# Pitch (TV series)
**Pitch** is an American sports drama television series that aired on Fox in 2016, centered on Ginny Baker, a fictional pitcher who becomes the first woman to play in [Major League Baseball](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-league-baseball), joining the [San Diego Padres](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-diego-padres).[1](https://www.mlb.com/news/fox-mlb-bring-pitch-to-television-thursday-c202187130) The series premiered on Thursday, September 22, 2016, at 9 p.m. ET and ran for a single season of ten episodes before Fox canceled it in May 2017.[1](https://www.mlb.com/news/fox-mlb-bring-pitch-to-television-thursday-c202187130) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/news/pitch-canceled-season-1-fox/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pitch/s01)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | Fox, premiered September 22, 2016; season 1 finale aired December 8, 2016[1](https://www.mlb.com/news/fox-mlb-bring-pitch-to-television-thursday-c202187130) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pitch/s01) |
| Premise | Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury) is called up by the San Diego Padres as the first woman in Major League Baseball[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/pitch/season-1/) |
| Creators | Dan Fogelman and Rick Singer, co-creators and executive producers; Paris Barclay directed and executive produced[1](https://www.mlb.com/news/fox-mlb-bring-pitch-to-television-thursday-c202187130) |
| MLB cooperation | The league granted access to club uniforms, filming at Petco Park and Dodger Stadium, and provided authenticity consultants[1](https://www.mlb.com/news/fox-mlb-bring-pitch-to-television-thursday-c202187130) |
| Premiere ratings | 1.06 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 4.227 million viewers[5](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/pitch-fox-tv-show-cancelled-renewed-season-two/comment-page-8/) |
| Critical scores | Metacritic Metascore 69 (27 reviews); Rotten Tomatoes 93% Tomatometer from 55 reviews, 83% audience score[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/pitch/season-1/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pitch/s01) |
| Fate | Canceled after one season, announced May 1, 2017[2](https://www.tvguide.com/news/pitch-canceled-season-1-fox/) |
## Premise and characters
The series follows Ginny Baker, played by Kylie Bunbury, a pitcher called up from the minor leagues by the San Diego Padres who must prove herself to teammates, management, and a watching public that treats her as either a hero or a gimmick.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/pitch/season-1/) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/fox-has-a-gripping-new-series-with-pitch) Her central relationships include team captain and catcher Mike Lawson ([Mark-Paul Gosselaar](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-paul-gosselaar)), who initially resists her presence, and center fielder Blip Sanders ([Mo McRae](https://www.edgepedia.org/mo-mcrae)), who along with his wife Evelyn (Meagan Holder) becomes one of her strongest allies in the clubhouse.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/pitch/season-1/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-pitch-review-20160917-snap-story.html)
The supporting cast includes [Ali Larter](https://www.edgepedia.org/ali-larter) as Ginny's agent Amelia Slater, Mark Consuelos as general manager Oscar Arguella, Dan Lauria as manager Al Luongo, and [Bob Balaban](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-balaban) as the team's owner.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/pitch/season-1/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-pitch-review-20160917-snap-story.html) Flashbacks establish her father, played by [Michael Beach](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-beach), a former minor league pitcher who trained her from childhood and taught her the screwball, the off-speed pitch that becomes her signature and her route to the majors.[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-pitch-review-20160917-snap-story.html) • [8](https://www.wired.com/2016/09/wired-pilot-program-pitch/) Reviewers noted that making Ginny a screwball specialist was also a way for the show to sidestep the physical disadvantage a woman would face throwing with male power pitchers' velocity.[8](https://www.wired.com/2016/09/wired-pilot-program-pitch/)
## Production and Major League Baseball's involvement
Major League Baseball participated in the production directly. The league allowed Fox access to club uniforms, filming at [Petco Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/petco-park) and [Dodger Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/dodger-stadium), and provided consultants to keep the depiction of the majors plausible.[1](https://www.mlb.com/news/fox-mlb-bring-pitch-to-television-thursday-c202187130) [Chris Tully](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-tully), MLB's executive vice president of media, described scripted entertainment as a way for the league to connect with existing fans and reach new ones, and framed the show as fitting MLB's inclusion and diversity efforts.[1](https://www.mlb.com/news/fox-mlb-bring-pitch-to-television-thursday-c202187130) • [9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/10/11/foxs-pitch-is-fiction-but-a-female-mlb-pitcher-isnt-that-far-fetched/)
Former major leaguers Gregg Olson, Chad Kreuter, C.J. Nitkowski, and Royce Clayton coached the actors on baseball technique; Olson said of Bunbury that her mechanics were solid enough that a viewer would not know she was an actress.[1](https://www.mlb.com/news/fox-mlb-bring-pitch-to-television-thursday-c202187130) Former ESPN reporter Molly Knight worked as a consultant to keep the plots true to how major league organizations actually operate.[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/10/11/foxs-pitch-is-fiction-but-a-female-mlb-pitcher-isnt-that-far-fetched/) Real sportscasters also appeared in the pilot, which the Los Angeles Times credited with giving the hour a multimedia authenticity.[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-pitch-review-20160917-snap-story.html)
## Casting and directing
The pilot's director, Paris Barclay, then president of the [Directors Guild of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/directors-guild-of-america) and a two-time Emmy winner, told TIME that Bunbury's casting was effectively race-blind: the role went to the most qualified candidate, and the dimension of Ginny's race as a Black woman was written into the role after she auditioned.[10](https://time.com/4505358/pitch-fox-inclusivity-paris-barclay/) Barclay also hired four female directors for the series whom he did not personally know, including Emmy winner [Regina King](https://www.edgepedia.org/regina-king), who is credited as a director on the season.[10](https://time.com/4505358/pitch-fox-inclusivity-paris-barclay/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pitch/s01) He cited the DGA's finding that only 19 percent of television episodes in the 2015-16 season were directed by nonwhite filmmakers and 17 percent by women as context for those hiring choices.[10](https://time.com/4505358/pitch-fox-inclusivity-paris-barclay/)
## Reception
Season 1 scored 69 on Metacritic, rated generally favorable, based on 27 critic reviews, with 74 percent positive, 22 percent mixed, and 4 percent negative.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/pitch/season-1/) On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds a 93 percent Tomatometer from 55 reviews and an 83 percent audience score, with a critics consensus praising the lead performance, the setup, and the show's themes.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pitch/s01) Reviewers singled out Bunbury's performance as the show's core strength; the Los Angeles Times wrote that she made the premiere's predictable expositional demands seem effortless, and The Guardian called the drama a hit and Bunbury a major revelation.[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-pitch-review-20160917-snap-story.html) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/22/pitch-review-fox-female-baseball-drama-hits-it-out-the-park) [Criticism](https://www.edgepedia.org/criticism) focused on the acting outside Bunbury and on a third-act twist in the pilot that the RogerEbert.com review found manipulative.[12](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/tv-reviews/2017/4/10/pitch) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/fox-has-a-gripping-new-series-with-pitch)
## Ratings and cancellation
The premiere drew a 1.06 rating among viewers aged 18 to 49 and an audience of 4.227 million, and the series' ratings declined from that starting point through the fall.[5](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/pitch-fox-tv-show-cancelled-renewed-season-two/comment-page-8/) The season finale aired on December 8, 2016.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pitch/s01) On May 1, 2017, series star [Dan Lauria](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-lauria) announced the cancellation on his Facebook page, and Fox confirmed the show would not return for a second season.[2](https://www.tvguide.com/news/pitch-canceled-season-1-fox/) • [13](https://www.thewrap.com/pitch-canceled-one-season-fox/)
## References
1. [New series a perfect 'Pitch' for MLB, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/fox-mlb-bring-pitch-to-television-thursday-c202187130)
2. [Pitch Strikes Out After One Season at Fox, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/news/pitch-canceled-season-1-fox/)
3. [Pitch: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pitch/s01)
4. [Pitch: Season 1, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/pitch/season-1/)
5. [Pitch on FOX: cancelled or season 2?, TV Series Finale](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/pitch-fox-tv-show-cancelled-renewed-season-two/comment-page-8/)
6. [FOX's Baseball Drama "Pitch" Presents a Gripping Phenomenon, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/fox-has-a-gripping-new-series-with-pitch)
7. [Review: Fox's new 'Pitch' shows that a female player in the MLB is more than a gimmick, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-pitch-review-20160917-snap-story.html)
8. [WIRED Pilot Program: Pitch, WIRED](https://www.wired.com/2016/09/wired-pilot-program-pitch/)
9. [Fox's 'Pitch' is fiction, but a female MLB pitcher isn't that far-fetched, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/10/11/foxs-pitch-is-fiction-but-a-female-mlb-pitcher-isnt-that-far-fetched/)
10. [How 'Pitch' Found Inclusivity Behind the Camera, TIME](https://time.com/4505358/pitch-fox-inclusivity-paris-barclay/)
11. [Pitch review – female baseball drama hits it out the park, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/22/pitch-review-fox-female-baseball-drama-hits-it-out-the-park)
12. [Pitch — Mediaversity Reviews](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/tv-reviews/2017/4/10/pitch)
13. ['Pitch' Canceled After One Season on Fox, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/pitch-canceled-one-season-fox/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Baseball in culture and related bat-and-ball games › Baseball in film and television*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license