Beyond The Baseball TV Grave is a sub-series of Beyond The TV Grave, taking a look at short-lived baseball-themed TV shows. This fourth edition focuses on FOX’s Pitch, a baseball drama that aired its only ten-episode season on the network’s fall 2016 schedule.
Background
Pitch landed on FOX’s fall schedule in the Thursdays at 9 pm time slot, behind sophomore police procedural Rosewood. The latter aired its first season in the then-coveted pre-Empire time slot for much of its first season, but collapsed when Empire was on its winter break. Among its competition was Thursday Night Football, which at the time was split between CBS and NBC.
Pitch was co-created by Dan Fogelman and Rick Singer. Fogelman’s previous small screen credits included the short-lived comedies Like Family on The WB, The Neighbors and Galavant on ABC, and Grandfathered on FOX. Both Galavant and Grandfathered had been canceled in spring 2016. Fogelman was also notably behind ABC’s failed NBA-set comedy pilot, an Odd Couple-type show that was considered a frontrunner in early development for the 2015-16 TV season but ultimately did not go to series. On May 10, 2016, Pitch became Fogelman’s first-ever drama series order. Two days later, NBC would give Fogelman his second drama series order with the much bigger series, This Is Us.
Synopsis
Pitch starred Kylie Bunbury as Ginny Baker, the first woman to play for a Major League Baseball team. A pitcher for the San Diego Padres, Baker rose up through the minor leagues from her signature screwball. The series told the fictional story of the first female MLB player through a dramatic lens. Similar to how Fogelman’s other new series This Is Us took place partially in the past, Pitch leaned on flashbacks to show viewers how Ginny Baker got to where she is in the present day. Pitch was fully endorsed by Major League Baseball, who even promoted the series themselves. The baseball drama was advertised on the MLB’s website, and the MLB let Pitch film at Petco Park, home of the real-life San Diego Padres.
Pitch delves into Ginny’s struggles to fit in with her teammates, her late father’s role in shaping her into the ballplayer she is in the present day, and the constant media attention on her throughout her journey to the MLB. While a central character in the pilot, Ginny’s father had passed away in the present day and was only present in flashbacks — like This Is Us, a twist which was not revealed in the trailer. The first and only season of Pitch ends on a cliffhanger, with Ginny injured and unsure if she will be able to pitch again.
Ratings & Cancellation
While Pitch was no This Is Us, it did premiere with some promise given the circumstances. Its 1.1 A18-49 rating outpaced Rosewood’s measly 0.7. Pitch gradually declined from there though, ultimately doing no better than Rosewood and finishing the season with 0.7s itself. It did not receive a backorder, and was instead replaced with short-lived unscripted series. Rosewood was banished to Fridays and canceled at the end of the season. Pitch averaged a 1.4 Adults 18-49 rating in Live + 7 day viewing for the season. In Live + Same Day, it averaged a 0.85 rating, tying for 18th place on FOX out of 30 programs. It at least outpaced Rosewood in both metrics, thanks largely to its earlier episodes and Rosewood’s unflattering Friday run.
There’s an argument that can be made that FOX didn’t think Pitch would need a lead-in to succeed. They were clearly able to convince the MLB the show would do well, or else the latter likely wouldn’t have bothered to associate themselves with the series at all. FOX also hyped up star Kylie Bunbury, including ‘introducing Kylie Bunbury’ in promos. While this was indeed Bunbury’s first lead role, she was part of the main cast of two TV series before Pitch. The baseball drama was warmly received by critics, even holding a 93% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. There’s a good chance FOX simply figured Pitch would immediately be able to stand on its own, finding an audience on Thursdays despite the time slot. Upon its cancelation, a producer for Pitch claimed the baseball drama was originally eyed for midseason, and argued airing against Thursday Night Football hurt its chances.
Audience reception was more mixed. Ultimately, Pitch was supposed to be realistic, but was unintentionally set in an alternate universe. In the trailer alone, Ginny Baker has the game announcers rooting for her, a stadium full of fans anticipating her debut, and the press swarming her. Most importantly, it was unclear who the audience even was for the series. Pitch was kind of like This Is Us meets baseball, a combination that is hard-pressed to find an audience large enough to survive on broadcast television.
Aftermath
Full episodes of Pitch are available for purchase on Apple TV, Fandago, and Amazon. Up until recently, it was also available to stream for free on Tubi. In 2019, there were reports Disney was considering reviving Pitch as a way to keep Dan Fogelman at 20th Television after This Is Us wrapped its six-season run. This obviously did not pan out. Kylie Bunbury went on to land a main role in Peacock’s short-lived Brave New World adaptation in 2020, as well as on ABC’s Big Sky for three seasons from 2020 to 2023.
Pitch’s failure is arguably easier to understand in retrospect than it was in real time, as it was very much a product of its time. Take for example a scene from the pilot. In the locker room, the Padres’ manager tells the team that since it’s 2016, Baker will be getting the same treatment as any other player. Pitch premiered in a political landscape where Hillary Clinton was widely predicted to be six weeks away from being elected president of the United States. It ended one month after she lost the election. Maybe Pitch’s legacy will be revisited if a woman makes it to the MLB. Eight years after Pitch’s finale, that has yet to happen.