Recap / Cheers S 10 E 21

Episode: Season 10, Episode 21
Title: Take Me out of the Ball Game
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Kathy Ann Stumpe
Air Date: March 26, 1992
Previous: Smotherly Love
Next: Rebecca's Lover...Not!
Guest Starring: John Finn, Anthony Starke

"Take Me Out of the Ball Game" is the twenty-first episode of the tenth season of Cheers.

Mitch Ganzell, an old friend of Sam's from the Sox days comes in with good news: The Sox are having major bullpen problems and are holding open auditions for relief pitchers. There's a chance for "Mayday" Malone to get back in the game. But after a few weeks on the road with the newer, younger relief pitches, Sam's come to a realization: He's not enjoying himself.

Meanwhile, Lilith is away, and has left Frasier in charge of her favourite lab-rat, Whiskers, but Frasier misplaces him, and must find a way to hide this from his wife.

---

Tropes:

• Accidental Misnaming: Sam's younger team-mate never gets his nickname right. Monday? Midday? No, it's Mayday.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Sam's been going on about how much he misses his Sox days, but when he finally gets a chance to be back there, without his alcoholism, he finds he's just not enjoying it.
• Lab Pet: Once again, Lilith is shown to have an emotional connection with a lab rat, this one named "Whiskers". Once again, this gets Frasier in trouble, as he takes Whiskers out of the bar (he has to look after the rat while Lilith is away for the weekend), and manages to lose it.
• Little Known Fact: Cliff believes the rat wasn't responsible for the Bubonic Plague, but it was in fact a creature called the Boobant, which is still around and a threat today, warning everyone to keep an eye out.
  Carla: (looking at Cliff) What if we just see a boob?
• 90% of Your Brain: The cold open has Norm and Cliff reading the newspaper, and Cliff reads that apparently people only use seventeen percent of their brains. He then flubs the math thinking this means he's still got sixty-four percent going unused.
  Norm: And some people use even less.
• One of the Guys: Carla's willing to take part in the pantsing and cavorting where Sam isn't.
• Saying Too Much: Cliff, as usual. Cliff ruminates about the risks of Sam trying a baseball comeback at his age. He wonders if Sam might fail, go back into his office, and start thinking about the failures and disappointments of his life, "all the while fashioning his belt into a makeshift noose."
  Cliff: I mean, we've all done it a hundred times.
  Norm: You okay, Cliff?
  Cliff: What are you asking me for? Sam's the one with the problem.
• Staircase Tumble: Sam and Mitch win spots on the Red Sox farm club, only for Mitch to take a tumble down the stairs to Cheers and hurt his arm immediately afterwards.
• With Friends Like These...: As Sam points out, Carla's been his friend through thick and thin. Except for dating Diane. And selling the bar, and rehiring Rebecca, and trying to have a kid with her.
  Sam: What the hell kind of friend are you?
• You Can't Go Home Again: Sam actually says "Who says you can't go home again?", after winning a spot on a Red Sox farm team. But after some time on the road with rambunctious young athletes, Sam realizes he doesn't like baseball life anymore.