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"Baseballs of Death"

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Baseballs of Death

Baseballsofdeathtitle

Season
Episode
14 (82nd Overall)
Airdate
February 19, 1988
Repeat Airdate
July 22, 1988
TV Rating
TV-14 L-V
Writer(s)
Director
Guest Stars
Previous Episode
Next Episode

"Baseballs of Death" is the fourteenth episode of Miami Vice's fourth season. It premiered on February 19, 1988, and was rerun on July 22, 1988.

Summary[]

Crockett and Tubbs suspect a Chilean police chief of both murder and dealing in illegal weapons, but find he is being protected by the federal government.

Plot[]

A very seductive prostitute named Cinder is walking down the boulevard attracting lots of attention, and picks up a john while a man named Shane DuBois is taking pictures of the man's car. Cinder comes back disappointed she hasn't made much money, but Shane has a secret weapon, his pictures are of the car's license plate, and he has a computer linked up to Florida DMV (who he used to work for) to run their plates. Shane calls the owner up and blackmails them into paying money to make the pictures disappear. The license plate on this car was registered to a rental company, which Shane calls and gets the name of the renter as Ernesto Guerrero, who gets the call from Shane to pay $5000 or the photos show up in the newspaper. Guerrero and his driver Ramon show up, torches the pictures, and shoots both of them dead.

Vice is called in due to Cinder's long prostitution rap sheet, and she gave her address as a fleabag hotel called The Tropical. Crockett, Tubbs and Gina head over to the hotel room and find the computer linkup to the DMV, and tons of film and cameras. Aftert a meeting held by DEA Agent Brody that Guerrero attends, Brody offers to help "unofficially", and will have an associate meet him at a bar called "Woody's". The team locates Guerrero's rented Maserati and head over to track him down. Meanwhile, Guerrero and his man arrive at Woody's to find his contact, but is referred to a different address by a tall blonde, 7211 Oceanview. Once there he finds Speed Stiles, a weapons runner, and Guerrero gives him a laundry list of weapons, including "baseballs", and threatens to kill Stiles unless he comes through. Crockett and Tubbs find Guerrero and chase him until they are stopped by Chilean guards--Guerrero drove into the Chilean Consulate.

Crockett, Tubbs, and Switek detain Guerrero after leaving the consulate (he was the only john without an alibi at the time of the double murder, and has no diplomatic immunity) and begin searching his car and questioning him when Brody arrives, orders their release because he is a "guest" of the Justice Department in the War on Drugs. At OCB, the team cannot tap the Consulate without State Dept. approval, not likely against an ally, but Switek finds he can monitor Guerrero's rental car phone, provided he stays in the coverage area, with no warrant required. Brody calls Guerrero wanting to get him out of the country, but the Chilean is not willing to leave until his business is finished. Switek is able to monitor some of the conversation between Guerrero & Stiles, but static blocked out most of it. They are called to the Tropical and find Ramon shot in an apparent suicide, and a note left indicating he was the one that killed Shane & Cinder. Brody is at the scene too indicating Guerrero has an air-tight alibi to both killings, but Crockett doesn't buy it.

Switek sends the taped car phone conversation to SID, and Brody again calls Guerrero wanting him out of the

Baseballofdeath

CBU a.k.a. "Baseball of Death"

country. SID cleans up the audio and finds Guerrero is ordering CBUs (Canisterized Bomblet Units a.k.a. Cluster Bombs, or "Baseballs of Death" in Vietnam). The United States stopped all arms shipments to Chile in 1976, but the Pinochet regime developed their own heavy arms industry with customers in Iran & Iraq (who were at war with each other at the time), with their chief export CBUs. Castillo feels Brody has become a rogue agent unknown to the DEA; he refers Crockett to an ex-Company arms specialist for more info, and puts everyone else on Stiles, who has five outstanding warrants. Castillo's contact shows films of CBUs in action and mentions that they are a major export item for Chile. When they ask why Guerrero would bother trying to steal them, he informs them he is trying to steal a newer version, an artillery-delivered mine -- or "sleeper" -- that lays on the ground dormant until stepped on. Chile hasn't developed the sleeper variety yet, and the Middle East is craving them. Trudy calls the numbers Stiles' has from his room and finds one of them is Wiley's Surplus near the Air Force Base, which is where Stiles delivers Guerrero's arm shipment, including the "sleepers", but Guerrero kills Stiles after receiving the merchandise.

At OCB, Brody is called on his relationship with Stiles (having both worked at ATF previously), including $20,000 placed in his account by him. They want to know where Guerrero is leaving from, which is the Chalk's Air seaplane base in Miami. The vice team arrives at the air terminal, but Guerrero notices them hiding among the passengers. Guerrero then takes a woman hostage with the CBUs and demand he be allowed to leave or he'll blow up the suitcase with the CBUs. He gets away, but the plane has not completed refueling; when he is told of this Castillo tells Crockett to follow in the SCARAB. The plane runs out of fuel and lands nearby, where a fisherman sees the plane and takes his boat over to help. Guerrero kills him and takes his boat, leaving the hostages in the plane. Crockett pursues the boat, to the point where Guerrero makes a mistake, flips over a tugboat, lands on an island and he and the boat explode.

Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

"Ripped From The Headlines"[]

In this episode, the problem of CBUs (more commonly known as Cluster Bombs) being used in foreign wars is explored. They were used in the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s, the Iran-Iraq war and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and in the War on Terror (in Iraq and Afghanistan) in the 2000s. The main controversy regarding their use is the fact that many do not detonate when dropped, and for years after conflict has officially ended they can maim and kill people who either inadvertently step on them or, as is often the case with inquisitive children, pick them up and handle them.

Notes[]

  • The plot, involving a foreign diplomat using their immunity from prosecution to engage in illegal dealing, is very similar to that of the 1989 movie Lethal Weapon 2, which came out the following year. In the film the antagonists are dealing in drugs rather than weapons.
  • Chile, like many other South American countries, was led by a dictator at the time, General Augusto Pinochet, who ruled from 1973-1990. Ernesto Guerrero was an official in Pinochet's government.
  • Crockett mentions to Guerrero "Down there in Chile, this may give you a license to kill, here in Miami, it don't mean squat!", which is a Reference to Pinochet's Dictatorship.
  • Michael Des Barres was the lead singer for The Power Station, and previously appeared as himself in this role in the episode "Whatever Works", which featured the band performing live in a bar that Crockett and Tubbs visit.
  • Back in 1988, it was possible to monitor cell phones with standard police scanners because of the limitations of the burgeoning technology. With the technologies used in the 21st century, this is no longer possible.
  • Switek refers to the "Pizza Connection" case in New York, a large Mafia trial that lasted from 1985-87 with fifteen convictions.
  • Crockett's interrogation of Brody is nicely underplayed; instead of dramatically whipping out the information about the phone records and deposits, Crockett delivers them in an even, conversational tone.  The central question about where Guerrero is leaving from is asked almost in an undertone.  The effectiveness of this technique shows why the Vice team leaves most of the interrogations to Crockett.
  • The stunt with the speedboat jumping the tug and grounding on the island must be one of the most spectacular ones in all five seasons of the series, particularly since it all had to be done practically in a time before CGI.

Goofs[]

  • At the beginning of the episode when Ramon shoots Shane DuBois, the shot is loud even though the pistol is clearly fitted with a suppressor. When Guerrero then shoots Cinder with the same gun, the gunshot is now suppressed as it should be.
  • When Guerrero is placing his weapons order with Stiles, Ramon requests "Mossberg 870s". There is no such weapon. Remington makes the 870 shotgun, the similar Mossberg model is designated the 500.
  • When discussing how to proceed with the case at OCB after the DEA has blocked their attempts to question Guerrero, there is a very noticeable echo to Switek's voice that does not affect the rest of the characters.
  • Crockett states that Jimmy Carter stopped American arms shipments to Chile in 1976. However, the arms embargo against Chile actually started in 1974 (and would run until 1989). Moreover, Gerald Ford was president when the embargo came into effect, while Carter would not assume office until 1977 (a year after Crockett claims he started the embargo).
  • When the seaplane starts its engines, the sound heard is that of a radial piston engine, not the turboprops the pictured Grumman Mallard is fitted with. Later, when the aircraft runs out of fuel, the sound of sputtering radial piston engines are again heard.
Boatgoof

Crockett's Stinger reappears in a goof

  • During the boat chase at the end of the episode, the use of previously unused footage from season 1 means Crockett's SCARAB powerboat changes back to his old Stinger in several shots. Additionally, Crockett's hair changes length in these older shots, he is wearing different clothes, and he is not wearing any sunglasses like he is in the new footage filmed for this episode.
  • In boat chase finale, ramp over the barge is very obvious. Behind the barge a camera boat is visible.
  • The Chalk's Ocean Airways Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard seen in this episode, N2969, crashed in 2005, as Chalk’s Ocean Airways Flight 101, killing all 20 passengers and crew on board.

Production Notes[]

  • Filmed: January 18, 1988 - January 27, 1988
  • Production Code: 63522
  • Production Order: 83

Filming Locations[]

  • Ingraham Building, 25 SE 2nd Avenue, Miami(Cinder walking down street)
  • 20 SE 2nd Avenue, Miami (alleyway fire escape deal/shooting)
  • Woody's on the Beach, 455 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach (Guerrero/Brody meet, Brody leading DEA briefing, DEA HQ, Guerrero working (later shooting) Stiles)
  • Florida Villas, 13645 Biscayne Bvd, North Miami (DuBois/Cinder's room; body of Guerrero's driver found)
  • 46 Star Island, Miami Beach (Chilean Consulate)
  • Greenwich Studios parking lot, 12100 NE 16th Avenue, North Miami (Wiley’s Military Surplus)
  • Opa Locka Airport (Echols Depot)
  • Chalk's Ocean Airways, MacArthur Causeway/Watson Island, Miami Beach (Guerrero escapes via plane)
  • Miami Boat Basin (next to Miami Marine Stadium), Virginia Key (Guerrero lands plane and steals boat, boat explodes)

Music[]

Quotes[]

  • "I guess he got more than a haircut." -- Crockett to Gina regarding the shooting of Shane DuBois  
  • "Down there in Chile, this (his policia chief title) may give you a license to kill, here in Miami, it don't mean squat!" -- Crockett to Guerrero
Season 4 Episodes:

"Contempt of Court" • "Amen... Send Money" • "Death and the Lady" • "The Big Thaw" • "Child's Play" • "God's Work" • "Missing Hours" • "Like a Hurricane" • "The Rising Sun of Death" • "Love at First Sight" • "Rock and a Hard Place" • "The Cows of October" • "Vote of Confidence" • "Baseballs of Death" • "Indian Wars" • "Honor Among Thieves?" • "Hell Hath No Fury..." • "Badge of Dishonor" • "Blood & Roses" • "A Bullet for Crockett" • "Deliver Us from Evil" • "Mirror Image"

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