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‘VIP: Yankee Stadium’ and ‘Bono: Stories of Surrender,’ Two New Immersive Videos Coming to Apple Vision Pro
Buried at the bottom of today’s Apple press releases was this tantalizing tidbit:
VIP: Yankee Stadium premieres this Friday, April 4, featuring an all-encompassing look at how elite athletes, die-hard fans, dedicated staff, and epic moments make the Bronx ballpark legendary. Bono: Stories of Surrender pulls back the curtain on the deeply personal experiences that have shaped Bono as a son, father, husband, activist, and U2 frontman. The groundbreaking film from Apple TV+ premieres May 30, and will be available in 2D and in Apple Immersive Video.
I originally presumed both films were being announced today for the first time, but Bono was announced February 26—which I missed because, well, Bono—and VIP: Yankee Stadium was mentioned in the new season announcement of Friday Night Baseball on March 3—which I ignored because, well, Friday Night Baseball hasn’t been that great.
I’m sure the Bono film will be heartwarming, and I’ll eventually watch it (there’s only so much immersive video), but it was VIP: Yankee Stadium that really caught my attention.
From the early March press release:
Apple today also announced VIP: Yankee Stadium, a new Apple Immersive Video for Apple Vision Pro that gives viewers an all-access pass to one of the world’s most iconic sports venues. In the film, available for free next month, broadcasting legend Joe Buck welcomes viewers to Yankee Stadium for a June 2024 “Friday Night Baseball” matchup between the Yankees and their longtime rivals: the Los Angeles Dodgers. From early morning prep scenes to a tense nighttime finale, viewers will go far beyond the front row — with an all-encompassing look at how elite athletes, die-hard fans, dedicated staff, and epic moments make the Bronx ballpark legendary.
Readers of this site know I detest the damn Yankees with all of my being—a fervent and deep-seated hatred borne of two decades of living in New York with a family that rooted for the Bronx Bombers while I cheered on my oft-suffering New York Mets—but I absolutely cherish baseball history, and I’m especially captivated by the majesty of ballparks. I can’t deny the Yankees are the most storied team in baseball—and Yankee Stadium is baseball’s most storied ballpark.
You can bet I’ll be watching this one in fascination and awe—even though it was filmed during last year’s World Series matchup between the two teams I hate the most.
More intriguingly, VIP is listed on Apple TV+ as “Episode 1 Yankee Stadium.” I think (and hope!) this implies the series will (eventually) showcase all 30 major league ballparks. An immersive tour of every stadium would be exhilarating. I’m crossing my fingers!
(Goodness though, corporate naming rights have royally screwed the game. VIP: Citi Field? VIP: Oracle Park? They don’t have quite the same solemnity, do they? Get rid of corporate naming deals and call the parks by their team names. I’d much prefer to see VIP: Giants Ballpark.)
MLB.TV Streaming Service Swings and Misses on Opening Day
Dan Bernstein, writing at (the new-to-me) Sportico:
Starting around the 3:07 p.m. ET first pitch of the game between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays, fans trying to watch any game on MLB TV via web browser or apps received error messages. The technical problems during one of the biggest days of the season caused backlash on social media, with complaints quickly racking up thousands of likes.
There might be worse days for MLB.TV streaming to experience a massive outage, but Opening Day has got to be right up there. Maybe Game 7 of the World Series with two out in the bottom of the ninth and the winning run at third beats it out.
Maybe.
I was among those affected while trying to watch the Mets vs. Astros game (chosen because MLB’s ridiculous blackout policy prevented me from watching the Giants vs. Reds game—honestly, I’m not sure why I continue to pay $150 a year for the service).
Let’s hope MLB has this fixed for the rest of the season.
Fernet-Branca, San Francisco’s ‘Bartender’s Handshake’
Amanda Font, in a story from the Bay Curious podcast on KQED (article/transcript):
Can a place be defined by a beverage? If I mention champagne, you must think of France. If I say mint julep, you’re thinking of the South. If you hear Malört, and you know what that is, you know I’m talking about Chicago. So, what’s San Francisco’s defining drink? If you ask some people, especially bartenders, it’s Fernet-Branca.
It’s true. You won’t find many San Francisco bars without Fernet-Branca on the shelves. If you do, maybe walk out.
If there’s one thing people will tell you about Fernet-Branca, it’s that it’s very much an acquired taste. It is a dark, syrupy-looking liqueur with a strongly medicinal smell and taste, and unlike other similar herbal digestifs, it is not sweet at all. […]
[Antoinette Cattani, former sales and marketing rep for Fernet-Branca] said she’ll never forget the time she was at the legendary Key Club in Los Angeles and when she gave someone a shot of Fernet-Branca, “This guy literally wiped his tongue and said, ‘Why would you do that to me?’”
I’m a spirits enthusiast, and I appreciate a good Amaro, but even this long-time San Francisco resident can’t quite bring himself to enjoy Fernet-Branca.
(Via Tammy Tan.)
Mets Top ‘Best Baseball Announcers’, Giants Second
Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing:
The dust has settled, the votes have been counted, and Awful Announcing’s readers have voted on their favorite (and least favorite) local MLB broadcast teams for the 2024 season.
Any ranking of “best baseball announcers” will necessarily be partisan, driven as much by fan interest as by any objective quality.
No surprise, then, that I disagree with the results. San Francisco should have taken this, as they did in four of the six previous contests—including last year's. Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, Dave Flemming, and Jon Miller are—individually and collectively—the best broadcasters in the game. The new guys—Shawn Estes, Javier Lopez, Hunter Pence—are solid up-and-comers. I enjoy them enough that I’ll turn on the radio and mute the TV if the game is nationally televised.
Of course, the last time I regularly listened to Mets baseball was the late ’90s, when their announcers were Bob Cohen, Gary Thorne, Ralph Kiner, and Tim McCarver. I have no idea if their current team of Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez is actually good.
Like I said, partisan.
More important than any of that, though: the Giants and Mets beat out both the Dodgers (5) and the Yankees (22).
I do feel awful for Oakland (29), though. And someone had to be last, White Sox fans.