BASEBALL ON TV — “WKRP in Cincinnati” (Featuring: Sparky Anderson)

Episode: “Sparky” (1979)

REVIEWED BY MARK A. LARSON
Editor & Publisher

Did former Cincinnati Reds Hall-of-Fame manager Sparky Anderson sparkle during his appearance on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” in 1979?

“Sparkle” might be a bit of an overstatement, but Anderson makes a positive contribution to the show and is definitely fun to watch.

THE PLOT: News and sports director at radio station WKRP, the sort of nebbish Les Nessman, is disappointed because although he came up with an idea for a sports interview show, he’s bypassed in favor of Sparky Anderson … a Cincinnati favorite. (At the time, Sparky was the Detroit Tigers’ manager after being fired by the Reds the previous year.)

As Sparky — who plays a fictional version of himself — arrives at the station during the off-season, he is given the cold shoulder by the still less-than-pleased Les. Even though Sparky has no on-air experience, WKRP General Manager Arthur Carlson assures him he didn’t need any. (Carlson and the program’s sponsor are excited about the prospects of eventually taking the show national.)

Sparky Anderson (center) as sportstalk host …
flanked by his Topps cards from ’71 (left) and ’86 (right)

The highlight of this episode is Sparky’s first topsy-turvy interview and how he handles weirdo callers. “Sparky’s Bullpen,” as the show is called, has a guest and call-in format and begins with Sparky interviewing a local indoor soccer player, who, shall we say, is a combination of odd and dull. With the interview going nowhere, Sparky decides to take some phone calls and they also turn out to be weird so the manager has to fill dead airtime. And guess what? That doesn’t go well either. … The combination of the moronic guest, clueless callers and Sparky’s lack of radio experience sinks the show almost from the beginning.

THE PLOT THICKENS: During a week of weak shows, things don’t improve and everyone knows it just isn’t clicking. Even Carlson realizes he’s going to have to let Sparky go. Carlson is extremely nervous when he approaches Sparky behind closed doors. He beats around the bush, even though it’s obvious Sparky knows what’s coming. Sparky finally helps Carlson by pulling it out of him that he’s getting fired. To Carlson’s relief, Sparky agrees the show’s not working out and takes it like a champ.

“Every time I come into this town, I get fired,” he quips.

The program ends on a positive note with Carlson apologizing to Les and saying “I went with a free agent and we had the talent right here.”

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Before he was a manager, Sparky Anderson had a rather unusual major league playing career. He played just one year for just one team. That in and of itself isn’t out of the ordinary. What is unique is that he played in 99 percent of his team’s games (152 out of 154) and never played another big league game before or after.

From 1953-58, Sparky worked his way up the minor league chain. Then in 1959, he made it to the majors as a second baseman with the Phillies. From 1960-63, it was back to the minors before moving on to a managerial career.

In other words, one full year in the majors and that was it. Not even any cups of java for him. … No bouncing back and forth between the minors and the majors. Slightly bizarre to be sure.

Even though he sparkled defensively, during his lone year with Philadelphia, Sparky was pretty weak in the hitting department. He batted just .218 in 477 at-bats, with 42 runs scored and 34 RBIs. His power was almost non-existent as he only had nine doubles and three triples – with no homers — out of a total of 104 hits. … A definite “good field, no hit” ballplayer.

Episode: “Baseball” (1979)

This episode begins with nerd-in-residence, newsman Les Nessman, announcing to the WKRP staff he accepted a challenge from archrival radio station WPIG to a station vs. station softball game.

The response is less-than-enthusiastic as everyone groans and grumbles knowing WPIG has a great team.

After unsuccessfully trying to convince the staff into playing, Les shames them into accepting the challenge by wistfully recounting how he never had a chance to play ball as a youngster because he had to take violin lessons.

Most of the episode is taken up by the ballgame, which is pretty formulaic and ho-hum. … Les is a horrible pitcher, fielder and batter; Even with a baseball background, WKRP General Manager Arthur Carlson still struggles on the mound and at the plate; the team is mediocre and often looks foolish. It’s going to be a long afternoon.

WPIG leads 7-0 after two innings of the scheduled seven inning game. But slowly, WKRP comes back. Eventually – during a pretty lame and hokey scene – Carlson hits a grand slam that puts his team ahead 10-9. It all comes down to the bottom of the seventh with WPIG up to bat.

With two outs and the score still 10-9, Les is praying the ball isn’t hit to him in right field. Sure enough, with the crack of the bat, it’s a fly ball to right. Les cluelessly circles around and around, closes his eyes, puts his glove in the air and … and … makes the game-ending catch. WKRP wins!

Les, who has been haunted by childhood memories of being told he was no good at sports, finally has his moment in the sun at age 39.

WKRP in Cincinnati was on CBS for
four seasons (90 episodes) from 1978-82.

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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 WKRP IN CINCINNATI” … 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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