So let me start off by saying that I know very little about Major League Baseball. I know the basics of how the game is played but since I’m not an American, I’ve only ever seen it played on a very small scale (by which I mean, gym class where the teacher threw tennis balls at us while we held bats). However, it’s one of the few sports I actually enjoyed playing (because I don’t totally suck at it) and I really like the message of this show (female empowerment, y’all). These were the two main reasons for checking out this show and I was not disappointed.
In this pilot episode, we meet Ginny on the day she plays her first game in MLB for the San Diego Padres. However, she cracks under the pressure the media and fans have put on her. But she didn’t give up, she came back the next game and (after a teammate tells her to play for herself, not everyone watching) gets it together and plays a great game.
Most awkward scene: Let’s get the elephant out of the room, shall we. Ginny messing up her first game was, while a bit cliché, kind of awkward to watch. But also completely normal considering the circumstances. The whole world was watching her. Because she’s the first woman in the major leagues, she has ten times the pressure on her than any of her teammates. Aside from her own hopes and dreams, she also has to shoulder the hopes and dreams of every woman and girl who wants to make it in Major League Baseball. If she fails, it will automatically affect every other female baseball player’s chances. Anyone can crack under the right amount of pressure, and this was Ginny’s breaking point. But instead of hiding out and running away afterwards, she came back to fight. Which is why I already love this character.
Favorite flashback: There were several flashbacks in this episode. Not sure if they’re going to continue this trend throughout the season but I hope so. Perhaps with flashbacks of the other characters on the show. Anyway, my favorite in this episode was the very first flashback. It was before her dad started pushing her so hard. Steve clearly had trouble bonding with his children. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been trying so hard. The look on his face when his Ginny threw the ball was really sweet. It’s sad that he couldn’t be happy with that, that he had to push her so hard.
Least favorite character: While that first flashback was sweet, the others weren’t as much. It’s one thing to want to help your child be great at something, but he crossed a line. When you physically hurt one of your children to motive the other, that’s when you go too far. I wouldn’t be surprised if Steve caused a rift between Ginny and her brother. If they’d been close, wouldn’t he have been there for her on her big day, or after she messed up and felt like crap? Ginny obviously loved her father but even she could see that he messed her up. Baseball is her entire life. What happens if she were to get injured?
Shame on you: While the men on the team would totally qualify for this, I’m directing this towards the media. She has one bad game and suddenly the same people who were praising her just a day earlier turned on her faster than the wind. And bear in mind that this is the same media that would forgive certain male politicians *cough* Trump *cough* pretty much everything. Double standard, much?
Predictions: So here are my predictions for the season. I believe Mike will eventually become Ginny’s love interest (please let me be wrong here). We’ll delve a little more into her personal life, more specifically her brother and mother. The big boss trying to push out the manager is going to be something that’ll take all season. By the end of the season, she’ll have to make some huge decision that might change her career forever.
Amelia: "Hey Joe, I know it's just a two-minute ride to the stadium and I'm sure you've dealt with this kind of paparazzi before. But there's a billion dollar piece of cargo back here and if you princess Di her ass and me and you both survive, I'm going to Red Redding you and your entire family, do you understand?" Joe: "Yeah, I understand." Amelia: "Good, Joe. I like that about you."
Blip: "She's doing something that no one, I repeat, no one has ever done before and she needs help. Tomorrow night the entire world will be watching her. But as luck would have it, the best that I've ever seen will be 60 feet and 6 inches away. And, I don't know if he'll step up. But I'm hopeful. I'm hoping and I'm going to be watching the nods, the gestures and the trips to the mound. But man, what a beautiful day that that would be."
Mike: "I've been watching this past week, Baker. Seems like you've got a lot of people telling you who you're doing this for and I wonder if it's not about time you start doing this for yourself. Just you, screw all the attention. And you know what, screw all those adorable little girls in the crowd with their Ginny Baker signs cause you're not a girl scout leader, rookie. You're a ballplayer. You do this for you, you do this for your team or you don't do it at all. Cause you can't aim your pitches if you're aiming to please everyone."
That’s it for this week. Check in again next week for an all-new review and let me know in the comments what you thought of this week’s episode.
