Put Me In Season 2 Episode 13: Three Strikes And You’re Not Out

PREVIOUSLY ON PUT ME IN

CARTER
Should I leave?

RAY
No. You’re too valuable here. 

CARTER
Doesn’t seem that way.

RAY
You’re very easy to catch. Your pitches are accurate. 

CARTER
Thanks. Doesn’t seem like anyone else here cares too much though.

RAY
How about I try to get David traded?

CARTER
How would you even do that?

RAY
I’ve been here longer than almost everyone. I’m the highest-paid catcher in the league. 

CARTER
You think you have leverage?

RAY
Only one way to find out. I’ll see you around.

RAY leaves the clubhouse. CARTER follows moments later. 
______________

OPEN: CARTER is sitting next to RAY in the dugout.

RAY
Carter, I talked to management.

CARTER
And?

RAY
They might trade David.

CARTER
Really? That’s great!

RAY
Yeah, what they want you to do is pitch a good six innings today to prove to them you’re ace material. 

CARTER
I can do that. I’m feeling pretty confident about how I’m gonna pitch today, actually.

RAY
Good to hear. Also, don’t tell anyone this, but I told the home plate umpire about our situation. 

CARTER
You what?!

RAY
Relax, it’s only going to help you out.

CARTER
Isn’t that cheating?

RAY
No. I mean, I don’t know. Probably. But you’re a good pitcher, you won’t need any help. 

RAY starts walking to the catcher’s box, while CARTER walks up to the pitching mound to start the game. He throws a pitch at the bottom right corner of the strike zone. The umpire calls it a ball. CARTER shakes his head, takes a deep breath, throws the same pitch, which is also called a ball. Realizing the umpire does not see that pitch as a strike, his next pitch is thrown at the upper middle edge of the strike zone. That pitch is also called a ball. RAY jogs to the mound.

CARTER
I don’t know about you, but it looked to me like those were three strikes. 

RAY
Yeah, I don’t know why the batter didn’t swing at any of them. They’re borderline, but at least one of them should’ve been a strike. Don’t let it get to your head. 

RAY jogs back to the catcher’s box. CARTER’s fourth pitch barely misses the strike zone, walking the first batter. For the second batter, he throws a fastball in the center of the strike zone, which the umpire calls a ball. The next three pitches are also mistakenly called balls, and CARTER has walked another batter. LEWIS walks up to the home plate umpire.

LEWIS
Not to be disrespectful, but from my angle a lot of those pitches were strikes. Are you seeing differently?

HOME PLATE UMPIRE
Listen coach, I’ve been umping this league for almost 20 years now. I think I know what I’m doing.

LEWIS
It’s just that you haven’t called anything a strike. 

HOME PLATE UMPIRE
You have a problem with that? You know what happens to people who have a problem with my calls, don’t you?

LEWIS
Understood. 

LEWIS walks back to the dugout. CARTER throws another pitch, which comes close to hitting the batter. The HOME PLATE UMPIRE gives CARTER a warning. CARTER’s next pitch is a little high. The HOME PLATE UMPIRE makes a signal to CARTER, ejecting him from the game. CARTER states in disbelief, then approaches the HOME PLATE UMPIRE.

CARTER
Are you kidding me?

HOME PLATE UMPIRE
You have been ejected for attempted assault of the home plate umpire.

CARTER
Attempted assault? What?!

HOME PLATE UMPIRE
You know what you did. I gave you a warning, so you threw a pitch toward my upper body. 

CARTER
Or maybe I threw a pitch that was slightly high? It happens some times. Not everything can be in the strike zone. Which, by the way, was apparently nonexistent to you.

HOME PLATE UMPIRE
I can give you a suspension, you know.

CARTER
Suspension?! For what?!

HOME PLATE UMPIRE
Verbal abuse to the home plate umpire.

CARTER
That’s—

RAY interjects.

RAY
Don’t you think you’re getting a little extreme, Sir?

HOME PLATE UMPIRE
Nope. 

RAY
He—

HOME PLATE UMPIRE
Consider yourself ejected.

RAY
What?!

RAY starts walking back to the dugout in disbelief. CARTER follows. 

RAY
So that didn’t work.

CARTER
You think he was doing that because you told him about our situation?

RAY
Probably. Back to the drawing board.  

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