''Hardball'' is an American baseball

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

that aired Sunday nights at 8:30 pm on Fox from September 4, 1994 to November 4, 1994. The series premiered in the middle of the

1994–95 Major League Baseball strike The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike was the eighth and longest work stoppage in baseball history, as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage in 22 years. The strike began on August 12, 1994, and resulted in the remainder of that season ...

and was canceled around the time that the year's

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

would have been played.

Premise

The series focused on the players and staff of the Pioneers, a fictional

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

baseball team. Among those shown were

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

Dave Logan, who has been largely overlooked by MLB,

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

Mike Widmer, who is past his prime, team owner Mitzi Balzer, who is sharp-tongued and trying to get her team out of last place, public relations girl Lee Emory, who has her hands full with Mitzi and the team, center fielder Frank Valente, whose cocky high-priced "superstar" ways put him at odds with Dave. The first episode showed Mitzi firing the manager and replacing him with a timid man named Ernest "Happy" Talbot, who is unsure how to get the Pioneers working as a team.

Cast

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He is known for his role as the American president John F. Kennedy in '' Thirteen Days,'' for which he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion ...

as Dave Logan * Mike Starr as Mike Widmer *

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC color commentator, podcaster, comedian, actor, and former television presenter. He hosts '' The Joe Rogan Experience'', a podcast in which he discusses current events, comedy, pol ...

as Frank Valente *

Phill Lewis Phillip David Lewis (born February 14, 1968) is an American actor, comedian and director who is best known for his role as hotel manager Mr. Moseby on the Disney Channel series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' and its spin-off, ''The Suite Lif ...

as Arnold Nixon *

Chris Browning Christopher Jay Browning (born March 8, 1964) is an American television and film actor, known for film work and character roles. Career Browning began his acting career in 1987, at age 22 or 23, with a sitcom television series. Due to his drug ...

as Lloyd LaCombe *

Dann Florek Ezekial Dann Florek (born May 1, 1950) is an American actor and film director. He is best known for his role as New York City Police Captain Donald Cragen on NBC's ''Law & Order'' and its spinoff '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and Dav ...

as Ernest 'Happy' Talbot *

Steve Hytner Steve Hytner (; born September 28, 1959) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Kenny Bania on the NBC series '' Seinfeld''. Hytner is a native of Long Island, New York. He appeared as a regular in '' The 100 Lives of ...

as Brad Coolidge *

Alexandra Wentworth Alexandra "Ali" Wentworth (born January 12, 1965) is an American actress, comedian, author, and producer. Early life Wentworth's mother, Muffie Cabot (née Mabel Bryant Hobart), was Nancy Reagan's White House social secretary from 1981 to 1983 ...

as Lee Emory *

Rose Marie Rose Marie (born Rose Marie Mazzetta; August 15, 1923 – December 28, 2017) was an American actress, singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer with a career ultimately spanning nine decades, which included film, radio, records, theater, night ...

as Mitzi Balzer *

Adam Hendershott Adam Hendershott (born June 6, 1983) is an American actor. Biography Hendershott was born in Los Angeles County, California. He has appeared in a number of film and television roles, including '' Sydney White'' and ''Jack & Bobby'', ''Veronica ...

as Nelson Balzer

Episodes

References

External links

* 1990s American sitcoms 1994 American television series debuts 1994 American television series endings American sports television series Baseball on television in the United States Baseball television series Television series by ABC Studios English-language television shows Fox Broadcasting Company original programming {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub