slipcase also includes two inserts; an advertisement for the official 2006 World Series DVD and a congratulatory note from KTRS-AM, the radio home of the Cardinals.

SPECIAL FEATURES
The special features for The St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series Collector’s Edition are contained on one disc, and the total run time for these features is approximately 75 minutes. Specifically, the features are:
• Exclusive Interviews – Carpenter, Edmonds, Tony LaRussa, Albert Pujols, Suppan, Wainwright, Weaver, and Wilson provide commentary on various aspects of the 2006 postseason, including Wainwright’s strikeout of Beltran for the final out of Game 7 of the NLCS and Eckstein’s MVP performance in the World Series. Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo also provides commentary in Spanish, but there are no English subtitles for his comments.
• NL Central Division and NLDS Clinchers – The final outs from the Cardinals loss to the Milwaukee Brewers that clinched the Cardinals third Central Division title and the Cardinals victory over the Padres that clinched the Cardinals appearance in the NLCS for the third season in a row. Also included is the brief on-field celebration which followed the final out of the National League Division Series clincher, and the subdued celebration following the final out of the loss to the Brewers (the Cardinals clinched the division after the Houston Astros had lost earlier in the day).
• Clubhouse Celebration – The postgame celebration in the Cardinals clubhouse after winning Game Five of the World Series. Also included is the final pitch of Game Five and the subsequent on-field celebration.
• 2006 World Series Trophy and MVP Presentation – The original broadcast of the trophy presentation as Commissioner Bud Selig presents the Commissioner’s Trophy to Cardinals owner William DeWitt and the World Series MVP award to Eckstein. This feature also includes interviews with Dewitt, Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty, LaRussa, Pujols, and Eckstein.
• New Busch Stadium Opening Ceremonies – Footage from the pre-game ceremonies to open the new Busch Stadium at the start of the 2006 season. This includes the introduction of Cardinals Hall of Famers Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Red Schoendienst, Ozzie Smith, and Bruce Sutter, as well as the introduction of some of the current Cardinals players. Since Buck also does the play-by-play for the Cardinals local television coverage, he provides commentary for this broadcast, including a prediction that Wainwright would play a crucial role for the Cardinals late in the season. The ceremonial first pitch, featuring Gibson, Carpenter, Willie McGee, and Pujols, is also included.
• Other features included are – Pujols hitting the first home run in new Busch Stadium; Pujols setting the home run record for April; a montage of Cardinals walk-off wins from 2006; Molina wired for sound during warm-ups (this is in Spanish, with no English subtitles), and highlights of the Cardinals 1982 World Series victory.

CIRCLING THE WAGONS:
With five complete World Series games and two NLCS games, The St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series Collector’s Edition provides Cardinals fans with more than sixteen hours of footage from the 2006 playoffs. However, the set would not lose any value if Game Five of the NLCS was removed and replaced by Game Four of the NLDS, which would allow for Cardinals fans to have the clinching games from all three playoff series. For Cardinals fans, this set is definitely worth the purchase, as it allows them to relive the franchise’s first World Series title since 1982.

DVD Set Games Score: B+
DVD Set Sounds and Visuals Score: A-
DVD Set Packaging and Layout Score: A
DVD Set Extras Score: B-
DVD Set Overall Score: B+