Squeeze Play

Episode Number: 70
Season Number: 4.7
Air Date: 11/17/1983
Writer: Reuben Leder
Director: Harry Falk
Producer: Reuben Leder
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Recurring Characters

Orson Welles (Robin Masters - voice only), Patrick Bishop (Keoki)

Guest Stars

Dick Shawn (Buzz Benoit), Eddie Deezen (Mickey Dalrumple), Peter Isacksen (Jerome "Kapelwitz" Stenhauser), Debbie Zipp (Lola Stenhauser), Lord James Blears (Bartender), Bob Fimiani (Federal Marshall), William Ogilvie (Lou), Megan Hughes (Taphie the Buzzette)

Episode Brief

A not-so-friendly bet between Robin Masters and ruthless magazine publisher Buzz Benoit could leave Magnum and Higgins on the street unless they can beat Benoit's team in a high-stakes softball game. Magnum thinks their chances of beating Benoit's beautiful magazine models is pretty high, until he learns that Buzz has brought in professionals to play.

Rating

8.4

(52 votes)

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Notes

¹ The original script for this episode was titled "Going Going Gone".

² Unusual for the show, there is no opening preview.

³ Robin Masters (Orson Welles) makes his third "appearance" on the show (again, his face is never seen). We learn that Babes in Babylon was his first novel, published some 22 years ago (in 1961).

⁴ Magnum wears two baseball caps that will never be seen again in the show, a red-lettered Detroit Tigers "away" cap and a University of Southern California cap (with the interlocking letters logo).

⁵ The softball game scenes were filmed at Kapaolono Park in Kaimuki. The basketball courts at this park were used in Season Three's "Basket Case" (3.15) and Season Six's "Round and Around" (6.6). (Noted by Sam and rubber chicken)

⁶ Other anecdotes from the softball game:

• Magnum's team was called "The Paddlers". They wore a King Kamehameha Club cap, and the letters "KKC" appeared on the back of their blue-white jerseys.
• Magnum played shortstop and hits left-handed, but throws right-handed. He wore #14.
• T.C. played first base and hits and throws left-handed. He wore #32.
• Rick played catcher, then later pitcher, and he hits and throws right-handed. He wore #Seven.
• Magnum chews Red Man smokeless tobacco when playing.
• Magnum made an ultra-rare 6-3 triple play to get Rick out of a jam.
• Higgins is the third base coach (despite the fact that he hates the game).
• In the last inning, down by one with two outs, Magnum tried to stretch a triple into an Inside-the-park home run to tie the game - He was called out at home and the Paddlers lost the game.

⁷ Legendary nightclub comedian/singer Dick Shawn (Buzz Benoit) would tragically suffer a fatal heart attack onstage in 1987. Due to the nature of his act, audience members were at first unaware that he had suffered a massive heart attack and had died! Dick is probably best known for his performance as Adolf Hitler in the musical Springtime for Hitler, the play within Mel Brooks' 1968 movie The Producers.

⁸ Higgins is seen holding the River Kwai Bridge model. A good closeup of the model can be seen.

⁹ Legendary pro wrestler and WWII hero Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears makes a brief appearance as a bartender. He previously appeared in "Mr. White Death" (3.9) as the referee.

¹⁰ Higgins has a Victoria Cross (VC) medal, which is the UK's highest award for bravery in combat. We learn this when Higgins walks into the study and finds Buzz conducting a photo shoot of one of his Buzzettes, who is wearing only his Victoria Cross! (Noted by Stephen Huntley)

¹¹ In 1948, Higgins was in Madagascar, where he was able to cure the double vision of a Corporal Abbott by means of acupressure. (Noted by Stephen Huntley)

Quotes

¹
Buzz Benoit: Too bad Robin, another terrible night. So far you've lost one signed Picasso, a case of 100-year-old Frog champagne, your master pressings of Jack Teagarden's original songs, plus you owe me one original story for the next issue of my magazine.

²
Rick: Come on T.C., a lizard could have caught that, I've seen better hands on my mother!
T.C.: Well maybe you oughta bring your momma out here! At least she is a girl, you just pitch like one!

³
Higgins: You know lads, I sometimes view myself as a later-day Job, constantly being tested by our Creator. How else could I possibly justify four major wars, dozens of minor conflicts, seven natural disasters, and...
Magnum: Aha! Double play Tigers!
Higgins: ...Him.

⁴
Magnum: Oh my god, you're Jerome "Bad Friday" Kapelwitz!
Kapelwitz: Who told you?
Magnum: You just did... that and the way you swung that two by four. I should have known. Lola Stenhauser is married to Jerome "Bad Friday" Kapelwitz.
Kapelwitz: I prefer... ah... Killer.
Magnum: How long you been out of ball, been 4 or 5 years?
Kapelwitz: 6 years, 2 months, 14 days.
Magnum: You were with the White Sox, you hit 35 home runs, but then you quit, because... you...
Kapelwitz: Broke the face of that lousy reporter in Cleveland!

⁵
Magnum: Higgins, this is our lives!!

⁶
Magnum: Guys...Guys, I know it doesn't look too good. It's bottom of the 9th, we're three runs down, our worst hitter is up, but I know, I know we can come back this team's got heart. We got guts. And we got the best bunch of ballplayers this side of Koko Head.
Keoki: Except Rick.
Magnum: Well yeah, I know...but he's a part of this team. And that's it guys, the team! That's what's important, not just any individual. I mean, even a great like "Killer", don't forget, WE scored, we scored 10 runs this game.
Lola: Yeah, and "Killer" drove in seven of them.
Magnum: Yeah, I know, I know, but I also know that we gotta go out of here fighting. We gotta with our heads held high. We gotta go out proud! And the only way to do that is to send Rick here to that plate, because he is...the heart and soul of this team! Now come on guys, you gotta get with the team! We'll go out tough! And we'll win this one for...for..."Killer"!

Flubs

¹ Magnum's "Al Kaline glove" is a Rawlings, but only Wilson made Kaline gloves. (Noted by lutherhgillis)

² When Magnum goes into the bar looking for Jerome/Killer/Bad Friday and gets trampled by the construction workers rushing out of the bar, an older retired man sitting at a bar wearing a construction outfit, including hardhat, tells Magnum where Jerome is working. If the old man is retired as he says, then why is he still wearing a construction helmet? Even if he's not retired, why is he wearing his construction helmet in the bar? (Noted by IslandHopper)

³ Robin refers to the Washington Senators going out of existence in 1969. They didn't move to Texas until 1971. (Noted by Mike Barnes)

⁴ Rick pitches the ball to Lola during batting practice, and she supposedly hits a line-drive right at Rick and hits him in the groin with the ball causing him to double over in pain. Actually, it is pretty easy to tell that when Lola hits the ball, it is not a line-drive at Rick, but a pop-up that goes towards first base! (Noted by IslandHopper)

⁵ After Jerome/Killer/Bad Friday is taken away by the Federal Marshalls, Rick takes over as Pitcher and the Blasters promptly take a 13 to 10 lead until Magnum ends the Blaster's hitting spree with a triple play. After the triple play, Magnum runs off the field toward first base and high-fives T.C. and they proceed off the field. As the Blasters run onto the field, the camera cuts to a shot of Rick walking away from home plate carrying the catcher's mask. Remember, at this point Rick is now the Pitcher, not the catcher, however, this is obviously a shot of Rick when he was still catcher as evidenced by him carrying the catcher's mask. You could make the argument that maybe he just happended to pick up the mask on his way back to the bench, however, in this same shot, Rick's hat is also reversed, with the bill of the hat facing backward as often worn by catchers so that they can wear the mask while wearing their hat underneath. (Noted by IslandHopper)

⁶ The sweat stains on Lola Stenhauser's shirt grow noticeably larger in a matter of seconds (mark 10:08)! (Noted by Bernd-Christian Schulze)

⁷ After Magnum hits the ball on his last at-bat, he hits it into right field. Player #7 chases after the ball. We then see Magnum rounding the bases where a possible infielder a few feet away from him has the ball and we see him about to throw it. Then the camera switches back to the original outfielder (#7) who then proceeds to throw the ball from right field... again. (Noted by Dante)

⁸ When Magnum is batting for the final time he is using an aluminum bat and as he hits the softball the sound used (crack) is the sound of a wooden bat hitting a baseball, not an aluminum bat hitting a softball, which is more like a dull 'thud' sound. (Noted by IslandHopper)

⁹ As Magnum is playing solitare in Higgins' study, he lays out seven separate stacks of cards as Mickey is coming into the study carrying Buzz's copy of the Mona Lisa. The camera focuses on Mickey from behind Magnum's right shoulder and you can see a portion of the cards laid out. Visible at this point are the cards in the 6th and 7th position which are face up. The card in the 6th position is a face card and the card in the 7th position appears to be the 6 of clubs. The card in the 5th position is not turned up, nor are the cards in the 4th or 2nd positions. Cards in the 1st and 3rd positions have cards face up. When Mickey turns over the 'Queen of Hearts' it is between the 'Jack of Clubs' and '8 of Hearts.' However, these cards were not showing just seconds before. In fact, the entire configuration of the cards is different when the Queen of Hearts is turned up as compared to just seconds before. (Noted by IslandHopper)

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