Homer at the Bat

It is softball season in Springfield and many of the workers at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant are reluctant to sign up for the Power Plant team due to their previous unsuccessful year. Homer reveals that he has a secret weapon, a homemade bat named "Wonder Bat" and his co-workers eagerly join the team. Thanks in large part to Homer, the team goes through its season undefeated and earns the right to play in the championship game against the Shelbyville Nuclear Power Plant.

Mr. Burns makes a million dollar bet with Aristotle Amadopoulos, owner of the Shelbyville plant, that his team will win. To secure victory in the game, Mr. Burns decides to hire major league stars and assembles a team that includes Shoeless Joe Jackson, Pie Traynor, Harry Hooper, Honus Wagner, Cap Anson, Nap Lajoie, Gabby Street, Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, and Jim Creighton (the last of whom had been dead for 130 years). Waylon Smithers informs Mr. Burns that the players he picked have all retired and died, and so Mr. Burns changes tactics and orders Smithers to find some current superstar players. He hires nine Major League Baseball players — Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Ken Griffey, Jr., Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, Jose Canseco, Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry and Mike Scioscia — and gives them token jobs at the plant so that they can play on the team, much to the dismay of the plant workers who got the team to the championship game in the first place.

Mr Burns hires a hypnotist to train the team, and they all mouth back his words (such as 'You will beat Shelbyville') in unison ('We will beat Shelbyville') until the hypnotist says 'You will give 110%', at which point the team mouth back, still in perfect unison, 'That's impossible. No one can give more than 100%. By definition, that is the most anyone can give'.

However, before the game, eight of the nine all-star players suffer unrelated misfortunes that prevent them from playing: Clemens suddenly behaves like a chicken due to the hypnotist's incompetence, Boggs is knocked unconscious by Barney after a bizarre argument at Moe's Tavern (over who was England's greatest Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston or Pitt the Elder), Griffey, Jr. takes an overdose of nerve tonic, resulting in an extreme case of gigantism, Sax is arrested and put in jail for every unsolved murder in New York City, Smith disappears in the "Springfield mystery spot", Canseco is too busy rescuing a woman and her possessions from a fire, Mattingly is kicked off the team by Mr. Burns due to sideburns only he can see, and Scioscia is hospitalized due to radiation poisoning from the plant, having taken his token job all too seriously. Mr. Burns is forced to use his original employees, along with Strawberry, the only star who can play. He made a speech that he knows that his team hated him for what he did to them and he tells them to win. Homer remains on the bench as Strawberry plays his position.

With the score tied and bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Mr. Burns elects to field a right-handed hitter against a left-handed pitcher and pinch hits Homer for Strawberry. The very first pitch hits Homer in the head, rendering him unconscious, but forcing in the winning run. The team wins the title and Homer, still unconscious, is paraded as a hero. Smithers holds the trophy. Mr. Burns thinks about it. Homer lying on the ground

The Twisted World of Marge Simpson

At a meeting of the Springfield Investorettes, Marge admits that she is reluctant to invest money in high-risk ventures and is ejected from the group. After some consideration, Lisa convinces Marge to buy her own franchise. During a Franchise Expo, the Investorettes become members of the glamorous "Fleet-A-Pita" franchise, in return prompting Marge to join a much smaller one called "Pretzel Wagon", owned by a man named Frank Ormand. After watching a promotional video, Marge sets up a makeshift office in her garage, distributes flyers, and with Homer, Bart and Lisa's help, proceeds to make pretzels.

To begin with, Marge sets up shop outside the Springfield Power Plant, with Homer convincing his colleagues to each try the new snack. However, the Investorettes' Fleet-A-Pita van rolls up, and within a few seconds, converts Marge's customers. Lisa suggests that Marge "think big", and so the family offer "Free Pretzel Day" at the Springfield Isotopes baseball stadium. Before the crowd has a chance to consume their complimentary pretzel, it is announced that Mr. Burns has won a 1997 Pontiac Astrowagon in the day's give-away competition. The supporters react angrily to the news and bombard the field with the pretzels, knocking out Whitey Ford in the process. No one tries the food, and Marge's efforts end in vain once again.

Homer, seeing Marge depressed, decides to take matters into his own hands and searches for someone who can help Marge. After discovering that Frank Ormand has died in a car accident, as has the executor of his estate, Homer establishes a "business agreement" with Fat Tony. The following day, Marge surprisingly receives a large order for pretzels and the business is reinvigorated. Many snack-food vendors, such as Luigi Risotto's restaurant and the Girl Scouts are intimidated by the mob, culminating with the Investorettes' Fleet-A-Pita van being detonated. Shortly after, Fat Tony greets Homer and demands he pay for his "favors", but he promptly refuses. As a result, Marge is given an order to be delivered to a remote location on the outskirts of the town, where she is approached by Fat Tony and his gang. He informs her of the deal he made with Homer and claims that he is entitled to a 100 percent stake of Marge's profits as a result. Marge confronts Homer about this and he comes clean, explaining that he was only trying to help her. Marge decides to refuse to pay any money to the mafia and to go on making pretzels.

The following morning the mob arrives and Marge makes her decision clear to them. As the mob advances on her, the Investorettes arrive with the Japanese Yakuza. The rival gangs begin to fight and the Simpsons retreat to the house.

Easy.

It is, but Twisted World is still great

It's definitely one of the better Marge eps.

I'm thinking really hard if there's an episode I'd vote over Homer At The Bat.

I have a whole bunch, but I don't really care about baseball

I thought you guys called it "futbol" down there.

It is the best of season 1-3, hands down