"The First Pitch Insufficiency" is an episode of The Big Bang Theory that first aired on September 29, 2014. Directed by Mark Cendrowski. Teleplay by Steven Molaro, Steve Holland and Maria Ferrari, based on a story by Chuck Lorre, Jim Reynolds and Anthony Del Broccolo.
Per the Relationship Agreement, Sheldon must now go on several dates with Amy to compensate for the dates canceled during Sheldon's summer tour of train stations. Double dates with Leonard and Penny don't count double for Sheldon to fulfill his obligation.
Despite Amy and Sheldon's relationship being governed by a contract, Sheldon still asserts that their relationship is better than Leonard and Penny's. To add insult to injury, Raj's still new relationship with Emily and even Penny's relationship with white wine are said to be better than Penny's relationship with Leonard.
This quickly gets under Leonard's skin, and later it bothers Penny, too. They both refrain from pointing out that Amy and Sheldon are in disagreement over how physical their relatoinship ought to be. Ultimately, Leonard says something Penny finds romantic and reassuring.
Meanwhile, NASA has asked Howard to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game. After practicing on a Nintendo Wii and with an actual ball in a gym with Bernadette and Raj, Howard realizes he's no good at pitching: he can throw the ball in the very general direction of where he wants it to go.
A conversation with Michael Massimino (As Himself) only discourages Howard further, as the older astronaut points out that even in zero gravity, Howard had trouble pitching things to his colleagues.
Howard decides to have a prototype for the Mars Rover make the first pitch instead of him. Unfortunately, the prototype moves very slowly. Howard is roundly booed by everyone, including Raj.
Tropes
- Absurdly Long Wait: It takes forever for Howard's robot to pitch a ball. Sheldon suggests going to Disneyland and playing hide-and-seek on Tom Sawyer's Island, then coming back just in time to watch the end of the pitch.
- Act of True Love: Leonard's speech to Penny after Sheldon and Amy brag about their relationship tests which they scored highly on so far.Penny: Let's just take the test.Leonard: No, no; I don't want to.Penny: Because you know we're gonna do bad.Leonard: No, because it doesn't matter, I don't care if we're a ten or a two.Sheldon: Or a one, a one is possible.Leonard: Marriage is scary. You're scared, I'm scared, but it doesn't make me not want to do it. It just makes me want to hold your hand and do it with you.Penny: Leonard.... *touched*Amy: *staring in awe* It would make me so happy if you said things like that.Sheldon: We got an 8.2, trust me, you're happy.
- Artistic License – Geography:
- Dismayed by how far away the pitcher's mound is from home plate, Howard says "There's no way this is sixty feet." Bernadette, holding measuring tape in a spool, replies "I'm looking at it." But Bernadette is not holding the measuring tape straight.
- Sheldon seems to think that Disneyland Park is "across the street" from the Angel Stadium of Anaheim, but it's actually a 10- to 15-minute drive on the Interstate 5 or a 15- to 20-minute ride on the bus.
- Artistic License – History: According to Sheldon, "thirteen plucky colonies ... entered a relationship agreement called the U. S. Constitution." Being an idiot savant with eidetic memory, Sheldon ought to know better: the thirteen colonies agreed to the Articles of Confederacy. By the time they agreed to the U. S. Constitution, they were states, not colonies. This is the kind of nitpicky detail that Sheldon loves to deride others for screwing up.
- Commitment Issues: Tensions flare up between Leonard and Penny as Penny gets worried that she and Leonard don't have anything in common despite being engaged.
- Consolation Backfire: After Penny leaves the table upset, Leonard tries to ease her tension by stating he's also scared about their differences. However, this only makes Penny more upset since Leonard's blind infatuation with her was the rock their relationship has been built on.
- Did Not Think This Through: Howard admits he did not think about how slow the Mars Rover is before using it to pitch the ball.
- Epic Fail: Howard's training attempts to throw a baseball are pitiful to watch. In the end he doesn't even throw the ball and tries to use a robot hand which stalls.
- Evil Is Petty: Sheldon does not stop bragging and continually harasses Leonard and Penny over their relationship. It's hinted he's taunting Leonard due to him killing his Chewbacca slippers.
- Formula for the Unformulable: Sheldon has created a test to prove that his relationship with Amy is superior to Leonard and Penny's. When Leonard complains that you can't quantify a relationship, this is Sheldon's answer:Sheldon: Everything is quantifiable. This French fry? A Seven. Spider-Man? Nine. The number nine? Oddly enough, a four.
Leonard: How ridiculous is he?
Penny: A hundred. - Girly Run: Howard is implied to have one when Bernadette suggests that he should work on "butching up your run", then does an imitation of it.
- The Good Guys Always Win: Despite Sheldon's bragging, Leonard's confession to Penny proves their relationship is much stronger than Sheldon and Amy.
- The Heckler: Raj heckles Howard while playing baseball on the Nintendo Wii, saying that it's a beloved baseball tradition. He continues at the actual game when Howard using the Mars Rover to pitch the ball fails.Raj: You suck, Wolowitz!
Sheldon: He makes a valid point! - Instant Humiliation: Just Add YouTube!, discussed. Howard turns to Michael Massimino for advice. Massimino takes the position that Howard should have turned down the request to make a ceremonial first pitch.Howard: Why shouldn't I do it?Michael Massimino: There's no upside. If you do well, no one cares. And if you screw up, you're an idiot on YouTube forever.
- Kids Are Cruel: Mike Massimino advices Howard not to go through with the pitch, because he'll be humiliated if he fails. When Howard asks about doing it for the children in the audience, Mike says "Kids are the worst! My daughter still tells me I have a giant nose."
- Longing Look: A non romantic version, but Amy is left entranced by Leonard's admission to Penny.
- Overly Long Gag: Howard warming up before practicing his pitch. Bernadette finally just yells at him to throw it already.
- Truth in Television: The Relationship Closeness Inventory by Ellen Berscheid, Mark Snyder and Allen M. Omoto mentioned by Sheldon is an actual relationship test published in the real life Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1989, and not, as Leonard assumed, an arbitrary thing Sheldon came up with.
- When She Smiles: Penny can only smile in joy at Leonard after he reaffirms his love for her.
