PhantomStranger

Agreed on two hours of plot whittled down to a single episode. Cramming in her second start in the pilot blew a couple of moments everyone would want to see.

It was a National League game, so she would have batted a couple of times in the game. That would have been a whole separate drama within the game with the first woman stepping into the batter's box.

Did anyone else find it very strange they played a terrible cover of Sympathy for the Devil while she pitched? Possibly the worst music selection I've seen on network television in many years. Whatever point they were trying to make with playing it was dopey.

Joe Schmoe

I liked it but also wondered how this can sustain people's interest after they watch a woman pitch for the first time. Guess it will just become a soap opera about an MLB baseball team that just happens to have a woman on it... like when Chicago Fire added female firefighters to the squad.

I didn't care for Ali Larter's character. She was too over the top. Nor did I like Ginny's dad. I get that he wanted his daughter to try hard and never give up, but did he have to be an asshole about it? He never showed any joy in her accomplishments, and he hit his son to motivate Ginny. WTF??

Good twist at the end. I hope that's the last we see of Ginny's dad, but somehow I doubt it.

Orbi-Wan Techno

My wife's comment after it was over, "Well, that was neat. So this is an actual show? That wasn't the whole thing?"

We'll watch again.

mphtrilogy

Two great points... Batters box, what the heck, that would have been a great moment, oh well.

And yeah, sympathy for the devil cover was a horrible choice...

Was ok overall but this feels like a one year and done series,

lisadoris

I enjoyed it. I'm sure the second or third episode will highlight her in the batter's box. There should be at least one episode, maybe two, addressing all the hate mail and death threats she's getting - those security guards weren't just there to get her to the park on time. Depending on how observant the writers want to be, sooner or later they'll have Baker get a question on Colin Kaepernick and that could be an episode itself given how baseball has and has not reacted to the protests.

It's not a show that can last forever but if done well, I can see it running three seasons.

dstrauss

I liked it. Everyone on this thread going "How can they make a whole season out of this?" needs to give it a few episodes before they make that determination. I can see a lot of ways they turn it into a full season by expanding the focus beyond the pilot. This was supposed to introduce the world, not lay out every plot pathway for the entire series in 44 minutes.

It was entertaining enough (I actually didn't see the plot twist coming, which is rare) that I'll give it a couple hour episodes at least.

The example I always think of was when my friend said to me years and years ago "They're going to turn Highlander into a series" and I asked, "What are they gonna do, cut someone's head off every week?" Yeah, for six seasons.

fumanstan

I just watched it, I really enjoyed it. I for one liked that they skipped past the typical journey through the minors stuff (although it looks like we'll certainly see plenty of flashbacks) and glad that they got right to the first game. For all the complaints about the cliche stuff, i'm glad we didn't spend a whole season stretching out a typical sports movie.

I'm in for more episodes to see how it goes.

DRG

It's not that I don't see *how* they can make it into a full series; it's that those options seem less appealing to me. I'm just not personally interested in watching a show about a successful baseball player/celebrity and all the drama in her life. Now, a show about a talented player's journey through the system to break down barriers to reach the top... that might have been interesting to me. But that story -- as it relates to this character -- was pretty much over the second the show started.

PhantomStranger

I would imagine she temporarily gets sent back to the minors at some point. Remember, she's a fringe fifth starter. If the show is being true to life at all, those players go back and forth to the minors with regularity.

writer106

I watched the pilot this morning. I liked it for the most part. But like others I wonder how the show will progress.

LaxBandit

Bunkaroo - They should do an episode where she plunks a guy and gets rushed on the mound...only to fall in love with the guy she hit!

LaxBandit - Not sure about her falling in love with the guy she hits but I did read somewhere that there will be an episode where the Padres and Cardinals get into a huge brawl due to batters on each team getting hit.

Update - The bean brawl episode airs this Thursday. Based on the summary, theres a player on the Cardinals that she used to date.
I'm guessing it was a bad breakup - she is still pissed and she goes ahead and beans him to start the brawl.

fumanstan

Caught up on the last 2 episodes. I really like the show, although I'm not sure I like the overuse of the flashbacks. I guess given where they started, it's kind of necessary to give background on Ginny but wish they didn't do it for present day stuff. Liked the manager angling to keep his job stuff, and I liked how the beanball thing played out.

DJariya

Just saw episode 2 last night. Pretty good follow up. Showed some of the back story of Ginny in the minors as well as backstory on her agent.

It looks like they're relying a lot more on FS1 for their in-show TV coverage of Ginny's season. Was surprised they actually got Jimmy Kimmel to guest star.

I have to admit Kylie Bunbury looked really good in the workout scenes. She's got a really fit athletic body.

Kind of hinted at the end that Amelia and Lawson were connecting in some form. Especially since they both came from broken marriages.

I'll try to catch episode 3 today.

DJariya

Just caught the beanball episode. Pretty well done. It was interesting seeing some of the backstory of her ex-boyfriend/opposing player when she was in the minors and then seeing them reunite.

No surprise that Amelia and Lawson would eventually hook up. Mark-Paul Gosselaar is actually really likable as Lawson being a mentor/friend for Ginny.

Glad they kept things realistic from the baseball TV angle and used Dick Enberg and Mark Grant, who are actually the Padres play by play team.

Through 3 episodes they've managed to keep things compelling with Ginny's trials and tribulations in her rookie season.

dstrauss

This isn't a great show, but I've found myself enjoying each episode. Gonna keep watching. Helps a lot that Bunbury really looks like she knows what she's doing as a baseball player. It doesn't take me out of the show for the game scenes.

PhantomStranger

I've liked what we've seen so far of Pitch. Lawson works as the grizzled superstar nearing the end. He looks vaguely based off Mike Piazza's career. Every character has a purpose. I've especially liked the direction they've taken with Ginny's personality.

My only complaint is the odd CGI footage of pitchers throwing the ball during game footage. No one that has watched baseball above teeball would confuse the bizarre path the CGI ball takes as real. Ginny and other pitchers are throwing pitches that don't move like anything on Earth. I have no idea why they didn't simply take actual game footage of a pitched ball and digitally insert it. They've gone with some strange cgi recreation.

lisadoris

I've been enjoying the show so far. The stories have been interesting and plausible from a baseball and real world standpoint. Watching Jenny mouth off about NOT getting hit was just awesome and so believable from a baseball code standpoint. The look on the pitcher's face as he was saying "dude, I wasn't going to hit her" was priceless and none of them understanding what an insult that was to her felt real even if I think that whole tradition of hitting batters needs to go the way of the dinosaur.

Joe Schmoe

Another interesting twist in tonight's episode. Unfortunately, I read this show is in danger of being canceled because of ratings. I wonder if the World Series will help boost its viewership.

DeadLamb

Show has kept my interest way more than I thought it would.

"Man I'm so sick of this groupie on groupie crime".
Few can do pissed off hot chick better than Ali Larter.

Inhumans99

I have not even finished the pilot ep (too much other stuff to catch up on), but I may not have to worry about it if the ratings are killing the show. I am much quicker this year to cancel stuff that I used to tell myself I would eventually get to down the road. I really want to give it a shot so I will suck it up and finish the show this weekend.

PhantomStranger

If you regularly watch baseball, it's a fine show. There are a lot of little nods and touches for baseball fans, so they aren't winging it. The latest episode on the trade deadline was very well written and probably my favorite episode yet.

Pitch doesn't feel like a Thursday night show. It would do better on another night.

MikahC

I don't watch baseball at all, but in general, I'm a sports fan. I played baseball (what kid didn't) a lot as a youngster, and I've actually been to more baseball games than any other sport (though I like it behind NFL and NBA, and now MMA). I actually like seeing this baseball story. It goes well with watching the MLB playoffs and world series (OK, I normally don't watch a lot of baseball, but Cleveland and Chicago in the World Series? That's some kind of End of Days event).

The captain of the team is cool. He's Jock-y enough without being a douche. He's also struggling with injuries and a career that's coming to an end. I like things like that because although we (fans) can just sit around and cheer or jeer, actually being an athlete is a lot of hard work. And sometimes luck just doesn't go your way (injuries). Not to mention skill shortfalls.

This show has a lot going on in addition to the basic premise. I think part of what makes it so fun is it strikes a delicate balance of being an entertainment program while mostly ringing true (at least to me). Even the concept of a girl MLB pitcher is covered. They don't make it like she's throwing 100+ mph fastballs. In fact, from the very beginning, her father told her she'd never be able to do that. She had to find some other way to be good enough. Mind over matter. And a lot of hard work.

So yes, while this show isn't a world beater, it's way better than I would have ever expected. If it ends up being one and done, I'll still have enjoyed watching the one. Hopefully at least the full season airs (or makes it to DVD/BD).

DJariya

Just got caught up with the last couple of episodes.

Really liked the Trade Deadline episode as well. I thought it handled all the scenarios and what the GM has to deal with very realistically. And I liked how he got angry at Ginny for over stepping her boundary as a player trying to protect Blip.

And damn, the twist in this episode. The drunk Father of her High School teammate was the one responsible for killing her Dad. That sucked.

The All-Star episode the previous week felt a little strange. They relied heavily on green screen/CGI to superimpose Ginny into real MLB video. Also, I was surprised to see that they used some real MLB players like Robinson Cano and Mike Trout in the footage. But I enjoyed that episode for the fact that it showed the tension in her relationship with her Mother.

DWilson

According to Fox's new schedule postings, this one will finish out in December, probably never to return.

JTH182

"Major League"

"I know what you do."

"No no, the movie. This literally happens. Tom Berenger shows up at his ex's during a dinner party."