The Andy Griffith Show The Ball Game (1960–1968) Online

At the end of this episode, you see a picture of Opie clearly sliding safely underneath the tag. However, if you pause the show during the slide, you'll see easily that the Mount Pilot catcher blocked Opie from the plate and tagged him out. It doesn't even appear that Opie actually touched home because of how well the catcher did. Yet, we are shown a pic at the end that was clearly manufactured for the story line and not based on what Andy really saw.

I guess it's common knowledge now that this is Ron Howard's favorite episode of TAGS, and it's not hard to see why. Comedy, drama, baseball (and baseball on a real diamond and with wooden bats), color photography from an InstaMatic—they're all there. What a kick it must have been for the kids who got called up from the minors, so to speak, to play before the cameras. The camera might not lie, but it certainly doesn't prove anything in this case. The catcher could just as easily be pulling away from the pivotal tag as applying it. I always wonder, whenever I watch this episode, what became of the ballpark and what the surrounding geography looks like 50 years on. I love Goober's look of dismay as he half-heartedly tries to lift young Bruce's spirits after the latter strikes out in the ninth inning.What a different time it was, too—not one participation trophy to be seen.