Fox’s ‘Pitch’ Brings Baseball To Prime-Time TV

Baseball and movies go together like, well, baseball and hot dogs. From “Pride of the Yankees” and “The Sandlot” to “Bull Durham” and “Major League”—if you start a debate on the Top 10 baseball movies of all time, you could quickly be expanding the list to a Top 20.

But if you’re looking for a TV show that features baseball in a big role, you might have a top five—”Eastbound & Down” for example—and maybe just a top two or three, not counting shows such as “Cheers,” where Sam Malone’s former career as the Red Sox closer is more a device for jokes than a storyline.

Fox might change that this fall. The network has added “Pitch” to its fall schedule. It’s a drama based on the first woman to play big league baseball. It’s the kind of idea that could be done well or done poorly depending on the execution.

Take a look at the first trailer for the show above. The attention to detail (she throws a screwball to make up for her lack of velocity) and the production value (and the necessary tie-in with Major League Baseball) makes this show look like a potential winner, or at least another turn in the rotation.