Fox’s fall series Pitch takes a yet unheard-of premise—a female pitcher talented enough to make a Major League Baseball roster—and makes it believable, thanks in large part to Kylie Bunbury’s portrayal of protagonist Ginny Baker.
In fact the series, which airs Thursdays at 9 pm ET, has been so believable that in late September, right after the show premiered, one caller into a Canadian radio show complained that that morning’s sports roundup neglected to cover how she did in her initial start.
While she drew from her own experiences in track, basketball, and soccer to get into the mindset of a professional athlete, she also happens to have two professional athletes in her family. That would be younger brother Teal Bunbury, currently with the New England Revolution, and father Alex Bunbury, an oft-capped Canadian national player who played for the Kansas City Wizards as part of a 13-year professional career.
(The 26-year-old Teal Bunbury is, incidentally, the first son of a former MLS player to play in MLS.)
“She came to me with a few questions as she was getting ready to do the show,” Teal says of helping Kylie prep for the series. “We talked about the mindset of being a pro athlete, what training’s like day to day, what dealing with pressure’s like, what working with the media is like.”
While his insights helped her get further into the mind of Ginny Baker, Teal notes that Kylie was already well along toward that based on her own experiences in high school. “She was a great all-around athlete, so she already knows what it’s like," he says.
“I’ve grown up watching him, so I was able to take a lot of what I’d already known and seen, and apply it. I really wanted to create this character for myself, and it was in me having grown up with pro athletes, with both my dad and Teal playing professionally. I understand them," she said. “It’s such an honor to be his big sister, and I look up to him so much.”
She notes, in particular, that the way she walks came from watching Teal, and she’s been able to take other pre-game rituals, like listening to music, and incorporate it into what Ginny does. (In the opening scene of the first episode, she’s wearing headphones while security guards, and later her agent, escort her to the stadium for her debut game.)
She thinks back to playing striker when she played soccer growing up, and how that position is analogous to what a pitcher does for a baseball team. “When the pressure’s on, you’ve got to deliver," she says. "As a striker, you’re supposed to be scoring the goals, and as a pitcher, you’re supposed to be striking people out. I think it’s getting done what you need to get done in those really intense moments and being extraordinarily focused.”
As you’d expect, Teal’s become a fan of the show, citing its realistic portrayals of in-game action as well as the obvious draw of seeing his sister shine on a major network television show.
“In the first episode, where she was having a bad game, I found myself cheering her on,” says Teal. “I feel like the acting in the show is good, the story’s great – I love the storyline – and, of course, I feel like my sister is the perfect person to play the lead.”
Though he’s certainly got the chance to be in the know about what happens in future episodes – the show’s not yet complete in filming its first 13-episode season – he doesn’t want spoilers, so he can enjoy the show with the rest of the audience. Through texts and tweets, Teal's finding that there’s an audience that’s already enthusiastic about the show – and the audience is extending to some of his Revolution teammates and coaches.
For Kylie, who describes Ginny as a character “who has a gift but works extremely hard to capitalize on it,” she sees an inspirational story that can speak to those who are tuning in. And perhaps it even speaks to what Kylie herself has done to utilize her talent as an actor.
“She’s put in a lot of hard work,” Teal says. “I’m a proud brother.”
