I discovered the show Pitch on Tubi TV over the weekend. In the fictional baseball show, Ginny Baker makes history by becoming the first female big leaguer, playing for the San Diego Padres. What surprised me most about the show is that I had never heard of it before (at least not to my memory). Ten episodes aired on Fox beginning in September 2016. Despite winning the Critics’ Choice TV Award for “Most Exciting New Series,” Pitch was canceled before it found its audience.
Yes, as a primetime television drama with a female lead, there was plenty of chick-flickish romance stuff, but it wasn’t overly schmaltzy. The baseball scenes were actually very well done, and the actors (well, most of them at least) looked like they could have actually been ballplayers. I haven’t finished watching the series yet, but based on the first five episodes, I recommend it with the standard caveats: too much language and too many sexual situations that could have been omitted or portrayed in a tell-don’t-show fashion. And even though I haven’t seen the final episode yet, I’m sure I will wish it lasted longer than a few short months.
The main character Ginny Baker is played by Kylie Bunbury (When They See Us, Big Sky). Supporting cast includes Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved By The Bell) as aging catcher Mike Lawson, Mo McRae (Sons of Anarchy) as center fielder Blip Sanders, and Christian Ochoa as Cuban defector Livan Duarte who is out for Lawson’s job. Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years) is manager Al Luongo. Off the field, Ali Larter (Heroes, Legally Blonde), plays Amelia Slater, Baker’s agent, Mark Consuelos (All My Children, Riverdale) plays general manager Oscar Arguella, and Meagan Holder plays Blip’s wife Evelyn.
Several broadcasters and ballplayers appear as themselves, including Colin Cowherd, C.J. Nitkowski, Matt Vasgersian, Joe Buck, John Smoltz, Eric Byrnes, Kristine Leahy, Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, Ken Roesnthal, Chris Myers, Dontrelle Willis, Matt Carpenter, and Salvador Perez.
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