This is the best?

Normally I wouldn’t post on Saturday but given that this article from Screen Rant is titled “10 Baseball TV Shows To Watch During The World Series” and the Series could be over tonight… Although if you’re at all interested in baseball, why would you want to watch shows about the game rather than the game itself?

Here are the ten in order from the article that was published on Thursday (a bit late in the scheme of things, don’t you think?), along with my thoughts. Not sure if it’s a countdown or count-up. Note that all the series with the exception of Brockmire and Eastbound & Down were pretty short-lived. I don’t count Slo-Pitch because Roku. And I must have been in a coma in 1995 because I never heard of A Whole New Ballgame.

Pitch. This was supposed to be a revolutionary show: a female Jackie Robinson. But, perhaps predictably, it turned into a soap opera.
A League of Their Own. To be honest, I’ve only seen the first episode. I’ll watch the rest because baseball, but based on the premiere, it seems a bit too earnest, addressing issues some felt were underplayed in the 1992 movie, specifically the themes of race and sexual identity.
Brockmire. Ridiculously profane but just as amusing. This would be my top pick.
Eastbound & Down. This kind of broke my own rule about watching anything baseball-related, simply because I didn’t like the character at all (also never been a Danny McBride fan).
All-American: Homecoming. See above, basically because I’m not in the target age demographic.
Back in the Game. No redeeming qualities at all, as far as I’m concerned. A very poor Bad News Bears rip-off with the requisite band of quirky kids.
Hot Stove. (according to IMDB, not Hot Stove League, as listed in the article.) This one I would give a shot, if for no other reason than it’s about Asian baseball. Interested to see the differences in culture.
The Bronx is Burning. This was a limited series based on the non-fiction book. I enjoyed it.
Slo Pitch. Described as having “a similar feel to A League of Their Own but … less serious and more raunchy.” Sadly, I don’t have Roku, but if someone can tell me a work-around…
A Whole New Ballgame. Available on Youtube and only eight episodes? Sure, why not? Cool that it was able to “take advantage” of the strike season. Someone was on their toes to get it done so quickly. Plus Corbin Bernsen at least had some baseball (acting) experience from Major League.

Missing from this list — since it seems they included just about all the baseball series there were — Bay City Blues and Ball Four. Both lasted barely a season but had some pedigree: BCB was created by Steven Bochco of Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue fame. Ball Four, of course, was an ill-fated attempt to capture the shock value of the book (and also featured the author, Jim Bouton).

By contrast, here’s a piece from MeTV.com about “6 forgotten TV shows about baseball that all struck out.” Seems I had forgotten than an attempt had previously been made for a series based on both A League of Their Own and Bad News Bears. Plus Hardball (1994) which lasted just seven episodes (same as Ball Four). Also from MeTV, “Can you name the TV show by its baseball episode?” (I missed one. Shows how old I am.)

The Screen Rant piece also offers links to “10 Best Movies About Baseball, According To Letterboxd,” “10 Great Baseball Movies To Watch After The World Series,” “Top 10 Fictional Baseball Players In Movies/TV,” and “The 10 Best Baseball Video Games Ever, According To Reddit.” Not to interested in the fictional players and since I don’t play video games I’ll just quickly address the movies lists.

The former seems to be a case of throwing stuff into a pot to make a stew. It certainly can’t be in order of quality. Little Big League and Rookie of the Year, ostensibly two films for kids? Please. And Major League II a “Best Movie?” MAJOR LEAGUE II?

At least the second list offers “ratings” on a five-point scale. But they lost me when they put two silent pics — Speedy and Cameraman — in the top three. Trying to show off? In second place: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I know baseball movies aren’t really about baseball, but that’s just ridiculous. And don’t get me started on the omissions.