Written by William S. Bickley
Produced by Mel Swope
Directed by E.W. Swackhamer
Original Air Date: October 6, 1973

Danny is bugging Keith and Laurie by tagging after them all the time and Shirley decides he needs some friends of his own age. Reuben suggests that Danny go out for Little League baseball, but Danny says no, he hates baseball. After a little blackmail from his brother and sister, Danny reconsiders and tries out for the team, coached by Reuben's friend, Darby Willis. Much to his surprise, he wins a place on the team as a pitcher.

The family attends Danny's first game and is shocked by Darby's "go team" speech to the players. Shirley is also alarmed over how seriously the parents in the stands take winning the game. After returning home, everyone agrees that they want to see Danny quit, but Danny, who has just won the game, is now hooked.

The more Danny plays, the more obnoxious he becomes. Then Darby gives the team a rough speech about the importance of winning the championship the next day and lays all the responsibility on Danny's pitching. Now suddenly afraid of losing, Danny comes home and tells his family he can't pitch in the game because his arm is sore. Shirley understands his fear and has a talk with Darby about coaching talks. She tells him he's putting too much pressure on the kids to win.

At the championship game, Darby reiterates Shirley's point that winning is not that important, and Danny decides to pitch after all. He goes on to win the pennant. Later, Danny decides to go out for football, but the family, remembering how impossible he was during baseball, discourages him.

Songs:
"I Wanna Be With You," music and lyrics by Wes Farrell and Gerry Goffin (unreleased on commercial LP)(on Screen Gems Volume 8)
"Say Hey Willie," (Ricky) music and lyrics by Rick Segall (on Ricky Segall and the Segalls)

Guest Cast:
Darby ------------------------------------------------------ Herb Edelman
Marv -------------------------------------------------------- Dick Balduzzi
Zack -------------------------------------------------------- Gordon Jump
Rusty ------------------------------------------------------- Jack Haley
Umpire ----------------------------------------------------- Dick O'Shea

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