Starting 9: Scripted TV’s Most Unforgettable Baseball Teams
It’s the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday, July 19 as the MLB All-Star Game takes place in Los Angeles, with pre-game coverage starting on Fox at 7:00pm ET. And while the sport’s biggest stars put on a show for the national audience, baseball has also had plenty of big innings on scripted TV over the years.
Writers have found ways to weave the game into stories in all genres. Baseball has always been rife with comedy (Who’s on First?), and the feelings of nostalgic Americana it evokes make it an imaginative playground for sci-fi.
It’s also a field in which everyday people can become heroes with that clutch hit or miraculous catch in a bar-league softball game. And who doesn’t love the story of an underdog who toils away in the minor leagues looking to achieve—or regain—that big-league glory?
TV writers have come up with some awesome baseball club names: Rockingham Ruckus, Quahog Whooping Scalpers, Blattsville Millstones and Baltimore Nordiques, just to name a few.
And one show’s famous baseball episode was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
To honor baseball’s contribution to TV, here’s a lineup of our favorite fictional ball clubs from the small screen.
New New York Mets, 'Futurama'
Leela becomes the first female player in blernsball history when she takes the mound for the New New York Mets in “A Leela of Her Own.” But Leela’s got only one pitch, the bean ball, and she soon becomes known as the worst blernsball player ever. (That dubious honor was previously held by Hank Aaron XXIV, who was voiced by baseball legend Hank Aaron.)
Santa Barbara Seabirds, 'Psych'
In Season 6’s “Dead Man’s Curveball,” the hitting coach of Santa Barbara’s minor league baseball team mysteriously drops dead, and the team’s manager (guest star Danny Glover) hires Psych to investigate. Tensions run high on the Seabirds roster, resulting in a bench-clearing brawl among the teammates.
Roswell Grays, 'The X-Files'
The Season 6 episode “The Unnatural” tells the story of a talented Black baseball player for the Roswell Grays in 1947. Turns out he’s an alien who fell in love with the game and refused to return to his home planet.
Boulder City Giants, 'The Flintsones'
In the 1963 episode “Big League Freddie,” the Cave Construction Company Championship baseball game turns into a big league opportunity for Fred when a scout for the Boulder City Giants mistakenly believes Fred’s a baseball star when, in fact, Fred is awful.
Hoboken Zephyrs, 'The Twilight Zone'
The cellar-dwelling Hoboken Zephyrs got on a hot streak when a rookie lefty fireballer named Casey took the mound in the 1960 Twilight Zone episode “The Mighty Casey.” But Casey’s literally inhuman skill (he’s a robot!) broke the rules of baseball, and giving him a heart just gave him all the feels.
Logicians, 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'
In the DS9 episode “Take Me Out to the Holosuite,” the Logicians, a baseball team made up of Vulcans, learned that baseball isn’t all about the score, stats and probabilities. It’s about having fun and getting drunk afterward.
Morristown Frackers, 'Brockmire'
The Morristown Frackers boasted the heaviest man ever to play the game, former competitive eater Fatty Boombalatty. They also had the second-heaviest man in baseball history with former long-haul trucker and gout survivor Doug Romero.
Myrtle Beach Mermen, 'Eastbound & Down'
“If you think you’re awesome, and you think you’re a champion, who’s to say you’re not?” Brilliant, inspirational words from Myrtle Beach Mermen legend Kenny @#$% Powers.
Springfield Nuclear Power Plant Softball Team, 'The Simpsons'
In the Season 3 episode “Homer at the Bat,” Mr. Burns tries to guarantee a softball league championship by assembling a team of ringers: Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Ken Griffey Jr., Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, José Canseco, Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry and Mike Scioscia. But it’s Homer who ends up being the hero by taking a pitch to the noggin in a walk-off win.
