Booking this sitcom is the reason comedian Joe Rogan moved to LA from the East Coast.
Several times during the series, Pioneers centerfielder Frank Valente (Joe Rogan) reveals his salary is six million dollars. According to data on Baseball Reference, that would make Valente the second highest paid MLB player in 1994, slightly behind the Mets Bobby Bonilla at $6,300,000.
Rose Marie's portrayal of loudmouth team owner Mitzi Balzer is clearly inspired by controversial Reds owner Madge Schott. Mitzi always carries a tiny dog while Schott was known for her huge Saint Bernard.
The Pioneers mascot fiasco "The Pied Pioneer" was inspired by the San Francisco Giants much hated mascot "The Crazy Crab."
This was a Touchstone production, a division of Disney, and contains several Disney touches, such as the Disney characters salute to baseball. Disney owned the Angels at the time and their stadium in Anaheim is used for exteriors and establishing shots. A banner for the Angels longtime flagship radio station KMPC can be seen in some shots. Except for the team name, the Pioneer uniforms are much the same as the Angels, allowing actual game footage to be used in long shots.
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