The Baseball Bunch

The Baseball Bunch is an American educational children's television series that originally aired in broadcast syndication from August 23, 1980 through the fall of 1985. Produced by Major League Baseball Productions, the series was a 30-minute baseball-themed program airing on Saturday mornings, which featured a combination of comedy sketches and Major League guest-stars, intended to provide instructional tips to Little League aged children. Throughout its five-season run, the series starred Johnny Bench, Tommy Lasorda and The Famous San Diego Chicken alongside a group of eight children (boys and girls ranging in age from 8–14) as "The Bunch". Production Produced by Major League Baseball Productions, and starring Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench, and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, the series was envisioned as a fun, but informative way for Little League aged children to learn the fundamentals of baseball. The original pilot for what would become The Baseball Bunch was filmed at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles in 1980, and did not originally include The San Diego Chicken (Ted Giannoulas). In a 2007 interview with JustMyShow.com, Giannoulas recounted how he became part of the series, saying "The producers called me up and they said 'We want to shoot this again. We think it's a little dry for kids to be watching this. A lot of good baseball information, but not enough color to it, so can you come in and just improvise around what we've done, and we'll re-shoot the whole thing.' I did that, and suddenly they had magic in the can, and they sold the show." The pilot, starring Bench, Lasorda, and Major League guest-star Steve Garvey, aired as a "special" presentation on August 23, 1980 (with some stations airing it the next day instead). As preparations for the first full season began, production for the series was moved to Tucson, Arizona to begin filming in February 1981. According to several cast-members, the location and time of year were selected for two main reasons; citing the ideal weather (70° temperatures in February), and Tucson's proximity to the Major League's spring training camps, which accommodated the Major League stars who could come in and film an episode during the month of February, then head directly over to their camps for spring training.