''Pitch'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series created by

Dan Fogelman Dan Fogelman (born February 19, 1976) is an American television producer and screenwriter whose screenplays include ''Cars'', ''Tangled'', and ''Crazy, Stupid, Love''. He also created the 2012 television sitcom '' The Neighbors'', the 2015 fairy ...

and Rick Singer, that aired on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

from September 22 to December 8, 2016. The series was commissioned on May 10, 2016. On May 1, 2017, Fox canceled the series after one season.

Plot

The series, set in the confines of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, sets its focus on a young pitcher noted for her

screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...

pitch who becomes the first woman to play in the Major Leagues when she is called up by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

Cast

Main

Kylie Bunbury Kylie Bunbury (born January 30, 1989) is a Canadian-American actress. Life Bunbury was born in Montreal, Canada, to Kristi Novak and Alex Bunbury, a soccer player. Her father is Guyanese-Canadian. She spent her childhood in England (for two yea ...

as Genevieve "Ginny" Baker, a rookie pitcher and the first woman to play in Major League Baseball *

Mark-Paul Gosselaar Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar (; born March 1, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles, most notably as Zack Morris in ''Saved by the Bell''. In 1991, he won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Pri ...

as Michael "Mike" Lawson, the Padres'

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and veteran catcher who is nearing the end of a Hall of Fame career *

Mark Consuelos Mark Andrew Consuelos (; born March 30, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Mateo Santos on the ABC soap opera ''All My Children'' (1995–2001; 2010) and as Hiram Lodge on The CW drama '' Riverdale'' (2017–2021) ...

as Oscar Arguella, the Padres' general manager * Mo McRae as Blip Sanders, a Padres outfielder who is a friend and former minor league teammate of Ginny's *

Meagan Holder Meagan Courtney Holder is an American actress, who is best known for her works throughout television. She portrayed Kelly Bowers on the comedy-drama series '' Born Again Virgin'', Evelyn Sanders in drama series ''Pitch'', Noelle Jackson in the ...

as Evelyn Sanders, Blip's wife and Ginny's friend *

Tim Jo Tim Jo (born April 20, 1984) is an American television and film actor, he is most famous for playing "Reggie Jackson" on the ABC comedy, '' The Neighbors''. Early life and education Jo was born in Dallas in 1984. As a child, he appeared as a ...

as Eliot, Ginny's social media manager *

Dan Lauria Daniel Joseph Lauria (born April 12, 1947) is an American actor, known for playing the role of Jack Arnold in ''The Wonder Years'' (1988–1993), Jack Sullivan on '' Sullivan and Son'' (2012–2014), and Al Luongo on '' Pitch'' (2016–2017). Ea ...

as Al Luongo, the Padres' manager *

Ali Larter Alison Elizabeth Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress and model. She portrayed fictional model Allegra Coleman in a 1996 ''Esquire'' magazine hoax and took on guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s. She made her ...

as Amelia Slater, Ginny's agent

Recurring

Michael Beach Michael Anthony Beach (born October 30, 1963) is an American actor. He has appeared in films '' Lean on Me'' (1989), ''One False Move'' (1992), ''Short Cuts'' (1993), ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995), ''A Family Thing'' (1996), ''Soul Food'' (1997), ...

as William "Bill" Baker, Ginny's father * B. J. Britt as Will Baker, Ginny's older brother who is eager to capitalize on her fame and start his own sports bar *

Bob Balaban Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, author, comedian, director and producer. He was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for ''Gosford Park'' (2001), in which he also appeared. Balab ...

as Franklin "Frank" Reid, the Padres' owner * Kelly Jenrette as Rhonda, Oscar's assistant * Kevin Connolly as Charlie Graham, the Padres' interim president of operations who is a strong proponent of

Sabermetrics Sabermetrics, or originally SABRmetrics, is the empirical analysis of baseball, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. Sabermetricians collect and summarize the relevant data from this in-game activity to answer specific ques ...

* Jack McGee as Buck Garland, a Padres coach who is Luongo's right-hand man * Christian Ochoa as Livan Duarte, the Padres' backup catcher and Lawson's heir-apparent, who is a recent immigrant from Cuba * JoAnna Garcia Swisher as Rachel Patrick, a sports newscaster and Mike's ex-wife *

Sarah Shahi Aahoo Jahansouzshahi ( fa, آهو جهانسوز شاهی; born ), known professionally as Sarah Shahi (), is an American actress and former model. She played Carmen on ''The L Word'' in 2005, Kate Reed in the USA Network legal drama ''Fairly Leg ...

as Natalie Luongo, Al's daughter who is also dating Oscar

Episodes

Production

Development

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

was sold on September 8, 2015, by series creators

and Rick Singer. On January 14, 2016, Fox ordered the pilot to be shot. The creators opened up a casting call on February 24, 2016. The pilot episode was picked up to series on May 10, 2016.

cooperated in the production of the series.

Filming

The series was filmed in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, and features the

Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, the club the protagonist plays for. Producers also planned to use

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between Se ...

in downtown San Diego to shoot scenes when the Padres are away or during the off season.

Casting

On January 14, 2016,

was cast as Ginny. On February 11, 2016,

was cast as Mike Lawson. On February 23, 2016, Mo McRae,

, and

were cast as Blip, Evelyne, and Eliot respectively. On February 29, 2016,

was cast as Al Luongo. On March 10, 2016,

replaced

Elisabeth Shue Elisabeth Judson Shue (born October 6, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''The Karate Kid'' (1984), '' Adventures in Babysitting'' (1987), ''Cocktail'' (1988), '' Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), ''B ...

as Amelia Slater. On May 10, 2016,

was cast as Oscar Arguella, the team's general manager and president.

Reception

''Pitch'' received positive reviews from television critics, with Bunbury's performance receiving praise. The editors of ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' placed ''Pitch'' fourth among the top ten picks for the most anticipated new shows of the 2016–2017 season. Its review, from writer Liz Rafferty, stated, "Not since '' Friday Night Lights'' have we seen a 'sports' show that managed to deliver week after week, making viewers feel as invested in the characters' personal dramas as we were in the final scores of the games" and added that "''Pitch'' has the potential to pick up that torch." She also had high praise for Bunbury, whom she cited as a "breakout star, not to mention her (fictional) character Ginny Baker, the first woman to pitch in the MLB, to be a role model for young female athletes everywhere". Based on 27 reviews, the show holds a 93% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, with Critics Consensus being "A terrific lead performance and well-constructed setup and timely themes make ''Pitch'' a home run."

Home media

References

External links

* * {{Dan Fogelman 2010s American drama television series 2016 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings American sports television series Major League Baseball on television Baseball television series English-language television shows Fox Broadcasting Company original programming San Diego Padres Serial drama television series Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows set in San Diego Television series created by Dan Fogelman