OT: Baseball on television
We've had several threads on baseball movies. But there's another medium that has housed baseball stories throughout the years: television. I don't know of many series that were strictly or even strongly about baseball, but I know of episodes of television programs that featured baseball stories.
Tonight I watched an X-Files episode called The Unnatural. The episode about a Josh Gibson-esque hitter for an all-black barnstorming team in New Mexico who has a secret. If you know anything about the X-Files, the secret involves aliens. Anyway the episode is fantastic, and totally something that helped me chase away some of these winter baseball-less blues. I recommend the episode. It's from Season Six, Disc 5 if you're a Netflix person.
What are some other fictional television programs that have showcased our beloved sport? We all know the documentaries and the Ken Burns series and that. I want to open up a discussion on the other stuff.
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Episode 23 of Samurai Champloo is entitled “Baseball Blues”.
It has Alexander Joy Cartwright and Abner Doubleday coming to Japan with the intention of opening trade relations between the United States and Japan. Instead, they are challenged to a game of baseball. Hilarity ensues.
Still in despair.
BRING BACK MARMOL!
konakona:「つかさに教われと...なんか非常に負けたような気がする。」
by Zetsuboushita on Dec 21, 2008 1:32 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
including fierce animation of Ichiro. and dog playing baseball.
Castillo got the DFA. Guestimate for Castillo DFA to come before the 2009 season = 2.
by kennv on Dec 21, 2008 1:39 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I believe the main character of Kyo Kara Maoh! was a baseball player.
by Lars The Wanderer on Dec 21, 2008 11:28 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Anime is one of the few areas of television that actually has a few baseball-centric programs. I haven’t seen any of them, and I forget the name of the one I wanted to watch, but I know that I’ve seen of their existence.
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Dec 21, 2008 11:49 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Oh yeah that reminds me of a special episode of Furuhata Ninzaburo. Ichiro guest starred as a murderer. It was awesome. Furuhata Ninzaburo is like a Japanese Columbo.
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Dec 21, 2008 12:18 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
How about that Simpsons when MLB is spying on Bart (and all of Springfield) with their satellite? Then McGuire smokes some dingerz!
Actually, there are a few Simpsons episodes with the ’topes.
Castillo got the DFA. Guestimate for Castillo DFA to come before the 2009 season = 2.
by kennv on Dec 21, 2008 1:42 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Talkin' Softball!
Yes, it’s technically a softball episode, but it has Daryl Strawberry shedding a single tear at the cruel heckles of Bart and Lisa.
GROUGTHINK ALERT
by groug on Dec 21, 2008 1:59 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
There are a lot of Simpsons episodes with baseball references!
“The Boys of Bummer” is where Bart is on the Isotots and they are playing for the championship, Bart muffs a catch and they keep having do-overs.
In Dancin’ Homer – Homer does the mascot bit and goes to Capital City
Hungry Hungry Homer – Homer’s hunger strike to protest the Isotopes move to Albuquerque [you know me, I’ll be quirky] according to the Wiki this episode also introduced the word “meh”
The concluding scenes of “The Bart of War” take place at an Isotopes game.
And the last one I can remember [thankfully] is “Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play.” Where Marge and Homer try to counsel a baseball player and his pop-starlet wife.
by Merope on Dec 21, 2008 8:59 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Announcer 1: “And now hall-of-famer Whitey Ford has come out to plead with the crowd to stop. Oh and a barrage of pretzels knocks Whitey down!”
Announcer 2: “This is a black day for baseball. A black day for baseball.”
Catcher are base running. Hitters are offense.
Only [hella] games left until the end of Zito's contract.
by thehavenot on Dec 21, 2008 9:09 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Blernsball!
Also, this episode of South Park. I know it’s denigrating baseball, but I still find it funny.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
by marcello on Dec 21, 2008 1:51 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Though it makes fun of LL baseball, it is still funny
“Then we won the stupid-ass Regionals and had to do this lousy ass tournament” “We want to play video games”
-Butters:“oh no” Stan:“look we are going to be the losers tonight”
-There is no way you can lose to us. We are going down. we are going to get CREAMED".
-Stan:“NO. We’re going to get creamed”
-“we’ll just see about that”
I love how Randy Marsh fights every game and gets arrested in just his underwear. HA
I Don't Tolerate Intolerance!
by Giant among Angels on Dec 21, 2008 5:32 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I thought this was America!
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
by marcello on Dec 21, 2008 9:00 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I thought it was hilarious how Randy read from the english-spanish dictionary when they were playing against the team from Pueblo, CO
“Pueblo no es bueno” “Pueblo es mal”
I Don't Tolerate Intolerance!
by Giant among Angels on Dec 21, 2008 11:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That episode was when South Park went too far. I can deal with making fun of child molestation or world hunger, and I can understand spraying the Pope with menstrual blood, but denigrating baseball? Too far, man. Not funny.
by Grant on Dec 22, 2008 10:02 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I know, right? It’s one thing to chop someone’s parents up and feed them to their son in chili, but fucking with baseball is on another level. I almost quit the show. Almost.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
by marcello on Dec 22, 2008 11:44 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
The kids are into video games and mystical adventures, not baseball. They are obviously being forced by their parents to play baseball. They are just pissed that they have to miss out on their summer playing a sport that they do not want to play. Regardless if they made fun of baseball it was still a very funny episode.
I Don't Tolerate Intolerance!
by Giant among Angels on Dec 22, 2008 1:47 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Games and Mystical Adventures:
If baseball had been on yesterday, I would have still been playing Etrian Odyssey. I would have been watching baseball too, though.
Stupid kids.
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Dec 22, 2008 2:39 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Didn’t Cheers have some baseball related episodes / subplots?
I know M*A*S*H had “A War for All Seasons” which features the Giants.
Winchester and Klinger bet on the outcome of the 1951 baseball season, iirc they use the original call “The Giants Win the Pennant!” but it’s been awhile since I’ve seen that episode.
by Merope on Dec 21, 2008 7:41 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
I have a bunch of the MASH season sets. I watched that episode – yesterday. It’s a recreation of the radio call, not the original.
Anagram of "Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum" = TENSE, CLIMACTIC, TRIUMPHING
by Stuttering John Tamargo on Dec 21, 2008 2:47 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, it’s the words from Russ Hodges’s call, but done by the guy who did the PA announcements on the show. Sort of weird.
Never has a poster been more correct in the history of the internet. Ever! - ResDog on yours truly
by jcb9 on Dec 21, 2008 3:30 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
And there's also another one
Where Frank hears the broadcasts at night, then bets on the outcomes while the delayed feed comes in, I think specifically it was a Giants-Dodgers game. So Hawkeye and B.J. stage a fake broadcast and make Frank lose. I think it’s “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”, but I could be wrong.
Insanity is just a state of mind.
by giants9107 on Dec 21, 2008 9:43 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
OT: Weekly walks by the yard
One thing that I do to help pass the winter is take a walk around the yard at lunch once a week or so. Sometimes I’ll eat on one of the benches near the archways, or I’ll wander around reading all the plaques. Either way it is a nice way to spend an hour and helps take some of the blues away.
Giants! Giants! HELP US GOD!
by j14 on Dec 21, 2008 7:43 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
There was an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where the crew played a game of baseball against some Vulcans. It wasn’t a great episode, but it was amusing, and it featured Captain Sisko in a Giants hat:
Never has a poster been more correct in the history of the internet. Ever! - ResDog on yours truly
by jcb9 on Dec 21, 2008 8:28 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Loved that episode.
"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler
by JRPhillips on Dec 21, 2008 9:25 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Um… Really only because of Sisko’s hat.
"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler
by JRPhillips on Dec 21, 2008 9:25 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That was a fantastic episode
I disagree with you profusely.
Catcher are base running. Hitters are offense.
Only [hella] games left until the end of Zito's contract.
by thehavenot on Dec 21, 2008 5:28 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I liked it fine, it just wasn’t an all-time classic or anything.
Never has a poster been more correct in the history of the internet. Ever! - ResDog on yours truly
by jcb9 on Dec 21, 2008 5:34 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Well, it was a light-hearted throw-away. It was still fantastic.
Catcher are base running. Hitters are offense.
Only [hella] games left until the end of Zito's contract.
by thehavenot on Dec 21, 2008 6:06 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Absolutely
But I would never have let the Ferengis play. Stupid stupid idea. Even Morn would have been a better option than Quark! I really liked the episode a lot, though!
"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler
by JRPhillips on Dec 22, 2008 9:25 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
The idea of Vulcans playing baseball makes me laugh. I don’t know why, but I just can’t see a 6-4-3 double play being truned by Sonn, Sarek, and Spock.
by tyrannoman on Dec 22, 2008 9:34 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Vulcans would be awesome baseball players. They would always calculate the highest probablity of success and then choose that course of action.
by Lars The Wanderer on Dec 22, 2008 9:45 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
But they’d never be able to predict our illogical use of bunts and squeezes! We’d catch them off-guard and win with our reckless emotional cunning!
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Dec 22, 2008 9:51 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
My only problem is that no way do you waste Spock’s glove at first. He can handle short, or easily second base.
by non sequitur on Dec 22, 2008 10:15 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Spock is too tall for a middle infielder. I’d put him on the mound or in one of the corner outfield spots.
by Lars The Wanderer on Dec 22, 2008 10:40 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Spock belongs in the broadcast booth
Singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler
by JRPhillips on Dec 22, 2008 1:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Speaking of Spock singing…
Catcher are base running. Hitters are offense.
Only [hella] games left until the end of Zito's contract.
by thehavenot on Dec 23, 2008 11:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
There was a great episode/story arc on Eli Stone, in which a ballplayer kills his third base coach with a line drive to the face, shortly after finding out his wife was sleeping with the coach. The guy plays for some fictitious pro baseball team in San Francisco, and bonus points for them never mentioning the Giants but referring to the guy as San Francisco’s favorite ballplayer only to have someone else say, “Right after Barry Bonds.” Yeah, boy.
There’s also all of Sports Night.
The episode of Arrested Development where The Bluth Company plays Sitwell’s company, and Gob sexually harrasses every female on the team.
The Seinfeld where George runs over Bette Midler.
Technically the last two are softball, but it works in a pinch.
"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler
by JRPhillips on Dec 21, 2008 9:32 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Yea softball, I think it counts though.
There are some great baseball things from Seinfeld, mostly just references though because they don’t have a story totally about one subject. But off the top of my head, the George Steinbrenner character is always great Steinbrenner was actually on the show once, but the scenes were cut for time.
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
by WalrusMan on Dec 21, 2008 10:22 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
A few more baseball moments in Seinfeld
“The Letter”: Elaine refuses to take off her Orioles cap while sitting in the owner’s box at a Yankees game.
“The Abstinence”: George turns brilliant from lack of sex and teaches Jeter how to hit home runs.
“The Boyfriend”: I really like this one. Kramer and Newman hate Keith Hernandez and accuse him of spitting on them after the Mets blew a 9th inning lead.
It never occurred to me that one man could play with the faith of 50 million.
by imovermyhead on Dec 21, 2008 11:13 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Somehow you’ve skipped the immortal one where Steinbrenner delivers news of George’s death to George’s parents only to be yelled at for trading away Jay Buhner.
by oldjacket on Dec 21, 2008 11:42 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
“Jerry this is Frank Costanza, Mr. Steinbrenner’s here, George is dead, call me back!”
Let’s also not forget the one where George interviews for the job with the Yankees, and chews out Steinbrenner.
"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler
by JRPhillips on Dec 21, 2008 11:46 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I've always loved this exchange...
NAKED MAN: They still have no pitching. Goodin’s a question mark. …You don’t recover from those rotator cuffs so fast.
JERRY: I’m not worried about their best pitching. They got pitching. …They got no hitting.
NAKED MAN: No hitting? They got hitting! Bonilla, Murry. …They got no defense.
JERRY: Defense? Please. …They need speed.
NAKED MAN: Speed? They got Coleman. …They need a bullpen.
JERRY: Franco’s no good? …They got no team leaders.
NAKED MAN: They got Franco! …What they need is a front office.
JERRY: But you gotta like their chances.
NAKED MAN: I LOVE their chances.
JERRY: Tell you what. If they win the pennant, I’ll sit naked with you at the World Series.
NAKED MAN: It’s a deal!
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
by WalrusMan on Dec 21, 2008 2:44 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
How could you guys
forget the episode where George is taking Danny Tartabull to the bubble boy but ends up chasing some guy he thought gave him the finger, then finds he is in a middle finger cast.
Why does Sabean always look constipated?
by TexasRanger on Dec 25, 2008 12:36 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
The Seinfeld episode where Jerry"s dating Keith Hernandez was pretty funny. I especially liked the Magic Loogy
My adopted Giant: "Raptor Jesus" Guzman
by Goofus on Dec 22, 2008 2:51 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Samurai Pizza Cats
was an anime from my childhood that featured the pizza cats (yeah yeah) playing baseball against their enemies. Good times.
Aaron King is still my homeboy... iffy mechanics and all.
by baetown415 on Dec 21, 2008 10:31 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Charlie Brown
He played a lot of ball

I Don't Tolerate Intolerance!
by Giant among Angels on Dec 21, 2008 5:16 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
the problem with Peanuts
is related to the series where Charlie Brown balks in the tying and winning runs. It’s completely unrealistic and would never happen in any level of baseball.
/cue tossing of fruit
STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.
by UnleashTheGore on Dec 22, 2008 8:12 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
OT
We Tivo’d the movie A
"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler
by JRPhillips on Dec 22, 2008 9:26 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Boy Named Charlie Brown. I hate those rotten bastard children. Lucy and two unknown girls sing a song where the call Charlie Brown Failure Face. I want to kick Lucy through a wall. Only Linus has any semblance of redeeming qualities.
Also, I hate typing on laptop keyboards.
"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler
by JRPhillips on Dec 22, 2008 9:28 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
No, I’m sure it could happen in a game with kids those ages. Granted, you’d never see it in a professional game, but with school age kids… yeah, I can see that.
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Dec 22, 2008 9:52 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
by WalrusMan on Dec 22, 2008 4:33 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
What’s that comma doing there for?
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Dec 23, 2008 1:27 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
What’s that “for” doing there for?
..so allow me to present Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain as two sweet, sweet bottles of warming hooch.
by Cookyman on Dec 23, 2008 7:33 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That was a typo.
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Dec 23, 2008 1:06 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
also has Giants penants on the wall in his room
by igotnothing on Dec 22, 2008 8:58 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That's kinda gay
Oh wait…“peanuts”…never mind.
My adopted Giant: "Raptor Jesus" Guzman
by Goofus on Dec 22, 2008 2:53 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
penance
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Dec 22, 2008 3:27 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Penis
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
by WalrusMan on Dec 22, 2008 4:33 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Did you reall expect me...
To leave it hanging?
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
by WalrusMan on Dec 22, 2008 5:04 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That, or possibly dangling.
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Dec 22, 2008 7:08 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Nah, we’ve seen this pic of WalrusMan; he’s standing up proudly
My adopted Giant: "Raptor Jesus" Guzman
by Goofus on Dec 22, 2008 7:22 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
OR they were holding the camera upside down.
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Dec 22, 2008 9:16 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
OR they were holding the camera upside down but I was also upside down.
Doesn’t really make it better I don’t think.
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
by WalrusMan on Dec 23, 2008 2:27 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Baseball on Television
I thoght this was a Television on the Radio sideproject.
They say some players get out of bed hitting; Pablo Sandoval doesn't wait that long
by bgunn on Dec 22, 2008 10:37 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

They say you're a pitcher; you sure aren't much of a dresser.
by CystedTwister on Dec 22, 2008 4:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Look out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWTdRXjsA-w
Who has the fun?
Is it always the man with the gun?
- The Stranglers
by victor frankenstein on Dec 23, 2008 11:32 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
ah , Christ.
Who has the fun?
Is it always the man with the gun?
- The Stranglers
by victor frankenstein on Dec 23, 2008 2:55 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I didn’t want to ramble about the subject at first, but since this post is about to fall off the table …
Mad About You always had great baseball humor. The episode with Mark McGwire is a classic. How that got him to agree to appear in his boxers? It was a classic though. In another episode, there was a mention of former Giants shortstop Roger Metzger. And, in another episode, Paul is telling Jamie a story about how he got beat up by three brothers when he was in high school named Matty, Felipe, and Jesus.
Beverly Hills 90210 had that okay little league episode, where Brandon and Steve help Mr. Walsh coach the rich kids from Beverly Hills. But then Brandon gets pissed at all the bureocratic shenanigans and jumps ship to help Nat coach the kids from the inner city. There was another episode where Barry Bonds made a cameo by playing Steve in a father-son golf tournament. Good fun.
The WKRP softball game episode is a classic. Always loved Venus Flytrap playing centerfield with his Reds helmet and the scarf. I think Cheers also had a softball episode too, but I can’t recall it.
Eight Is Enough had a recurring character named Merle “The Pearl” who pitched for the Dodgers. And, there was that great episode of The Greatest American Hero where Ralph Hinckley used the suit to pitch in the big leagues. He was throwing like a 200 mph fastball, and then he hit a game-winning homerun to get the team into the playoffs. Spin City also had that crappy post-Michael J. Fox episode where Charlie plays minor-league ball.
There was also that series on ABC called Clubhouse with Dean Cain. It wasn’t a very good show, though there was a hilarious scene where the batboy was busting one of the players chops because the batboy had him on his fantasy team, and the player was in a slump.
Hope everyone had a merry Christmas.
by StickRat on Dec 26, 2008 3:30 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Ken Griffey JR.
was on Fresh Prince in an episode. Hilary called him quarterback and I laughed.
by Link on Dec 26, 2008 8:09 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

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