"Play
Ball"
Leap Date:
August 6, 1961
Episode Adopted by: R. Joy Helvie
Synopsis:
As Lester "Doc" Fuller, a former
major league pitcher stuck back in the minors again, Sam must get a hotshot rookie
ballplayer back on the right track and away from drinking and self-destruction. In the
meantime, Sam also has to ward off advances from his team's owner...and her daughter!

Audio from
this episode
Place
Leap Date
Project Date
Name of the Person Leaped Into
Songs
Music Artists
Project Trivia
Sam Trivia
Al Trivia
Al's Women
Al's Outfits Worn in the Episode
Miscellaneous Trivia
Kiss with History
Writers
Director
Producers
Crew
Broadcast Date
Guest Stars
Guest Cast Notes
Guests who appeared in other Quantum Leap episodes
Cast members who have passed away
Personal Review
Best Lines
Best Scenes
Say what? (things in the episode that make no sense)
Quotable Quotes
Awards
BROADCAST DATE: September 25, 1991
PLACE: Galveston, Texas
DATE: August 6, 1961
LEAPEE: Lester "Doc" Fuller
SONGS:
"Traveling Man" -- Ricky Nelson
MISCELLANEOUS TRIVIA:
The Mustangs' mascot is Milo--a pig.
SAM
TRIVIA:
**He finds Chucky to be awfully familiar; he later figures out that he reminds him of Al.
**This is because when Sam first came to Project Star Bright, he met Al in the lab one
night after Al had been beating a vending machine with a hammer; the machine had eaten
Al's dime. Beneath the anger and drunkenness, Sam saw a terrific guy. Sam helped Al sober
up, thus saving him from being booted out of the Star Bright project.
AL
TRIVIA:
**played in the Navy baseball league as a starting pitcher; had the lowest earned run
average in the league; his number was 9
AL'S
OUTFITS:
1) black vest with silver pattern, red slacks, dress shirt with a leafy pattern, thin dark
red tie, black belt
2) copperish-tan slacks, dress shirt with abstract design in earth-tones, Navy baseball
jersey (#9), Navy baseball cap, copper shoes
3) yellow suit with pinstripes, black dress shirt, metal-plated necktie, copper shoes,
black belt
4) blue suit -- shimmery sleeves and lapels, white dress shirt, black bolo tie, silver
shoes
AL'S WOMEN:
**he mentions twins at a fitness center that he wants, but hasn't got
GUESTS IN OTHER QL EPS:
**Royce D. Applegate played "Sheriff Blount" in the earlier episode "The
Color of Truth". (Jan 1, 2003 -- house fire)
**Michael Bellisario also played a little boy in "Camikazi Kid", "Martin,
Jr." in "A Tale of Two Sweeties", and "Kid #2" in "Mirror
Image". (DPB's son)
**Hank Robinson--who played an Umpire in this episode--also played an Umpire in
"Genesis, Part II".
PERSONAL REVIEW:
I like this episode because it gives us insight as to how Sam and Al met. I also love the
way history was eerily repeating itself near the end.
SAM'S BEST LINE:
AL: That's fine if it's a hand grenade, but it's baseball. You've got to treat it like a
woman.
SAM: Why does everything come down to being a woman with you?
AL'S BEST LINE:
"It's right here in yellow and pink. And green, and blue, and orange, and
purple..."
BEST
SCENE:
Best scene has definitely got to be when Sam recalls how he and Al met...
AL: What are you so interested in this kid for anyway?
SAM: 'Cause he reminds me of you.
AL: What?
SAM: Remember the first time we met, Al? You were on the Starbright Project... and, uh, I
came into the lab and you were smashing the vending machine with a hammer.
AL: Oh, ah... It ate my dime.
SAM: Yeah. You were drunk and angry and the government wanted to wash you out of the
project completely, but I stopped them because I knew that underneath all that booze and
that anger was a pretty terrific person.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
http://www.quantumleap-alsplace.com/quotes/playball.htm
GUEST CAST NOTES:
Michael Bellisario, who plays the bat boy, is Don Bellisario's son. He made many
appearances in QL, and he currently has a recurring role as Bud's brother in
"JAG".
GUEST STARS WHO HAVE PASSED ON
SINCE:
Royce D. Applegate sadly passed away on January 1, 2003 in a house fire in Hollywood
Hills, California.
GUEST
CAST:
Chucky Myerwich: Neal McDonough
Margaret Twilly: Maree Cheatham
Manager: Don Stroud
Bunny: Courtney Gebhart
Warren Monroe: Peter Jason
Talent Scout: Casey Sander
Radio Reporter: Royce D. Applegate
Billy, the bat boy: Michael Bellisario
Jorge: Juan Garcia
Ryker: Chuck Fick
Eagle Manager: Russel Lunday
First Umpire: Hank Robinson
Immigration Officer: David B. Maccabee
Lester "Doc" Fuller (mirror): Owen Rutledge
CREW:
Executive Producer:
Donald P. Bellisario
Written by:
Tommy Thompson
Directed by:
Joe Napolitano
Theme by:
Mike Post
Music by:
Velton Ray Bunch
Co-Executive Producers:
Deborah Pratt
Michael Zinberg
Supervising Producer:
Harker Wade
Produced by:
Jeff Gourson
Tommy Thompson
Chris Ruppenthal
Paul Brown
Associate Producer:
James S. Giritlian
Coordinating Producer:
David Bellisario
Story Editor:
Paris Qualles
Director of Photography:
Michael Watkins, A.S.C.
Production Designer:
Cameron Birnie
Edited By:
Jon Koslowsky
Michael S. Stern
Unit Production Manager:
Ron Grow
1st Assistant Director:
Ryan Gordon
2nd Assistant Director:
Kate Yurka
Casting by:
Anne Winthrop
Set Decorator:
Robert L. Zilliox
Costume Designer:
Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Costume Supervisor:
David Rawley
Art Director:
Ellen Dambros-Williams
Sound Mixer:
Barry D. Thomas
Stunt Coordinator:
Diamond Farnsworth
Sound Editor:
Greg Schorer
Music Editor:
Bruce Frazier
Panaflex camera and lenses by PANAVISION |