 It was written by John Swartzwelder, who is a big baseball fan, but was suggested by Sam Simon, who wanted an episode filled with real Major League Baseball players.Executive producers Al Jean and Mike Reiss doubted that they would be able to get nine players, thinking they would be able to get three at best.They succeeded, and the nine players who agreed to guest star were recorded over a period of six months, whenever they were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers or California Angels.