Pitch Review: Alfonzo Guzman-Chavez (Season 1 Episode 5)

Who knew baseball could be so emotional?

On Pitch Season 1 Episode 5, “Alfonzo Guzman-Chavez,” everyone is on edge as the trade deadline approaches, wondering which of their teammates might end up getting traded.

That hits close to home when rumors of Blip being traded come to light. But let’s be honest, we knew that wouldn’t happen, right?

Ginny worries about losing her only friends, and in flashbacks we start to see this is something she’s always struggled with. As quickly as she makes a friend, she loses them. It feels like a byproduct of her lifestyle — though later in the episode we learn what really happened to her friend years ago.

I have to say, the Ginny flashbacks are starting to feel a bit trite. I realize that’s part of the storytelling, but it almost seems like the show is relying on that device too much. Perhaps if they were done differently — but this one in particular makes it feel like the show is falling into a “flashback of the week” sort of thing.

And yes, the flashback reveals more about how Ginny’s father died, but otherwise, it seems unnecessary. And even that reveal is something that might have felt more poignant had we gotten to see more of Ginny’s friend, over the course of more than one episode.

The reveal is still pretty emotional, and when you think about everything that Ginny has gone through, it makes her story that much more incredible. It’s so painfully tragic that Ginny’s dad made a phone call in support of her friend, and that phone call ultimately led to his death.

Ginny’s fear of being abandoned seems to run pretty deep, and now we understand more than ever why that is.

One of Ginny’s best moments in this episode is thanks to Amelia’s advice.

Amelia: You don’t just ask for what you want. You demand it. And they’ll respect you even more for doing so.

So that’s what Ginny does. She goes to Oscar and says her piece in hopes of keeping her friends in her life, but that pisses Oscar off in a big way.

The good news is, Blip doesn’t get traded. The bad news? Another friend Ginny has made since she’s been on the team does. Tommy is gone, you guys. And for some reason, I didn’t see that one coming.

I hope she doesn’t let the fact that Mike and Amelia are seeing each other affect those two friendships as well, but the look on her face when she learns the news tells me that it’s probably going to.

Other Thoughts:

• Ginny is from North Carolina. Why doesn’t she have an accent? I’m not sure what this hasn’t occurred to me before.
• Oscar is growing on me, but we’re going to need to spend a little more time with his character before I become invested in him.
• I do really like Mike and Amelia together. I’m glad she decides to carry her mouth guard along with her.

What did you think of this episode of Pitch? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Pitch airs Thursdays at 9/8c on FOX.

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