FOX Sports Films and Religion of Sports have announced a new original documentary about the 2004 American League Championship Series (ALCS) matchup between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, the penultimate series before the latter broke an 86-year championship drought. The film will premiere on Wednesday, Oct. 18 on FS1, which follows live coverage of Game 3 of the ALCS, and features interviews with many key figures who were a part of the proceedings.
FOX Sports studio analysts Álex Rodríguez, Derek Jeter, and David Ortiz were interviewed for the feature, in addition to Kevin Millar, Orlando Cabrera, Johnny Damon, Dave Roberts and Mariano Rivera. Titled The Game That Changed Everything, it is the second documentary that is premiering this year under the network’s multi-year film deal that was announced earlier in the year.
“FOX Sports is thrilled to commemorate one of the most iconic stories in baseball as retold through varying perspectives of some of the best players and sports personalities in Major League Baseball,” Barry Nugent, vice president of development and original programming at FOX Sports, said in a statement. “As FOX is the exclusive home of the ALCS this postseason, we’re excited to present a never-before-seen interpretation of arguably one of the greatest games in ALCS history to reignite fan enthusiasm behind this iconic series.”
With the Yankees ahead three games to zero in the series, the documentary largely focuses on the fourth game of the series that started the unprecedented four-game comeback that garnered Boston a trip to the World Series. The Red Sox ultimately found a way to defeat the Yankees and, in turn, make history as the only team to ever overcome such a deficit in a playoff series.
The film is executive produced by Eric Shanks, Mark Silverman, Charlie Dixon and Barry Nugent from FOX Sports; and Gotham Chopra, Ameeth Sankaran and Victor Buhler at Religion of Sports. It is directed by Liam Hughes, and David Check, Carl Hansen, Ariana Rotstein and Michael Vayder all worked as producers. Additionally, Rita O’Dea is an associate producer on the project.
“Religion of Sports is excited to turn a magnifying glass on one of the most remarkable games in baseball history,” Victor Buhler, senior vice president of production and head of development at Religion of Sports, said in a statement. “The margins between victory and defeat in baseball are so slim: a runner beats a throw by half a second; a hit flies off the barrel of a bat; a ball slips underneath a glove.
“Director Liam Hughes takes us back into the drama of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS and, even though we know the outcome, he has found a new way for us to relive the game. For over eight decades, the Yankees always edged out the Red Sox. But this famous night in October changed that. It was truly a game that changed everything.”
The film will provide viewers with firsthand perspectives on what happened during the fateful fourth game that ended in an unexpected defeat. There will also be various baseball experts featured throughout the presentation, in addition to representatives from the Yankees and Red Sox organizations to break down what impact it has had on their teams in the ensuing years.
