Black Sox

Black Sox is the eleventh episode of the fifth season.

Tagline
On Simpson's Planet, the last game of a baseball team's season is underway and Homer wagered on it, garnering some attention from the Tal Shiar as he is the liaison between the Simpsons and the Romulan Senate, especially when the mafia is involved.

Act One
The Simpsons family, which is made up of a couple of baseball fans, encourages the local minor-league baseball team of Springfield. However, the gambling ring offered to engage in a scheme involving Homer, players, as well as some outside gamblers. With the Duff beer executives pulling out of the plan, and Katie, their star pitcher, being benched for the final game, returns to Homer's home, while the Triple-E Senates' perennial rivals, the Plasma Goo, performs the national anthem. The first inning of the baseball game began and the Isotopes' pitcher does three strikeouts straight.

Act Two
Their opponents, the Arlen Longhorns, have also shut out the Isotopes of any hits. Uhlan Torvar then lists what the outcomes may be for either team, both of which are ready to lose. The latter contacts Neleras in order to put the central authorities aware of the consequences of this match fixing business. faces a grave decision since it directly affects the chain of command. While Homer Simpson has repaid the government time and time again, Neleras decided to wait until the end of the game to decide. While Katie was fighting with baseball bats at home, the game was still tied 0-0.

Act Three
When the RIS arrived in the system, Mizarh is baffled because of what seemed to be a minor-league baseball affair. However, Torvar did not find any sign of the games being fixed. At the start of the sixth inning, the Longhorns change their pitcher and they tried very hard not to score anything. The manager of the team called Bart at home in order to get Katie to play at the beginning of the eighth inning, while a Romulan away team beamed in at the same time. Katie then took a painful decision: she decided to go in retirement from baseball or to be traded, depending on who got drafted.

Act Four
As the game went in overtime, due to the teams' inability to score, Torvar then tells Neleras that some underpaid players have been involved in the fix. Katie then hits her first in her player career and she allows the Isotopes to win in the extra inning. The Longhorns manager then tells everyone that some teams are tempted to throw games to get better chances in playoffs. And Katie gets her share of the cash, even when Homer wagered millions on a Springfield victory, bankrupting the conspirators. But no one seemed to understand Torvar's reports pertaining to these fixed baseball games.

Act Five
The Plasma Goo gave the Triple-E Senates their latest videoclip, which has been shot with a song pertaining to the baseball fix, with Bart Simpson finding the former a "lame" group. In Bart's room, Neleras ate the Fruit-o-long (really, worn-down clothes worn by Bart) while he was asleep and then asked Ulduar to beam them up. In Annika's ready room, the bridge officers convene onboard and they discuss the matter of baseball match fixing and Dhiemm soon found that Homer's life depended on it, because he was largely seen as being unaffiliated with senatorial factions, with the Tal Shiar possibly behind the fix.

Background
This episode was inspired, in some fashion, by the, as well as other various match fixing scandals.