PRODUCTION/CULTURAL REFERENCES (written 4/10/19)
-In late 2017, I was inspired by the two-part Friends episode "The One After the Super Bowl" to come out with a new episode of Thank You, Heavenly right after WrestleMania 34. I combined two episode ideas I already had to make "The One After WrestleMania." While it was a normal episode of the series, the appeal was in treating WrestleMania like the Super Bowl and following the event with a brand new episode. I decided that it should be a yearly tradition, and made plans to come out with another post-WrestleMania episode in the middle of season seven's break (the last couple episodes of the season start on April 28).
-While I had plans to put out another episode after WrestleMania, my mindset wasn't that I came up with an episode idea specifically for that day. Like in season six, I simply took an idea I already had and decided to release that episode after WrestleMania. I came up with this episode back in October, which was interesting because it was a baseball-heavy episode (the first one of the series) and it was a simple idea I could do a lot with. This episode was actually inspired by a book I loved when I was in elementary school called Play Ball! by Dean Hughes. Part of the story involved the main character lying about having a cousin that could join his Little League team (due to the team needing one more player to be allowed entry into the league). I decided not to use that element and just had Sparky and Buster recruit RK for the team.
-This episode was also inspired by my love of baseball when I was younger. I haven't followed the sport like that in a while, but when I was a kid, it was my favorite sport. I used to memorize statistics, read the standings in the newspaper every day, submit ballots for the MLB All-Star Game, etc. I was definitely a fanatic back then. This episode helped bring me back to those days where I loved baseball and knew all the players, so it was filled with references and music related to my experiences.
-I started writing this episode at the right time because the 2019 MLB season started a short time ago. I also tried getting in the mood by watching all the baseball-themed episodes of The Simpsons ("Homer at the Bat," "The Boys of Bummer," "MoneyBART").
-With the exception of the end credits song, every song in this episode has some relation to my love of baseball. I watched a highlight video on YouTube for the 2012 MLB season a little while ago and it used "The Fighter." "Let's Go" and the "Congratulations" remix were both used for the soundtrack of MLB 11: The Show, a game I used to play all the time on the PSP. "Into the Sun" comes from the MLB 12: The Show soundtrack. "Takin' Care of Business" has been used by the New York Mets whenever they win a game at home. "Centerfield" is self-explanatory. I was considering using "Talkin' Baseball" by Terry Cashman, but then it would feel like I was trying to write "Homer at the Bat" when I wanted this episode to be its own thing. My only real regret with this episode is that I wasn't able to use "Learn My Lesson" (MLB 12: The Show) by The Sheepdogs, which was used in "Buster the Hedonist" back in season three. Ever since the beginning of the series, I have rarely used the same song twice, especially since "Learn My Lesson" was used in a notable fight scene between RK and Wade.
-The episode title is a reference to the opening track of Eminem's 2018 album Kamikaze (both the episode and the song share the same name), but it also has a double meaning: The episode was named after the Eminem song and it is about RK being brought in as an actual ringer for the Honey Badgers.
-This episode was released at 12:45 AM EST (Eastern Standard Time), a little over 15 minutes after WrestleMania 35 ended.
-At one point, I was strongly considering having the Honey Badgers be a more successful team, and go all the way to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. But I started doing research and it felt like it would take a while to see if the story made sense, so I kept it small with the Honey Badgers' main goal of winning the state championship. Jaylynn's conversation with Wade was actually an acknowledgement of what would have happened realistically.
-Buster references Jackie Robinson Day, the annual holiday that celebrates Jackie Robinson's first major league game on April 15, 1947. Robinson was the first player to break the color barrier in baseball.
-Rock Creek Athletic Park was named after the 1975 song "Rock Creek Park" by The Blackbyrds.
-Buster references former professional wrestler Shawn Michaels coming out of his retirement after eight years to compete in a tag team match with his D-Generation-X partner Triple H against The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane). The match took place at WWE Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 2, 2018.
-RK flipping his bat after the walkoff home run is a reference to Jose Bautista's bat flip in Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers.
-Originally, the fantasy sequence was going to have the song "Lighters" by Bad Meets Evil featuring Bruno Mars. However, I changed it to "The Fighter," mostly because it had the pop sound that went great with the sequence. It wasn't easy to decide, however.
-I originally wrote a guest spot for Cam "Buzz" Brainard in the cancelled season four episode "Bienvenue a Paris." This was the first opportunity I got to use him since then, especially because he is a baseball fan in real life and has done voiceover work for MLB in the past. Brainard "blowing all those Disney checks" is a joke referencing the fact that he spent many years as the voiceover guy for Disney Channel.
-Originally, RK's line referenced Jose Reyes instead of Dee Gordon. This is because when I used to be in love with baseball, Reyes was widely known for stealing bases. However, with all the years that have passed since then and Reyes not being the player he used to be, I wanted a more contemporary reference, someone that a kid RK's age was more likely to know.
-The baseball announcer referenced actress Winona Ryder's 2001 arrest for shoplifting from a Saks Fifth Avenue department store in Beverly Hills, California. I knew the reference was dated and was going to change it, but then I decided that it should be the joke, having someone write out of touch references that they genuinely thought would land.
-KG references Barry Bonds' controversial history with steroids, particularly his involvement in the BALCO scandal and his 2007 indictment for perjury and obstruction of justice.
-The ginger ale celebration is a reference to the tradition of baseball teams celebrating with champagne after winning division titles, playoff games, and world championships. It is also a reference to the Texas Rangers using ginger ale in their celebrations in 2010 and 2011 to accommodate recovering alcoholic Josh Hamilton. This method was later used by the Rangers in 2016 to accommodate Matt Bush and Jeremy Jeffress.
-RK references professional sports teams often receiving special commemorative rings after winning a major championship.
-The mafia stuff was originally going to be a bigger part of the episode, but I felt like RK being paranoid and scared for too long would make the situation too serious, and not absurd like I wanted.
-RK references the HBO crime drama The Sopranos (1999-2007).
-"Easy there, cha-cha" is actually a line that Matt Vasgersian has used in the MLB: The Show series. I always thought it was weird and funny at the same time, so I wanted him to say it here in the episode.
-RK incorrectly references the Black Sox Scandal from the 1919 World Series, where eight Chicago White Sox players (including Shoeless Joe Jackson) were accused of throwing the series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money. Despite all eight players being acquitted in court, they were banned from playing baseball along with receiving post-career honors such as Hall of Fame induction. The ban still exists today.
-Bitch Clock references his assault at the hands of RK and Wade in season five's "The Greatest Party That Never Happened," where the boys became paranoid and ended up concluding that Bitch Clock plotted to have Sparky, Buster, and Jaylynn killed.
-Before I started writing this episode, I found out that T-Mobile bought the naming rights to Safeco Field in December 2018 after Safeco Insurance decided not to renew their original 20-year deal with the Seattle Mariners. I knew I had to reference it.
-RK and the bench players pouring a tank full of Capri Sun Roaring Waters on Coach Peretti is a reference to the Gatorade shower, a sports tradition where the (oftentimes) head coach from the winning team gets doused in Gatorade by the players at the end of a big game. It originated in the mid-1980s with the NFL's New York Giants, and received widespread attention when it was done after every Giants victory during the 1986 season, including Super Bowl XXI (the Giants defeated the Denver Broncos 39-20 to win their first ever Super Bowl, and their first NFL championship since 1956).
