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The Best Episodes of Hardball

Every episode of Hardball ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Hardball!

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Hardball is an American crime drama television series that ran on NBC during the 1989-1990 television schedule.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Hardball Season 1 Episode 6 - The Fighting 52nd
    8.8/10(8 votes)

    #1 - The Fighting 52nd

    S1:E6

    Charlie, the ""Rainmaster,"" attends the reunion of his old Vietnam Army unit; however one of the members is murdered. The man wanted to talk to Charlie about something before the reunion; Charlie and Kaz discover that other members are acting as a freelance mercenary unit. This unit's latest plan is to take the life of a South American leader.

    Director:David Hemmings
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Hardball Season 1 Episode 10 - The Cool Katt
    8.6/10(7 votes)

    #2 - The Cool Katt

    S1:E10

    An older cop is shot in a bank, but the case and everything about it is made non-existent. Charlie begins to think about retiring or moving to that desk job. The perpetrator is cocky and appears to be connected; Charlie and Kaz are ready to break his connection, even to the point where the give up their badges.

    Director:Rob Bowman
    Writer:Frank Lupo

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  3. Hardball Season 1 Episode 1 - Till Death Do Us Part
    5.8/10(7 votes)

    #3 - Till Death Do Us Part

    S1:E1

    Charlie faces a desk job but gets a reprieve, he is teamed with a new young partner and despite their differences must protect a witness, a mobster's wife, whom Charlie knows too well. Charlie: ""I stopped thinking in '69 and started doing.""

    Director:David Hemmings
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Hardball Season 1 Episode 5 - The Cleveland Indian
    4.8/10(7 votes)

    #4 - The Cleveland Indian

    S1:E5

    A Native American is in search of his great-grandson who's spent time in an institution other than the one wrote about. The great-grandson is also wanted by his friends from the bank job and by his parole officer, all who have 1.2 million reasons for getting in contact with him.

    Director:David Hemmings
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Hardball Season 1 Episode 2 - The Silver Scream
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #5 - The Silver Scream

    S1:E2

    Charlie and Kaz work as technical advisors on a film and wind up protecting the star, an actress whose attacker has just recently been paroled.

    Director:Larry Shaw
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Hardball Season 1 Episode 3 - The One Armed Bandit
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #6 - The One Armed Bandit

    S1:E3

    Charlie and Kaz are in Las Vegas visiting Charlie's friend who owns a casino-hotel. Kaz's discovery of the bullet-ridden corpse of a pickpocket, followed by gunfire in the showroom cut their vacation short. It seems the Russian comic is really a defected physicist wanted by the KGB.

    Director:Guy Magar
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Hardball

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  7. Hardball Season 1 Episode 4 - Which Witch is Which?
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Which Witch is Which?

    S1:E4

    Charlie is a having a string of bad ""coincidences."" A witch in a retirement home says that one of nurses there will be the next in a series of kidnap-murders. When Kaz and Charlie arrive, they wind up thwarting an attack by a trio in black robes.

    Director:David Hemmings
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Hardball Season 1 Episode 7 - Time Bomb
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Time Bomb

    S1:E7

    Two men are killed. 30 years ago in college they were part of a group which was charged for the death of a fellow student in a test of courage. Charlie and Kaz want to protect the remaining three from the killer, but it seems the killer is among them. Helping Charlie and Kaz is a member of the bomb squad named Dutch. Though he's quite a specialist, Charlie discovers Dutch's could-get-dangerous illness - schizophrenia.

    Director:James Darren
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Hardball Season 1 Episode 8 - Trying to Make a Living, and Doing the Best I Can
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Trying to Make a Living, and Doing the Best I Can

    S1:E8

    The little crook Sonny mistakenly steals the case of a professional killer. Now he is chased by that man and when he stumbles and the case with a gun opens, Sonny gets arrested. Charlie and Kaz now must protect Sonny as well find out who's the person the killer is after.

    Director:David Hemmings
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Hardball Season 1 Episode 9 - The Out of Towner
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - The Out of Towner

    S1:E9

    G.P. Svetlo, a rude detective from Louisiana, is in town searching for his lost daughter. During a raid he and his daughter are arrested. Kaz soon realizes that this man is highly dangerous and his deadly scared daughter Lauren is his target. Charlie and Kaz try to help her but G.P. keeps on crossing their way. They both assume that there must be more than just a run-away girl and phone to Louisiana. It seems that Lauren has stolen the counterfeit money G.P. took after arresting a gang of counterfeiters.

    Director:Rob Bowman
    Writer:Frank Lupo

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  11. Hardball Season 1 Episode 11 - The Angel of Death
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - The Angel of Death

    S1:E11

    A reporter who was on the scene of the murder of a homeless man minutes after it happened is terrorized by the caller who gave her the tip about the murder.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Hardball Season 1 Episode 12 - A Killer Date
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - A Killer Date

    S1:E12

    Kaz gets Charlie a lifetime membership to a computer dating company. Charlie gives it a shot, but winds up getting shot at on this first date and gets a warning to pass on his second date. Charlie's date is also an Al Martoni fan and possibly a black widow so they go to Vegas to get married.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Hardball Season 1 Episode 13 - A Death in the Family
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - A Death in the Family

    S1:E13

    It's Charlie's birthday and his daughter stops by wish him well, but the differences between them still run deep. She then becomes the victim of a wounded robber who vows revenge against Charlie, who caused the death of the robber's brother.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Hardball Season 1 Episode 14 - Sex, Cops, and Videotape (a.k.a. From the Commissioner, With Love)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Sex, Cops, and Videotape (a.k.a. From the Commissioner, With Love)

    S1:E14

    Charlie and Kaz get assigned to a delicate case: the murder of the commissioner's mistress. The commissioner has hired a killer to search for the videotape that shows him in a compromising position.

    Director:James Darren
    Writer:Frank Lupo

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  15. Hardball Season 1 Episode 15 - Wedding Bell Blues
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Wedding Bell Blues

    S1:E15

    Kaz's mother comes to town and surprises her by announcing she is getting remarried. While meeting her fiancé they are hailed by a barrage of bullets. Kaz has a hard time dealing with this and the fact his mother is getting remarried. It appears as though Kaz's mother may be the victim of a jealous lover, her fiancé's business partner.

    Director:Guy Magar
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Hardball Season 1 Episode 16 - Prescription For Murder (a.k.a. Charlie and Kaz Meet the Mummy)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Prescription For Murder (a.k.a. Charlie and Kaz Meet the Mummy)

    S1:E16

    While Charlie is in the hospital, he is mistaken for a hitman's target. Kaz inadvertently blocks Charlie's shot at the would-be killer while in pursuit. They wind up sharing a room while trying to figure out what's going on. It seems that Charlie's previous roommate is the target of mob hit being coordinated by the hospital's chief-of-staff.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Hardball Season 1 Episode 17 - Every Dog Has Its Day
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Every Dog Has Its Day

    S1:E17

    A retarded friend of Charlie's says a dog asked him to get the police to stop his murder. When Charlie and Kaz arrive at the scene shots are fired.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Hardball Season 1 Episode 18 - The Hunt for Honus Wagner
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - The Hunt for Honus Wagner

    S1:E18

    Kaz's bike and a valuable baseball card are stolen and lead into a different type of ball game managed by a player who could have Charlie legally tossed out.

    Director:Bruce Kessler
    Writers:Allan Cole, Chris Bunch

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Fighting 52nd" is the best rated episode of "Hardball". It scored 8.8/10 based on 8 votes. Directed by David Hemmings and written by Unknown, it aired on 11/10/1989. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Cool Katt".