Mr. Burns makes a million-dollar bet with Aristotle Amadopolis, owner of the Shelbyville plant, that his team will win. To secure victory, Burns attempts to hire major-league stars Cap Anson, Pie Traynor, Jim Creighton, Gabby Street, Nap Lajoie, Harry Hooper, Honus Wagner, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown. After Smithers informs his boss that all the players he wants are dead, Burns orders him to find living players. He hires nine Major League Baseball players — Steve Sax, Wade Boggs, Ozzie Smith, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry, Ken Griffey Jr., José Canseco and Mike Scioscia — and gives them token jobs at the plant so they can play on the team, to the dismay of the plant's team. Burns hires a hypnotist to boost his team's chances of winning. Homer is distraught when Wonder Bat is destroyed by a pitch from Clemens during practice.