After his favorite TV program gets preempted by baseball, Dan seeks revenge on the sport. So he grabs Chris, who goes along because he wants to see the World Series. So the two plan to kidnap the guy in charge.
This episode provides examples of the following tropes
- Acquired Poison Immunity: Dan mentions that he's been hit with tear gas and pepper spray so many times that he doesn't even feel their effects anymore. Unfortunately, everyone else around him still does. Shows up again in "The Bank", where he casually walks through a cloud of tear gas shot by the cops.
- Ascended Fanboy: Chris is positively thrilled to be a bat boy during the game.
- Baseball Episode: Natch.
- Big Eater: The pungent smell of Dan being covered in tear gas almost makes it too hard for Chris to eat. The prospect of hotdogs being covered in mace also doesn't dampen his appetite one bit.
- Big "WHAT?!": Elise when she finds out that Chris is in the same baseball stadium where she's trying to defuse a warhead.
- Calling Your Attacks: The Commissioner of Baseball shouts his counterattack. Too bad for him Dan has an Acquired Poison Immunity to mace.
- Chekhov's Gag: Dan being unable to feel the effects of tear gas and pepper spray is treated as a joke at the diner, but it proves crucial in the skybox when the baseball commissioner tries to stop him with mace.
- Cranky Neighbor: Dan because he hates his neighbors, and his neighbors because they live next to Dan.Baseball commissioner: Boy, I bet your neighbors hate you.
Chris: They really do.
Dan: That's fine. I hate them. - Here We Go Again!: The ending is pretty much a much shorter version of the intro, but with basketball instead.
- Ink-Suit Actor: The police sketches of Dan and Chris look like Curtis Armstrong and Dave Foley, respectively.Dan: Those pictures don't even look like us!
Chris: Actually, Dan, it's probably a really good thing if the police sketches don't look like us. - Noodle Incident: The baseball announcer has never seen an umpire eject himself during a game, only to then clarify he's never seen it during the post-season.
- Palette Swap: the guy who gets hit by the bus in "New Mexico" is clearly seen with new hair and shirt colors as one of the members of the seating feud.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: When Dan finally stops to explain his grievances to the Commissioner of Baseball, he immediately agrees that Dan has a point and does what he can to make things right. And he's not just saying it to placate Dan—he's a fan of the TV show that got pre-empted, too.
- Shark Pool: With squeaky rubber sharks! Dan is not amused. Then there's one with a real shark in "The Beach", which Dan and Chris attempt to "borrow" from the aquarium.
- Shout-Out: "I'm Batboy."
- Wire Dilemma: Elise's b-plot culminates in her deactivating an armed nuclear warhead, located under the baseball field in Washington DC. With less than a minute left on the timer, she has to choose between cutting the orange wire or the green one, and then Chris calls, distracting her. She asks Chris which color is his favorite, then cuts that wire.
- Won't Take "Yes" for an Answer: This exchange:Chris: Okay, I’ll go.Dan: I don't want to hear your excuses, you miserable— wait, did you say "okay?"
