The Baseball Bunch

'The Baseball Bunch was a syndicated television show hosted by Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench that ran from March 21, 1982 until January 1, 1985. The show ran thirty minutes and featured children chosen from the Tucson, Arizona Little League. Each show was divided into two halves. The first half featured a current or former major league player demonstrating a baseball fundamental to the children as well as their sometimes humorous attempts to imitate the star. The second half featured a skit called "The Dugout Wizard" (played by Tommy Lasorda) who taught a second baseball fundamental (for example, use two hands to catch a fly ball). This second instructional unit was usually accompanied by a music video (then a genre in its embryonic stage) that showed players either performing the act or failing at it. Another star of the show was the San Diego Chicken. The Baseball Bunch was shown nationally on WTBS at 7 am Eastern time on Saturday mornings. Numerous major leaguers made appearance on The Baseball Bunch, including Bucky Dent, Tug McGraw, Bruce Sutter, Jim Rice, Frank Robinson, Pete Rose (who appeared twice), and Graig Nettles. According to the Jump The Shark website, Jared Holland attended Kansas State University and was a good debater. The same article claims Holland later committed suicide. So far, it's rumor. Yankees outfielder Lou Piniella's career was ended in 1984 when he injured his rotator cuff on the show while being pitched to by the San Diego Chicken. Where's the cast now? Linda Coslett: Linda obtained both her BA and JD degree. Linda practiced law for several years until returning to her true love; teaching. Linda teaches Social Studies classes which include U.S. History, Goverment, and Street Law at the local private high school. Linda also is the assistant coach of the high school softball team.