A Plot: Adam wins a radio contest in which a lucky listener gets to throw out the first pitch at a Philadelphia Phillies game. Adam then works out a deal to allow Barry to throw the pitch. Barry sees it as an opportunity to impress the Phillies and get a huge signing bonus to join the team, and he also convinces Murray that this is the opportunity of a lifetime. For a change, Beverly has to be the one to squelch a child's dream, as she doesn't want Barry to embarrass himself in front of 60,000 fans. When he practices with Murray, it becomes clear that Barry can't throw. He still goes through with the opening pitch, standing in front of the mound and lobbing a good toss to home plate.
B Plot: Lainey is visiting Erica, and both complain about their first year in college. They discuss their passion for music and possibly playing together, also getting Valley Erica to join on drums. They quickly write a song, but somehow do not recognize its similarity to Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll". Valley Erica gets the band into CBGB (a music club) in New York, having a relative with a connection to the establishment, but when they play their song they are quickly ushered off stage because it's a Joan Jett ripoff. The song however wasn’t the only thing they plagiarized. Despite the disappointment, the Ericas and Lainey all decide they want to quit school and pursue music full-time.
- Missing Steps Plan: For the band, Step 1 is coordinating outfits and choosing a name, Step 2 is getting the countdown right, and Step 3, which Erica refers to as "the easy one", is to write a hit song that changes the world of Rock 'n' Roll and earns them superstardom. The moment they learn that the only song they prepared for CBGB is basically a cover, the entire plan falls apart.
- Monster Roommate: One of the main reasons Lainey wants to leave college is because her roommate is a Wiccan that throws cigarette ashes at her while she sleeps.
- Oh, Crap!: Murray is utterly enamored by the idea that Barry will live out a dream he never fulfilled and pitch at an official game, up until Beverly has him and Barry play catch 65 feet apart (the length from the pitcher's mound to home plate), at which point Barry's completely off-target throws help him realize how screwed Barry is.
- Plagiarism in Fiction: Erica, Lainey, and Valley Erica form a girl band, The Tangles, and they performed their song, "Rockin' Out", in front of a crowd at CBGB. What they didn't know is that "Rockin' Out" sounded like Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", and they're also unaware that their band name and their clothing style were copied after The Bangles and Madonna, respectively.
- Playing Catch with the Old Man: Barry and Murray do this as practice for the pitch at the Phillies game, which turns out to indeed be "the opportunity of a lifetime" not because of potential stardom, but because it helped father and son bond together.
- Radio Contest: One of these kicks off the episode. Barry has a completely miscalculated strategy for it, but Adam ends up winning, and gives Barry the prize in exchange for being shielded from Beverly's snuggles.
- So Proud of You: When it's time for Barry to make the pitch (after having his optimism broken and then rebuilt by Beverly and Murray), he tells Murray that he'll make him proud, and Murray replies that he already is.
- Street Musician: After getting kicked out of CBGB for being "a cover band", the girls (and Geoff, who took a bus to see them perform) reveal they spent all their college funds on making merchandise, and then their van (with the merch in it) gets stolen, so they end up performing "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" at a bus stop to earn some quick cash for a ride home. However, it's surprisingly profitable and ends up reaffirming Erica's desire to perform for a living.
- Tempting Fate: When the girls are first forming their band, Erica hopes that they'll be "like Joan Jett meets The Bangles meets Madonna". Then they accidentally plagiarize all three at once.
