Pure Heat: Ultimate MLB Flamethrowers

The good folks at Shout Factory recently sent me a copy of the recently-released Major League Baseball DVD, Pure Heat: Ultimate MLB Flamethrowers, and it's top notch.

The DVD starts with two of the greatest power pitchers of all-time, Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, showing highlights of their careers and detailing the links between the two. From this starting point, the narrative continues to include relievers Eric Gagné and Mariano Rivera, as well as starters Dontrelle Willis, A.J. Burnett, Josh Beckett, Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, and Pedro Martínez.

Each profile gives a brief overview of the pitcher's career, complete with highlights through the 2005 season and commentary by current and former major league players and coaches. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this is listening to hitters talk about the difficulty of hitting against these pitchers, often using phrases such as "no chance" or "unhittable" or "unfair" followed by supporting evidence in the form of video highlights.

In addition to the hour-long program, the disc also includes a significant amount of bonus footage, in which you can watch extended portions of several historic games:
• The 9th inning of Randy Johnson's 2004 perfect game.
• Pedro Martínez's 1999 All-Star game appearance.
• Roger Clemens in the 1986 All-Star game.
• The 9th inning of Kerry Wood's 20 strikeout game in 1998.
• The final outs of Nolan Ryan's final three no-hitters.

All in all, this disc presents an extremely thorough and entertaining overview of the history of power pitchers in major league baseball, with special attention paid to those aces who are still currently active. The video highlights are comprehensive, and the interviews of overmatched hitters and admiring peers make this DVD well worth the $19.98 price tag.

BrokenCowboy's Advice: Buy