"The Comeback: The 2004 Boston Red Sox" (On Netflix! Now!)

The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox is a three-part documentary exploring how the Boston front office built the 2004 team, the highs and lows of the regular season, and the unprecedented 0-3 to 4-3 comeback against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, followed by the team's first World Series championship in 86 years.

The series is on Netflix right now! (You can watch a two-minute trailer here.)

Colin Barnicle directed the series:

As fans we know what happened. I want them to know how it happened – how an organization changed with new ownership, how the team was built from the front office and how the clubhouse came together. . . . There were considerable bumps along the way. But, how those trials and tribulations defined the decision-making and the chemistry of the team is how they were able to come back from three games down in the ALCS. . . .

My brother [Nick Barnicle, one of the executive producers] and I always felt the historic comeback against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS was just the tip of the iceberg to a much deeper story about a team changing their identity from sore-luck losers to champions. This series is really about what it takes for a group of people – from ownership to baseball operations to players – to change that narrative. . . .

The interviewees were extremely candid. A major theme we came across was how this organization worked through doubt. Whether at the plate or on the mound or making a decision in the front office. We look back 20 years later and all these decisions make sense because the Red Sox won. But, in that moment, it wasn't so clear. Should you hire the youngest general manager ever? Should you trade Nomar Garciaparra? Can you hit Mariano Rivera when the game is on the line? Can you get the ball down in the strike zone when your knee is hurting? What were you thinking when the team lost the last game in 2003 or was underperforming in the middle of the season in 2004?

That fear of losing and the doubt that follows and how you overcome it is a major part of the series and it's because the players and the front office and ownership were extremely honest with us. . . .

What were the conversations in the owner's box? What were the decisions in baseball operations? What were the dynamics of the clubhouse that culminated in the Red Sox being able to do something no other team in MLB history could? . . . That was what we were interested in and that's what we got.

Also: Q&A with Ian Browne (mlb.com) and Colin Barnicle.

In addition to new interviews with the prime suspects, it looks like there is a fair amount of player-shot video from clubhouses, buses, etc. Pro Tip For Watching 2004 Footage: Keep a tissue handy for your tears of intense joy and unbridled wonder. (You probably already know that, though.) And if you have (for some inexplicable reason) failed to purchase your very own copy of Don't Let Us Win Tonight, this is a friendly reminder to do so.