Not talking about the games on ESPN, FOX, or the local broadcasts. Talking about the other thing that has taken up so much time in my life. Television. Many shows have used baseball to move along a plot or give characters somewhere else to be than their typical locale.
When I did a little research on this, also called sitting around at 4am, there were at least 30 shows that popped into my head that I remember managing to tie in baseball one way or another. There are probably a lot more.
Baseball has been featured in The Greatest American Hero and MacGyver; Highlander and Law & Order. Not enough laughs?
How about episodes of Mr. Ed, The Munsters, and The Beverly Hillbillies with baseball as a main part of the plot? Comedy is Mr. Ed sliding into second base, Ellie Mae knocking Leo Durocher* into the "cement pond" as he is surprised by her fastball, and Mr. C using Hank Aaron in a TV commercial for the hardware store.
Every Saturday for the rest of this off-season, I will pick out one show that used baseball and probably used baseball cruelly. That show will be recapped. I will try to find pictures or at least try to make it interesting. Good time to start.
One note. This won't be a highlight of shows that used baseball exclusively for a background -- like Bay City Blues or Ball Four. Those characters belong in a baseball setting. Agents Mulder and Scully don't belong in a baseball setting, but it just kind of happens.
Anyway. The first show has been picked. The writing of the post will begin shortly. Hope to have it up later tonight.
*-May not have been Durocher. May have been a random scout. Haven't seen this one in a long time.
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