Trivia / The Simpsons S3 E17 "Homer at the Bat"

• Awesome, Dear Boy: Mike Scioscia accepted his guest spot in "half a second," while Ozzie Smith has said he would like to guest star again "so [he] can get out [of the Springfield Mystery spot]".
• Corpsing: During "Talkin' Softball", Terry Cashman holds back laughter during the line "With Roger Clemens clucking all the while".
• Creator Backlash:
  • Harry Shearer and Julie Kavner disliked the episode because of its focus on the guest stars and its surreal tone. They were particularly annoyed by the Mattingly sideburns joke. The surreal tone and glut of celebrity guest stars is also why Kavner did not voice Marge in the episode's Spiritual Successor "Krusty Gets Kancelled".
  • When asked in 2007 about his appearance in the episode by the San Jose Mercury News, Jose Canseco rudely responded, "that was 100 years ago," hung up the phone, and did not answer any of the paper's subsequent calls, though it didn't stop him from taking part in the follow-up Mockumentary.
• Creator's Favorite Episode: Despite being hated by Harry Shearer, Julie Kavner, and special guest star Jose Canseco, former executive producer Sam Simon and current showrunner Al Jean named "Homer at the Bat" as their favorite episode.
• Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: Some official sources, like Disney+ and The Simpsons Hit & Run, mistakenly have the title listed as "Homer At Bat"
• The CSI Effect: There have been at least two reported incidents of people saving someone else's life due to being able to use the Heimlich maneuver which they learned from watching the episode, although it wasn't actually used in this episode by anyone, but rather displayed for a few seconds by a poster on the wall in the background while Homer was choking and in need of the assistance.
• First Appearance: Of Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon.
• Hostility on the Set: Jose Canseco didn't get along with the cast and crew. He disliked his original part, felt that his cartoon self looked nothing like him (though he had a point in that respect) and insisted his character be rewritten, as he was originally slated to wake up in bed with Edna Krabappel and miss the game (in a parody of Bull Durham), but Canseco's then-wife Esther Canseco objected, and so the writters grudgingly made him as heroic as possible. Al Jean admitted that he found him to be intimidating.
• Magnum Opus Dissonance: The episode is considered among one of the best of the classic era of The Simpsons, yet it had one of the worst table reads for any episode. Al Jean described it: "We had two table reads on the same day, which we hadn’t done before or since. And it was the second script read and no laughs. Just complete dead silence," and, as mentioned above in Creator Backlash, Julie Kavner, Harry Shearer, and Jose Canseco don't like the episode and have nothing good to say about it.
• Missing Trailer Scene: A commercial for the episode depicts Barney and Wade Boggs engaging in a burping contest.
• The Other Darrin: Aristotle Amadopolis (from season three's "Homer Defined") returns, only now voiced by Dan Castellaneta and not Jon Lovitz.
• So My Kids Can Watch: Inverted. Ken Griffey Jr wasn't a Simpsons fan, but did the episode because his father was and wanted to meet the staff.
• Wag the Director: Jose Canseco disliked the character model they came up with for him, and both he and his wife at the time objected to the original reason he misses the final game (waking up late in bed with Edna Krabappel), and Canseco basically intimidated the showrunners into changing his character's appearance and part in the show.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Rickey Henderson, Nolan Ryan, Carlton Fisk, and Ryne Sandberg were among the ballplayers asked to guest star, but they all turned the offer down and were replaced with José Canseco, Roger Clemens, Mike Scioscia and Steve Sax.
  • José Canseco's original misfortune was that he was going to miss the game after sleeping with Mrs. Krabappel. However, his wife objected to the scene and he requested they change it. (Marcia Wallace recorded dialogue for the original version, and is still credited on the final episode even though she does not appear in it.)

---