The Pitch season one premiere sets up Ginny as an underdog. While she has tons of fans, that only adds to the pressure. But Ginny’s determined to prove herself as the first female pitcher.
Ginny Meets The Team
Pitch begins with Ginny and her security guys getting ready for her big debut. She meets her social media guy Eliot and has legions of fans. Of course she does! She’s the first woman to compete in the major American sports leagues and the biggest story in the news right now. They’re comparing her to O.J. Simpson, Jackie Robinson, and Elvis. Ginny notices a reporter criticizing her, but her manager Amelia tells her not to listen. “I’ve been ready my whole life,” Ginny says.
The stadium is packed with fans when they get there. Ginny goes to meet with the owner. “You’re teammates are excited to see you,” he says. “No they’re not,” she replies. It doesn’t matter though, because she’s pitching for the Padres and that’s all that matters.
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At the same time, the manager gives a speech to the team about Ginny. He warns them all to be respectful and not give her any special treatment. That’s when Ginny and her people come in. She knows one of the players, Blip, so that’s good.
Ginny gets her jersey, which is a huge moment for her, and sits down for a press conference. Amelia isn’t happy because this was just supposed to be a photo shoot. She chews this guy Oscar out, and he immediately asks her out. Amelia says everything should have gone through her and he promises to keep her in the loop. So Amelia pulls Ginny out of the press conference.
Ginny then goes to practice and meets the captain, Mike, who slaps her ass. And she totally calls him on it, but he says slapping asses is his thing and he’s going to keep slapping her ass and she’ll thank him for it. So she slaps his ass back.
The whole crowd chants for Ginny and she gets a little nervous, but Blip’s super supportive. She also goes to meet Blip’s family in the stands and winds up signing some little girls’ baseballs. But when she notices signs posted that say, “We’re counting on you, Ginny,” she starts to feel the pressure. So she goes to the bathroom, but she overhears the team talking about her. They think she’s a “gimmick,” who will sell tickets, but won’t last. Now she just has to prove them wrong.
The Big Game
Ginny goes to warm up with Mike and then it’s time for the big game. Ginny steps out to see a sold out crowd cheering for her. Even her parents are in the crowd.
Finally, Ginny throws out her first pitch at a major league game. And it’s terrible. She keeps messing up. Mike comes up and tells her to take a minute, but she demands the ball. But she messes up again. Still, she demands the ball back. She keeps thinking about her past and the crowds and is obviously letting the nerves get to her. Eventually, someone scores.
Mike and the manager come out to talk to her. She tells them to get her out of the game, so they take her out. It’s so disappointing and Ginny’s dad’s pissed. Ginny goes to the locker room, does a press conference and goes home. She’s so upset. Amelia asks to speak with Ginny alone. “Today was a bad day,” she says. She adds that the little girls are looking up to her, though, but Ginny says they need someone else.
Ginny vs. Her Dad
Ginny’s dad goes to see her after her awful game. She yells at him for making her play baseball when she was only a little girl. She had no friends or interests because of him, and it wasn’t right. But he doesn’t listen. Instead, he makes her practice.
Ginny’s Comeback
The managers and administration debate whether or not Ginny should go down for the next game. They decide she will, and the team and manager are all pissed. Blip stands up for her and the team almost fights. That’s when Ginny walks in, but she doesn’t say a word to them.
They start practicing and all the media attention is on Ginny. Mike give a press conference, but they only want to talk about Ginny.
Blip’s wife also comes to visit her and gets her to stop watching the critics and gets her drunk. Blip, meanwhile, goes out with Mike. He tells Mike that Ginny needs his help and says she’s a fighter. “This girl is your legacy,” he says.
Finally, it’s time for the big game yet again. Will Ginny do better? And will Mike help her? You bet! And they’re playing against the best team, so the pressure’s on. Ginny throws her first pitch, and it’s terrible again. She keeps messing up, so Mike comes up to give her a speech. He says everyone’s telling her who she’s doing this for, but she should screw the attention and the little girls in the crowd. She’s a ball player and she should do this for her and her team. She can’t aim her pitches if she’s aiming to please everyone.
And Mike’s speech works! Ginny throws a perfect strike. From there on out, it’s a great game. Eventually, she throws her screwball and it’s a perfect strike. But then she starts doing poorly again. The manager and Mike come up to pull her out, but she says she can do it. Still the manager pulls her out. He tells her she did a good job, but she’s had enough and slaps his ass. So she greets the crowd and leaves the field.
After the game, the pitcher she replaced, Tommy, says that he’s going to get his job back and calls her a bitch. He accuses Blip of sleeping with her and they get into a fight. Oscar and the owner freak out. The owner wants to get rid of the manager Al because he lost control of the team.
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Will Ginny Make Her Dad Proud?
Throughout Pitch, the episode flashes back to Ginny and her dad. It starts out with Ginny’s dad teaching her baseball when she’s a kid, and he’s amazed at her skills.
Ginny’s dad even helps her get into the little league games back in school. He makes the captain let her try out. And, of course, the manager is shocked by how good she is. Ginny’s so excited, but her dad says they’re not done. He says a girl can’t throw hard enough to compete with boys, so they need a secret weapon. He learned a pitch at the end of his career, but by then it was too late to save his career. But she can learn it. It’s called a screwball, and this becomes her signature pitch.
Ginny’s dad works her really hard one night. She says she can’t do it anymore, so he calls her brother over and slaps him. Then Ginny throws a strike. “See, you can do it when you have to,” he says. It’s pretty messed up.
Eventually, Ginny wins the state championships, but her dad’s still not satisfied. Then a scout for the Padres approaches them.
Ginny’s ecstatic that she’s going to start playing for the Padres in the minors. But then she and her dad get into a car accident. It turns out he died and she’s been imagining him throughout Pitch. He didn’t take her to practice after her messed up game; she pushed herself. “We did it pop,” she says after her big comeback. “We ain’t done nothing yet,” he replies.
Were you surprised that Ginny’s dad was dead? Do you think she can win her critics over?
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(Image courtesy of Fox)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
