Fox drama "Pitch" debuts tonight at 9:00pm ET, and though the show about the first female player to break into MLB is "not your usual baseball drama," viewers will find that it is a "highly conventional sports tale, a fastball down the middle rather than a darting curve," according to Mike Hale of the N.Y. TIMES. The show, which follows fictional Padres P Ginny Baker, "doesn’t subvert sports clichés, it just adapts them to a new gender." The usual "fathers-and-sons trope becomes father and daughter," with Baker "assuming the athletic role abdicated by her older brother." The pilot is "glossy and brisk and does about as good a job as you could hope for of putting some life into the baseball formulas." But “Pitch” is "clearly in search of an audience beyond sports fans, and there’s a danger that off-field melodrama will outweigh baseball" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/22). USA TODAY's Robert Bianco gives the show 2 1/2 out of a possible 4 stars, as there are "only so many ways to tell a sports story," and "Pitch" "borrows from most of them." But the fact that Baker, played by Kylie Bunbury, is an African-American "alone is enough to make this a pitch worth catching, at least for a while." "Pitch" is an "entertaining hour -- and one that should please" MLB, which collaborated with the show producers on its creation. But it is "virtually surprise-free, save for a twist that feels more like a gimmick, and a dead-end one at that" (USA TODAY, 9/22).
INSIDE LOOK: VARIETY's Maureen Ryan wrote much of the show "steers clear of unnecessary exposition that it usually has a streamlined feel, and much of what occurs in the first hour simply flies by." However, "Pitch" makes time for "small moments that take on significance as the drama gains momentum." No show since "Friday Night Lights" has done a "better job of portraying the internal and external pressures that weigh heavily on young athletes asked to do much more than merely succeed on the field." The show also has a "few curveballs in its arsenal, but they are so effective that it’s hard not to wonder if the show will be able to keep up the momentum of its pilot" (VARIETY.com, 9/14). In L.A., Mary McNamara writes this is the "baseball of 'The Natural' rather than 'Moneyball' or 'Eight Men Out,' which, given the subject matter and tone, is what the show seems to be shooting for anyway." This is a "first for television" -- decades into Title IX, there "has yet to be a major series about female athletics." "Pitch" is "not quite that, but it's a start" (L.A. TIMES, 9/22). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Joey Mendolia noted the audience receives an "inside look into locker room behavior, the pressures" Baker is "struggling with, and the negativity she is forced to confront" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 9/12). USA TODAY's Josh Peter noted the show is "particularly timely given the recent influx of women in baseball," but the script was written by Rick Singer in the late '90s and "sat unproduced for more than a decade." But the "sporting landscape, or at least the perception of women within it, changed" (USA TODAY, 9/21).
BIG LEAGUE SUPPORT: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Eric Fisher in this week's cover story notes "Pitch" features the "deepest level of involvement by MLB in a Hollywood production" since "Moneyball” in '11. Official team logos, uniforms and facilities including Petco Park are "used throughout the show, and Fox Sports broadcasting talent such as Joe Buck, Colin Cowherd, Katie Nolan" and Baseball HOFer John Smoltz make appearances (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/19 issue). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Lesley Goldberg noted the show will be a "mix of baseball and family drama that uses the MLB calendar as a backbone." The "biggest concern" for MLB was that "Pitch" get baseball right so that the series is as "real on the field as it is off." In success, the series will "hit the road and work with MLB to film at various stadiums across the country." Producers have a "wish list" that includes Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. With that level of "access and detail, Fox hopes the show not only will catch on but help promote the game" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 9/15). Show co-creator Dan Fogelman said, "I said, ‘If we don’t get Major League Baseball to sign on as partners, I don’t think we can do the show.’ I didn’t want to do a series about a fictional baseball team.” In L.A., Stephen Battaglio notes Fogelman "made it clear to MLB that he was not looking to pull the curtain back on the national pastime." But for “Pitch” to "work, it needed to realistically explore the business machinations the league would encounter if faced with a Jackie Robinson-like breakthrough in the age of social media." That approach "did not scare off" MLB (L.A. TIMES, 9/22). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Daniel Fienberg noted by filming at Petco Park, using "real teams and Fox Sports camera angles and graphics," show director Paris Barclay helps it "achieve a reasonable amount of authenticity in the key baseball sequences" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 9/20).
THE REAL MCCOY: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Steve Knopper noted the show’s creators are "taking care not to fake their way through change-up grips and arm slots." The partnership gives the show "access to logos, big-league ballparks and experts." With sports fans "accustomed to watching hi-def replays repeated from every angle and poring over individual plays via YouTube and Vine, sports films are under more pressure than ever to nail the mechanics" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/16). In N.Y., Tyler Kepner noted former MLBer Gregg Olson has been the "on-set pitching coach" for Bunbury. Bunbury said that she had "never even played catch before being cast for the show" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/18). In Salt Lake City, Scott Pierce noted the show's producers are "hoping that if you happen to tune in in the middle of one of the faux baseball games, you think it's the real thing." When it comes to the acting skills of Buck and Smoltz, Pierce wrote they are "not great" and are somewhat "awkwardly scripted" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 9/21). DEADLINE's Dominic Patten noted the series provides Fox "not just with a swing at a future that is coming and should be welcomed in real life, but a great way to pitch eyeballs to Fox Sports" (DEADLINE.com, 9/20).
ALL IN: In N.Y., John Koblin wrote the show has "plenty of hurdles" to overcome. Once the "novelty of its attention-grabbing gimmick wears off, how will it keep an audience?" For a show that its creators have "described as inspirational and feel-good, how will it handle some unsavory parts of the game and a culture that can be insular and sexist?" And how will it "cater to the hard-core baseball fan expecting authenticity while still appealing to women, whom Fox is depending on for much of its viewership?" Fox has "a lot riding on 'Pitch.'" Though the pilot "features baseball scene after baseball scene," the show's producers "insist it's anything but a sports show." The show's creators believe they are "walking into a moment when female athletes are more popular than ever" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/18).
