Pitch Episode 1 Review

Pitch (2016-)
Season 1 Episode 1 (2016)

Created by: Dan Fogelman, Rick Singer
Starring: Kylie Bunbury, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Ali Larter, Mo McRae, Dan Lauria

Pitch Season 1 Episode 1

 Plot:
In this Fox series a young rookie Ginny Baker becomes Major League Baseball's first female pitcher.

Verdict:
The first episode isn't bad and I do want to see what happens next. It has some really good moments, but it relies too heavily on flashbacks. I hope that's just a crutch for the first episode.
Some of the plot lines are too predictable, and I hope this show focuses on baseball and Ginny instead of side characters. The final episode has a cheap fake out that's unnecessary. This could turn into a good show if it focuses on the pressures and daily rigors of being a ball player and less on the novelty of being a woman. While this could easily employ mundane and oft-used plot points to make an insipid show, it has the potential to do much more.
It depends.

Review:
This was made in conjunction with Major League Baseball and the San Diego Padres.
I don't know if this was inspired on Little League pitcher Mo'ne Davis who threw a shut out in the 2014 Little League World Series, but that had to contribute.

Early reviews of the first episode were positive, and being based on an actual big league team, I had to check this out. That's not even considering Saved by the Bell (1989-1992) star Mark-Paul Gosselar plays the veteran catcher. This reminds me of the NBC teen show Hang Time (1995-2000) where a girl plays on a high school basketball team. Hopefully Pitch is better than that.

Pitch has some good moments, but the end devolves into throwing too much in just to add drama. That really skewed my view to the negative because it shows a lack of confidence story telling prowess. Since I primarily watch Netflix and HBO series, I'm sure that alters my view on a broadcast series as this episode felt a bit too simple and mundane.

We've seen the veteran catcher before in Major League (1989) and Bull Durham (1988). This has the former athlete overbearing father. After every achievement, her dad's catch phrase is, "We ain't done nothing yet." He's pushing her to always look to the future. With the barriers she faces, she can't be content.

It was  great moment when she steps onto the field for the first time. I was surprised that the show didn't allow her any success in her first game, but I liked that. It also sets up tension for the end of the episode in her next game. What was surprising was how quickly she gave up. Where's her fight? You don't make it this far without being determined.

This leads to her losing her temper at her dad and telling him he made her do this and she didn't have a choice. She was in the minors for five years and played college ball before that. This isn't the first time she's faced resistance or broken barriers. An affiliated minor league team has yet to have a female player, just independent league teams.
It's just a strange outburst as it should have been covered before, but the first episode has to shoehorn in some of these dramatic elements. I get it, but come on, it's the major leagues. You don't play minor league ball for five years and not want to play in the show.

Obviously the team doesn't embrace her. I knew there would be a butt slapping scene and it plays out as expected with team captain Lawson (Mark-Paul Gosselar). The coach is Dan Lauria from The Wonder Years (1988-1993).

Ali Larter as Ginny's agent is just annoying and shifts focus away from Ginny in every scene.

I was surprised this episode showcases child abuse as a training tactic. In a flashback (and there are many), Ginny's dad will slap her brother unless she throws strikes. I can't begin go fathom why this particular method was included.

This perceived publicity stunt is especially prescient with Tim Tebow recently being signed. We know that's a stunt, but in Pitch while Ginny has talent, the Padres owner keeps Ginny on the big league team for another game due to ticket sales. Of course the coach  doesn't like that.

Her first bad game leads up to the second game where she overcomes. It was a nice moment, and I'm glad that she wasn't overly dominant. Unfortunately the episode doesn't end there. The owner wants to fire the coach for no good reason, and we get a big twist with her dad that's unnecessary. It's a cheap trick that adds nothing to the story. It's just additional evidence that the writers are playing up unnecessary drama instead of focusing the story on Ginny being a baseball player. That provides enough plot without adding these side characters. This show has potential, and you can't judge a show based on just the pilot.