A pitcher with only one pitch won't last long. A pitcher may have a go-to pitch, but will have to be able to mix it up or the hitters will have a field day teeing off on that one pitch.
So, the screwball is not enough on which she could realistically base a major league career. True, Maddox threw in the high 80s, but he also had mastered a variety of pitches with which to fool the batter.
This is fantasy. And that's okay, most television is. Unless you believe that a car could be the reincarnation of a cop's mother. But this is less a fantasy and more a feminist wet dream. Fantasy has to have enough basis in reality that you think it could actually come true, if all the stars aligned. And this fantasy requires too many stars to align to be more than the previously mentioned feminist wet dream.
And yes, to be truly believable, the lead actress needs to be taller and more athletic. Gwendoline Christie does an excellent job portraying a believable swordswoman on Game of Thrones. She's tall and broadly built, enough that even though her character won't have the upper body strength, she's no fragile snowflake either.
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Obiesarmywife
8 years ago
She doesn't just use the one pitch. She used it once in the pilot episode towards the end to get the 3rd out. Also it's television it's not supposed to be realistic. Stargate Sg1 was a huge success and there's no aliens and Stargate television isn't always made to be real life
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GreenInkBrigade
8 years ago
A lot of the believability of a show is the level of suspension of disbelief being asked of the audience. SG1 and other science fiction shows ask for huge suspension in order to build a story around interplanetary travel and sentient aliens. Pitch is asking for a small suspension of disbelief in order to to build a story around a female pitcher with a fastball in the "high eighties." A smaller suspension of disbelief means the writers had better get the other details correct.
A medical show set in a 2016 suburban hospital cannot introduce Star Trek level medical devices or miracle cures devised in only a few hours (yes, Outbreak, I'm looking at you), whereas a science fiction show set in a distant galaxy can get away with small pocket-sized devices that cure cancer.
A television show about a baseball pitcher with a weak arm had better get the other details right. And this show is not batting 1,000 in that regard. It was interesting enough that I'll give Episode 2 a try. But if it wants to keep sports fans interested, it needs to send some of its writers to baseball camp or get better technical advisors. Also, dump the feminist wet dream trappings and Jackie Robinson allegory and concentrate on making an interesting story about a baseball player who happens to be a woman. To paraphrase what Elton John said about Ellen: we get it, she's a woman; now be interesting.
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Blaine1942
8 years ago
A pitcher with only one pitch won't last long.
Sorry, this is quite wrong. Bartolo Colon is 43 and pitched forever with basically only a fastball (which he throws over 90% of the time). Phil Niekro pitched 20 some odd years throwing mostly knuckleballs. There are many more example of "one pitch" pitchers that are quite successful. It's all in locating the pitch and keeping batters off balance.
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