Episode: “The First Pitch Insufficiency” (2014)
REVIEWED BY MARK A. LARSON
Editor & Publisher
Pitch clocks, replay challenges, pitchers and catchers communicating electronically … and robots delivering the first pitch.
Over the past decade or so, 21st Century technology has definitely infiltrated major league baseball.
Wait a minute. … robots delivering the first pitch?
Fans of “The Big Bang Theory” witnessed just that in 2014 during the show’s eighth season.
On the show, Howard Wolowitz (played by Simon Helberg), one of Big Bang’s star nerds, was previously a NASA astronaut/engineer on the International Space Station. As such, when nobody else would do it, he was offered the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at an Angels game in Anaheim on “Space Day.”
Problem was, Howard might have been smart, he might have been an actual astronaut, but an athlete he was not.
The show opens with Howard’s three buddies Leonard, Sheldon and Raj (played by Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyer respectively) watching him practice throwing imaginary baseballs to an electronic game on their TV. … Soon after, Howard’s wife, Bernadette (Melissa Rauch), is shown giving his shoulder a rubdown after the “vigorous” workout in front of the tube. That piece of ridiculousness on Howard’s part is just a prelude to what’s to come.
To make his practice sessions more realistic, Howard, Raj and Bernadette head to a gym. When his wife measures out the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate, Howard is astounded at how far 60 feet, 6 inches actually is.
Howard throws like a 4-year old kid – and that’s probably being too harsh on 4-year olds. In his attempt to throw the full distance, Howard throws short and bounces the ball. At one point, he drops the ball. … He’s way wild to the left, he’s way wild to the right.
Practice does not always make perfect.
Raj asks Bernadette, “Is it too late to cancel?” Unfortunately, it is.
Next, Howard calls his astronaut friend, Mike for advice. (Mike is played by real-life astronaut Mike Massimino.) Even though it’s too late, Mike advises Howard not to throw out the first pitch. When Howard asks why, he tells him, “In space, you couldn’t even toss me a pen … and that was in zero gravity.”
Howard with the Mars Rover at the Angels’ stadium in Anaheim
Then comes the day of reckoning. The afternoon crowd at Angels stadium is buzzing. Soon the public address announcer introduces Howard and he takes the mike and speaks to the crowd. Howard explains how he’s not an athlete, but a scientist. Therefore, he came up with an idea for a unique way to deliver the first pitch and pulls the cover off a working prototype of the Mars Rover that is stationed near the mound. The crowd ooohhh’s and aaahhh’s. Howard places the ball atop the Rover and it begins its journey to home plate.
Mars Rover robot. Unique idea, right? Well, slow down, not so fast. Not so fast. In fact, the operative phrase here is “not so fast.” That was the very problem with the robot. It was soooo S-L-O-W. Agonizingly slow. It moved from the mound toward home plate at glacial speed. It would take an eternity. With today’s pitch clock rule, Howard would have walked the bases loaded … and then some. The crowd quickly grows impatient and the episode closes with the crowd booing while the Rover is still inching toward home. So instead of finishing up with a Big Bang, Howard’s baseball adventure ended with a dull thud.
The person who introduces Howard at the beginning of the Angels Stadium scene was Michael Araujo – the actual public address announcer for the team. He began his stint the year before this episode aired.
Mike Massimino participated in two space flights during his NASA career. This episode marked his sixth and final appearance on The Big Bang Theory between 2012-14. The first five involved the story arc of Howard going into space. Mike is remembered by fans of the show for giving Howard the nickname “Froot Loops,” which he also used during his conversation on this episode.
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NOTE: To find out if this show is available in your area, use a search engine and type in: “Where to watch THE BIG BANG THEORY” … In general, know that some television programs are currently only available on DVD, so check your local library … Others may not be available at all at this time.
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