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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batty_baseball.jpg]]
2''Batty Baseball'' is a 1944 Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer animated short directed by Creator/TexAvery, which lives up to its name as it consists of a variety of baseball-related gags between the Yankee Doodlers and the Draft Dodgers.
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5!!Tropes:
6* ArtisticLicenseSports: All over the place, but it doesn't matter anyway, due to RuleOFFunny.
7* BaseballEpisode: The basic premise as indicated by the title.
8* DownerEnding: PlayedForLaughs. The batter accidentally kills the catcher with a hard swing from his bat, and the latter is seen ascending to Heaven on a cloud.
9* GoryDiscretionShot:
10** One of the audience members yells "Kill the umpire! Get him out of there!". As he keeps yelling, a gunshot is heard, much to his horror, and he and the rest of the audience then stand up to take a moment of silence before returning to their seats.
11** At the end of the cartoon, the camera quickly zooms up to the batter before he accidentally strikes the catcher. We hear a loud bang and glass shattering, but while we don't see what the catcher looks like after getting hit, the batter's horrified and remorseful expression as he looks down speaks for itself.
12* IResembleThatRemark: The same audience member from earlier who heckled the umpire this time yells out "The umpire is blind!". The umpire then turns around, revealing that he is indeed blind, and says "Oh, I am not!".
13* LamePunReaction: The name of the baseball field is [[Creator/WCFields W.C. Field]]. Some text appears at the bottom of the screen, stating this:
14-->The guy who thought of this corny gag ~ isn't with us any more.
15* LogoJoke: The cartoon begins immediately at the title and then skips straight to the action with no sight of the MGM logo or credits. This eventually gets fixed when [[BreakingTheFourthWall one of the players stops to wonder where they have been]]. [[InteractiveNarrator As the narrator apologizes]], the logo and credits, minus the title card due to redundancy, [[TheShowMustGoOn finally appear]].
16* MinorInjuryOverreaction: After getting hit by a baseball from [=McDrip=], the batter puts down his bat and hat and takes a few steps to the left before passing out on top of a stretcher and being carried off to the hospital.
17* MotorMouth: When the cartoon starts, the narrator is talking at a ridiculously fast pace while describing the equally-speedy action going on in the game. [[MediumAwareness He eventually stops when one of the players realizes that the cartoon forgot to display the MGM logo and credits]].
18* NoPlotNoProblem: The cartoon barely has a coherent story, being made up of a series of baseball-themed gags with little connection to each other.
19* NotHyperbole: To the shame of the angry guy on the bleachers, someone took up his yells to "kill the umpire!" as an actual command to do so. He later yells out that the umpire must be blind if he can't see the plays, and the umpire turns around showing that he actually is blind.
20* PublicDomainSoundtrack: "Dance of the Comedians", which would later be known as the {{Leitmotif}} of the [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Road Runner]] cartoons, is heard during the beginning as the narrator hastily describes the action.
21* RunningGag: The catcher running out in front of the batter, narrowly missing getting hit. On the last instance, the batter doesn't miss.
22* StandardSnippet: "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is played as the MGM logo and credits are displayed.
23* TalkingWithSigns: At the end of the cartoon, during his ascension to Heaven, the pitcher displays a sign that reads "Sad ending, isn't it?".
24* TakeMeOutAtTheBallGame: A fan shouts for the umpire to be killed, [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and gets his request granted off-screen]]. Also, the catcher who keeps getting in front of the batter finally gets hit and killed at the end.
25* ThisIsAWorkOfFiction: Before we go back to the cartoon after the opening credits, we get this:
26-->Any similarity between the title of this picture and the story that follows is purely an accident.
27* TheToothHurts: A woman on a toothpaste poster gets hit by a baseball and loses some of her teeth as a result.
28* TrickedOutShoes: One gag has the pitcher sprout a crosshair from his shoe as he focuses on the batter.
29* VisualPun:
30** [=McDrip=]'s famous spitball. He spits onto this baseball and tosses it towards a spittoon, upon which the baseball then spits into said spittoon and returns to its owner.
31** Likewise, his beautiful curve. [=McDrip=] tosses his baseball, which leaves behind a line trail as it goes and even draws the outline of a woman, causing some male audience members to reply with a WolfWhistle.
32** A player on the bench is getting warmed up... by having sexy women run up and kiss him passionately!
33* VocalDissonance: The batter reacts to getting an out from three strikes by throwing a tantrum and letting out a baby's crying.
34* WartimeCartoon: The announcer does mention the war as the reason most of the opposing team are missing, as they've all been drafted (as indicated by signs reading "1-A"). All except [=McDrip=] the pitcher, whose uniform number is 4-F, the Selective Services' classification for "unfit for service." Also, a gigantic batter has the number B-19, a reference to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_XB-19 Douglas XB-19 bomber]].

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