| Host | |
| Curt Chaplin | |
| Announcer | |
| Rick Stern | |
| Broadcast | |
 | |
| Packager | |
| The William Carruthers Company | |
"ESPN Presents the ultimate sports challenge, DESIGNATED HITTER! And here's your all-star host, the commissioner himself, Curt Chaplin!"
Designated Hitter was the four-month-old ESPN sports game show based on baseball.
Gameplay[]
Three contestants competed in a game of sports knowledge with elements of baseball in it.
Main Game[]
Round 1[]
Each player in turn selected six questions from four sports categories; three of which were three main sports (baseball, basketball & football), and the fourth was a "Curve Ball" category focusing on all other sports. Each category contained five questions: the first four questions were worth different amounts and were all jump-in toss-ups, but the fifth question was known as the "Pinch-Hit" question in which the amount was undisclosed, and only the player who chose it could answer. Each player could only choose one Pinch-Hit.
Correct answers added the question's value to the total score of the player who answered right, but incorrect answers gave that player an "out"; any player who got three outs/three wrong answers lost $100 from their score. The two players with the highest scores advanced to Round 2; the 3rd place player was eliminated from the game.
Round 2[]
The two surviving players each selected one category to play. On each category, the players alternated turns answering a total of four questions in that category. When a player missed a question (and lost $100 for three outs), the opponent had a chance to steal the question and money if he/she wanted to. The player with the most money at the end of this round won the game and the right to play the "Grand Slam" round for up to $3,000.
Payoffs[]
The payoffs were the same in both rounds, and here's how the players scored for correct answers:
| Questions | Term | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Question #1 | Single | $25 |
| Question #2 | Double | $50 |
| Question #3 | Triple | $75 |
| Question #4 | Homer | $100 |
Grand Slam (Bonus Round)[]
In the "Grand Slam" round, the day's winner was asked four questions (one from each category), each worth different amounts. Here are the payoffs for each question:
| Questions | Values |
|---|---|
| Question #1 | $250 |
| Question #2 | $500 |
| Question #3 | $750 |
| Question #4 | $1,500 |
Correctly answering all four questions in this round awarded a total of $3,000. A wrong answer at any time ended the round.
Studio[]
Empire Studios, North Hollywood, CA
Trivia[]
This was also a term meaning a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher.
This was Curt Chaplin's second & last game show; his first was Grandstand. These days he's now the announcer on The People's Court. For 19 years he was the hallway interviewer; he has since passed the baton & microphone back to original host Doug Llewelyn. For the 1997 revived version, the show ended on July 21, 2023 after being on the air for no longer than 26 seasons.
YouTube Links[]
Billy Baker's 15 minutes of Shame, featuring a clip of his appearance on Designated Hitter
Full episode