This post contains spoilers.
Ginny Baker (portrayed by Kylie Bunbury) is human, and that sentiment seemed be the underlying theme in the fourth episode of "Pitch," Fox's new drama about the first woman to play Major League Baseball.
In the episode, entitled "The Break," Baker is named to the All-Star team while juggling an intense relationship with her mother -- and her mother's boyfriend, which is an added stress for the young pitcher.
There are probably viewers who thought Ginny Baker as an All-Star was an undeserved storyline at best, and cheesy at worst. If Baker were pitching in 2016, however, there absolutely would be a giant social media campaign to #PutHerInTheGame.
The problem is that Baker isn't an "All-Star" in the traditional sense of the term. She's won her last three games, but isn't the best pitcher on her team, let alone one of the best in the league. Yet by popular demand she's made the elite team.
Sometimes characters are written to be a bit arrogant or confident -- blinding them to their own flaws. Baker, however, is fiercely competitive and knows when she isn't playing well or hasn't earned something.
Interestingly, manager Al Luongo (Dan Lauria) encouraged her to accept the offer to play in the game. "Take the pity date," he said, referencing how his wife only went out with him because she felt sorry for him. "It doesn't matter why they say yes; it matters what you do after they say it."
This is a feeling that many marginalized people know quite well. Women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, etc., are frequently told that they must "earn" their opportunities to prove that they are just as good as those in the privileged majority. It is a function of meritocracy, or the ideal that, in the United States, rewards are based upon a person's hard work.
However, many opportunities and spaces are closed to those typically marginalized, or at least are rife with barriers to entry. Boardrooms, writers' rooms, and ballclub front offices are a few examples. That scarcity of representation creates immense pressure to justify the presence. No doubt Baker felt that when she took the mound.
Once in the game, she promptly gave up a home run (which the announcers gleefully highlighted).
No one shoulders a bigger burden than Baker, and even when she's successful in the league, there are moments when that sense of pressure shows.
Adding to that burden, is the complexity of her relationships (and lack thereof) with her family. Baker's mother, Janet (Chastity Dotson), makes an appearance in this episode, and to say their relationship is tense would be an understatement. It is revealed that a portion of Baker's tenacity for baseball was developed as a means to get back at her mother, after Baker witnessed her get a little too close to a man who was not Baker's father. It turns out, that same man is now Janet's boyfriend, and she brought him to San Diego (Baker pitches for the San Diego Padres).
These glimpses of Baker off the mound create a deeper sense of humanity for the character. She's strong, vulnerable and capable. "And isn't that what all women are?" Bunbury asked me rhetorically during a set visit in August.
Baker is not meant to be a superhero, but she is doing superhuman work, both in the fictional "Pitch" universe and in viewers' living rooms. She turns conversations about "worth" on their heads, and she is constantly humanizing women at a time when society might need that most.
The character implores us to look past the burden she carries and see her for the person -- the human -- that she is. She's exactly the hero we need.