Sam Malone

Sam "Mayday" Malone was a character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by Ted Danson. At the beginning of the series, Sam's past career in baseball, playing for the Boston Red Sox, is spoken of as though he had been a very good pitcher who might have become a truly great pitcher had he not been derailed by his alcoholism. Even a particularly obnoxious New York Yankees fan, despite being strongly biased — because of the acrimonious Yankees-Red Sox rivalry — toward demeaning the quality of Red Sox players, nonetheless noted that Sam "didn't stink" and had "a darned good hard slider." By the end of the series, however, the writers had turned to Sam's baseball career as a source of comedy, and as such, most later references to Sam's performance with the Red Sox became decidedly derogatory. During the latter period, Carla Tortelli and Norm Peterson tout Sam's ability to remain calm under pressure, recalling how, during his baseball career, when there were two runners on base in the ninth inning, and the game was on the line, the Red Sox would turn to "Sam Malone and his 'Slider of Death'" to come in and protect the team's lead. But when asked what would happen next, Norm acknowledges that "usually [Sam] would give up a three-run homer. It was actually Sam's teammates who called it the 'Slider of Death'." Many viewers point out, however, that there is a plausible explanation within the show for any seeming discrepancies regarding the varying references to the quality of Sam's career. His career may have started out promising, but his drinking and possible injuries may have had a detrimental effect on his pitching. Sam Malone's character was inspired by the true life baseball career of former Cleveland Indians pitcher Sam McDowell, known during his playing days as "Sudden Sam". McDowell, much like his fictional character Sam Malone, was an alcoholic during his playing days. It was widely speculated that if not for his drinking he could very well have won 300 games in the Major Leagues. On the series, it is mentioned several times that Sam's jersey number while with the Red Sox was 16. In the bar, there hangs a frequently-seen photograph of a Red Sox pitcher — supposedly Sam — wearing the number 16. The actual player depicted in that photo is Jim Lonborg, who wore the number 16 during his pitching career with the Red Sox. Sam is also a famous womanizer, a fact that Norm and Cliff Clavin use to live vicariously. Early in the series, both Sam and Coach claim that Sam was previously married and subsequently divorced. A case could be made that he acts this way towards women in order to distance himself from a meaningful relationship. The character was romantically involved with Diane Chambers and later with Rebecca Howe, the basis of the plots of a number of episodes. To counteract the suggestion that a show set in a bar might encourage alcohol abuse, the writers depicted Malone as a recovering alcoholic. The backstory was that during his bout with active alcoholism, Sam had bought a bar. Then, for "sentimental reasons" -- and after he achieved sobriety -- he decided to continue to own and operate it. At one point during the series, Sam briefly relapses and begins drinking again, spurred by the emotional trauma of the collapse of his romance with Diane Chambers. With the help of Diane and Dr. Frasier Crane, Sam regains his sobriety. Aside from this brief episode, Sam never drinks alcohol over the course of the series, and usually carries around a bottle of water or ginger ale or sips from a mug of coffee. Sam also has a brother, Derek, whom Sam harbors insecurity about because he feels that Derek is superior to him in every way. Derek, who is referenced frequently in the two-part first season finale "Show Down" and makes an "appearance" in the episode's first part, is an unseen character, with the viewer only hearing his voice (provided by Charles Ball) but never seeing him.