The cast of Pitch, with Bunbury ( center ), in wardrobe as the San Diego Padres

Fox
September 22, 2016
In The Mix

Hit or No-Hitter

With the ball in the hands of Kylie Bunbury, the producers of Pitch look for a perfect game.

Craig Tomashoff

Like plenty of teenagers, Rick Singer and Kevin Falls watched Major League Baseball games and imagined what it would be like to be out there on the field.

Problem was, Falls was cut from his high-school freshman team and Singer was “much more into baseball in spirit rather than in talent.”

Still, they managed to make their dream come true, stepping up to the plate as creator–executive producers of Fox’s Pitch (also exec-producing: Dan Fogelman, Paris Barclay, Jess Rosenthal, Tony Bill and Helen Bartlett).

The series, premiering September 22, follows the rise of Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury) as the first female ballplayer to make it to the majors.

“When we tell people what the plot is,” Bunbury relates, “they usually say that hasn’t happened yet, but it’s definitely in the realm of possibility.”

And how: Philadelphia teen Mo’ne Davis made national headlines in 2014 as the first girl to pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series (and the first African-American girl to play in the league).

Pitch was originally developed as a feature film a decade ago, with a script by Singer and Bill. Last fall, Singer and Fogelman pitched Pitch as a TV series and Fox picked up the pilot. And despite Singer’s deep love of baseball, he insists this isn’t a baseball show.

“There is something for everybody,” he says. “For me, it’s important to get the personal angle in every story. These are real people with real problems like the rest of us.”

Adds Falls: “Those who love baseball will appreciate how we handle their favorite game, but a  woman being first at anything is an amazing story,  so we will have these human stories to tell, too.”

But Pitch wouldn’t be in the game without an  assist from Major League Baseball. MLB is allowing the show to shoot in its  parks, particularly San Diego’s Petco Park, and provides input on scripts to  ensure authenticity.

Ex-players, like pitcher Gregg Olson, have coached Bunbury, and Fox baseball announcers Joe Buck and John Smoltz (also a former big-league pitcher) provide color commentary during game scenes.  “MLB was understandably concerned about their brand,” Falls says, “but to make the show seem real, we needed their help.”

Since Ginny’s groundbreaking experience is a focus of the series, Bunbury knows that, like her character, plenty of pressure is coming her way. That’s why she’s been watching a lot of MLB games, working on her pitching mechanics three or four days a week and generally trying to “live like a pro athlete.

“I remember thinking about Serena Williams when I was growing up,” she says. “Not only is she one of the greatest athletes, she’s also a woman of color like me. Her strength and perseverance and focus let me think, ‘Wow! I can do anything.’ And now Ginny gets to inspire with her own coming-of-age story.”


This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, Issue No. 8, 2016

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