A down-and-out baseball team's fortunes are lifted by a mysterious but seemingly unbeatable young player.A down-and-out baseball team's fortunes are lifted by a mysterious but seemingly unbeatable young player.A down-and-out baseball team's fortunes are lifted by a mysterious but seemingly unbeatable young player.
- Directors
- Writer
- Rod Serling(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPaul Douglas, who had drinking habits, was originally cast to play McGarry but onstage began to look red and read raspingly, and it wasn't until his coronary-related death days after the episode was completed that it was realized he had been suffering poor health rather than reaction to drink. Because the episode was supposed to be a comedy, Rod Serling was reluctant to let it be broadcast with Douglas' impending death essentially captured on film. When CBS refused to pay for the episode to be re-shot, Serling personally underwrote the $27,000 it cost to have Jack Warden brought in to replace Douglas and to have some scenes re-done with Warden in place of Douglas.
- GoofsDuring the locker room scene (17 minutes on) the wall clock never changes from 1:45.
- Quotes
Rod Serling - Narrator: [Closing Narration] Once upon a time, there was a major league baseball team called the Hoboken Zephyrs, who, during the last year of their existence, wound up in last place and shortly thererafter wound up in oblivion. There's a rumor, unsubstantiated, of course, that a manager named McGarry took them to the West Coast and wound up with several pennants and a couple of world championships. This team had a pitching staff that made history. Of course, none of them smiled very much, but it happens to be a fact that they pitched like nothing human. And if you're interested as to where these gentlemen came from, you might check under 'B' for Baseball - in The Twilight Zone.
- ConnectionsEdited into Twilight-Tober-Zone: The Mighty Casey (2021)
Watch the rest, and especially the bewildered (if not astounded!) Jack Warden as the team skipper. Accolades to the good old team doctor, well played by Abraham Sofaer. Sofaer was born in Burma and had one long career, playing distinguished gentemen in several classic films, one after the other. He is perfect for this role as the doc who "changes" things. Rod Serling's ace in the hole!
A must see, even if you're not a baseball fan with some laugh out loud situations, even for the TWILIGHT ZONE. I do agree with the last reviewer, this does come off as a Damon Runyon-eque tale with some fun characters, and could have had possibilities for a movie. The material is there. Also look for character actor Rusty Lane, a staple in many westerns, often in ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S tv show.
From SEASON 1 EPISODE 35 remastered CBS dvd box set.
- tcchelsey
- Mar 18, 2023
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1