Winston gets tickets to a baseball game, featuring the least popular sports team around, the Jaguars. While there, he sees something very strange going on and, after doing research, believes the stadium will be the battleground for a conflict between the forces of good and evil once every 500 years.
Since the other Ghostbusters are unwilling to go to the stadium without proper authorization, Winston goes by himself. But once the stadium is met with a dome of light, the other Ghostbusters arrive and, to their surprise, the force of good and evil are having a baseball game... and Winston is Good's short stop!
This episode provides examples of:
- Ascended Fanboy: Winston notes he always dreamed of playing Major League baseball.
- Bait-and-Switch: After getting into the stadium, the three Ghostbusters find the massive umpire looming over them. Ray demands to know where Winston is. It turns out he's playing shortstop.
- Baseball Episode: The episode is Winston joining the forces of good against evil in a baseball game.
- Being Good Sucks: Anyone on the side of evil can cheat to their heart's content, but good is explicitly forbidden from doing so and will immediately lose if that occurs. This proves a problem when the guys realize they can't take the easy way out to help Winston win.
- Big "WHAT?!": The other Ghostbusters upon learning that Winston is playing shortstop.
- Down to the Last Play: Much of the game went by with neither team managing a run. It's not until the top of the ninth that Evil manages to score one run. At the bottom of the ninth, two Good players get on bases, but Evil's relief pitcher strikes out two other players. After getting two strikes himself, Winston wins the game by scoring a home run.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Egon when he realizes that just because they're on the sidelines doesn't mean they're neutral.
- Exact Words: The Umpire makes it clear when good and evil do battle, no one can be neutral. This includes people who aren't directly involved in the battle.
- Food as Bribe: Unwilling to go alone, Winston promises Slimer all the popcorn, ice cream, soda and hot dogs he can eat if he came with him to the Jaguar game.
- Forced into Evil: The teams are playing for the fate of one human soul. If Evil wins, said soul will be made a slave for 500 years.
- Foreshadowing: Upon questioning what happens to the losers of the game, the Umpire states nothing. This is an early hint that Winston's soul is not in danger. The Umpire also flips out at Peter who dismisses the idea of the entire game over over one soul, also hinting just whose soul is really on the line.
- "Hell, Yes!" Moment: The other Ghostbusters and the good players when Winston hits a home run.
- Hope Springs Eternal: With Good going into the bottom of the ninth down by one, Ray says they have three chances to win.
- Jumped at the Call: Certain that there's something supernatural going on at the stadium, Winston refuses to wait to try to get a permit and simply heads on over by himself.
- Noodle Incident: According to Winston, the good and evil spirits battle at the location of the stadium every 500 years. The previous clashes always reflected the surroundings of the particular era.
- Oh, Crap!: Egon's "Eureka!" Moment mentioned above counts as this.
- Also Peter, after learning whose soul was being played for.
- Only One Finds It Fun: Winston appears to be the only fan of the Jaguars, as Ray loses interest in joining him upon being told who's playing.
- Our Centaurs Are Different: The good team's pitcher is one.
- Secret Test of Character: The Umpire allowed the other Ghostbusters to be present for the game, as well as telling them that good is not allowed to cheat. When Winston is up against evil's best pitcher, the Umpire muses that he'd do better against a different pitcher. Peter and Ray are about to bust the pitcher on the grounds not being in the game means they can cheat, but Egon realizes at the last moment that they're not neutral, and gets them to stop. After Winston wins the game, the Umpire spells it all out.Umpire: I told you no one can be neutral. You had to choose: would you cheat for your friend? Or would you trust in fair play, and let good win on its own terms?
- Wham Line: After the game is one, the others say they knew it was Winston's soul being played for, but he tells them otherwise.Winston: It was your soul we were playin' for, Peter. That's why they let me play.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Peter questions how the ghosts went to all this trouble for the sake of just one soul. The Umpire takes umbrage at this.Umpire: Just one soul?! Is there anything on this puny Earth as important?! Isn't even one soul worth all this effort and more?!
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Winston couldn't care less if his beloved Jaguars lose (which they do); he is just a firm believer in playing the game fairly and to the best of one's ability.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Egon is certain that the team has a personal stake in this game, and the three of them quickly suspect that it's Winston's soul that's at stake. The last scene reveals that it was Peter's soul that was at stake and that Winston got to play because of that.
