Tim Jo, Paris Barclay, Helen Bartlett, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Kylie Bunbury and Dan Fogelman speak onstage at the 'Pitch' panel discussion during the FOX portion of the 2016 TCA summer tour. (Photo : Getty Images/Frederick M. Brown)
With "Pitch" and a history of women who nearly pitched in Major League Baseball, people believe that it already happened. However, Fox's new baseball drama that premiered on Sept. 22, Thursday, which tells the story of Ginny Braker (Kylie Bunburry) as the first woman in the MLB, is fiction.
The series episode showed an inspirational sports film of an underdog female pitcher who becomes the first woman to play in a major American pro league. She is on her way of impressing her male teammates, with lots of expected obstacles along the way in the coming episodes. The pilot was able to deliver a good show that is so far, so good, according to The Atlantic.
Braker was San Diego Padres' late-season call-up, who became a global sensation after working her way up to make history. Her uniform number 43 follows Jackie Robinson's 42. Robinsons is the first African-American to play in the Major League Baseball, and his number is retired across all MLB.
The Dan Fogelman and Rick Singer-created Fox show is produced with MLB, which provides the project access to stadiums and logos. As producers hope "Pitch" becomes the most recent instance for television to be a history groundbreaker, many people believe it has already happened.
"When we were shooting in San Diego, someone came up to us and asked what we were shooting," showrunner Kevin Falls told The Hollywood Reporter during their first production day at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium. "We would say it was a story about the first female Major League Baseball player - and they would ask if it was based on a true story."
Singer was inspired by the United States team's major victories which include the Women's World Cup soccer tournament in 1999. Meanwhile, Falls explored Cape Cod League, women's athletic programs and contemporary success stories which include Mo'Ne Davis, the hero of Little League World Series.
As for a woman to actually play in the majors, French Melissa Mayeux recently became eligible to be in an MLB team, having added to its international registration list. Meanwhile, the Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs created the first co-ed professional baseball team since the 1950s by signing Stacy Piagno and Kelsie Whitmore in June.
Watch Braker in Fox's new baseball drama below:
