The Mighty Casey was an episode about the Hoboken Zephyrs, a last place team in the National League. It was originally aired on June 17, 1960.
Rod Serling's opening narration ended like this:
Once upon a time in Hoboken, New Jersey it was tryout day. And though he is not yet on the field, you're about to meet an most unusual fella, a left-handed pitcher named Casey.
Then, he took a big drag off his cigarette because he had not taken one in thirty seconds. Okay I'm making that part up. By the way, the narrations that will be used in this post come from this site.
The plot of the story is that an inventor/doctor/scientist who brings his remarkably life-like robot (Hey, give me a break, it was The Twilight Zone) to a tryout for the Zephyrs. Hoboken was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of their day and needed all the help they could get.
The grizzled manager, Mouth McGarry was played by Jack Warden.
Warden specialized in these types of characters. He was a coach in Heaven Can Wait. He also actually played the most evil man in the history of the planet sympathetically. I am talking about his portrayal of George Halas in Brian's Song. He took on the Morris Buttermaker role in The Bad News Bears TV series...and, um, where was I?
Oh, right.
McGarry is skeptical at first but is won over by the talent of the robot and realizes this is going to be the Year of the Zephyrs! As long as they can keep the secret that Casey is a robot.
Hoboken goes on a winning streak and races up the standings. Then, the twist that occurs in all Twilight Zone episodes happens. Casey is beaned. A doctor checks him out and discovers that Casey has no heartbeat, and is a mechanical man.
The case goes to the commissioner who rules that a team is made up of nine "men". Since Casey is not a man, he must go.
Time for another twist! The doctor and the manager come up with an idea. Give Casey a heart so that he could play. But, unlike the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, a heart for this mechanical man doesn't work out too well.
The heart makes Casey too nice to strike out opposing batters and the Zephyrs eventually revert to their losing ways. Stupid heart and feelings and emotions. What are they good for anyway? I guess nice guys do finish last.
The episode ends with the doctor giving McGarry the blueprints to Casey. The manager has an idea and chases down the doctor.
The closing narration:
Once upon a time there was a major-league baseball team called the Hoboken Zephyrs who, during the last year of their existence, wound uup in last place and shortly thereafter wound up in oblivion. There's a rumor, unsubstantiated of course, that a manager named McGarry took them to the West Coast and wound up with several pennants and a couple of world's championships. This team had a pitching staff that made history. Of course, none of them smiled very much, but it happens to be a fact that they pitched like nothing human. And if you're interested as to where these gentlemen came from, you might check under 'B' for baseball, in the Twilight Zone."
Why do I have this sudden urge to play pinball?
From Pinball Rebel
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