Take Me Up to the Ball Game is a 1980 American-Canadian animated television special that premiered on CBC in Canada and in syndication in the United States on September 18, 1980.

A children's baseball team (consisting of anthropomorphic animals) encounters a talent scout from outer space named Irwin (voiced by Phil Silvers), who offers them the chance to play against a team from another planet.

[2] They later discover that they are playing in a championship game, and that the opposing team has never been defeated because making up one's own rules — which Earthlings call "cheating" — is a common practice in interplanetary baseball.

During the first few innings, the Earth team (no doubt hamstrung by the fact that there are only seven of them) is not doing well against their opponents, and some of the players suggest that they should cheat as well; the team's leader, however, insists that it would be wrong because "cheaters never prosper" (an assertion that provokes laughter from the entire stadium).

The Earth players start anticipating their opponents' tricks and countering them without breaking the rules; the spectators are thrilled by this unexpected turn of events, and the home team actually enjoys having a genuine challenge to face despite the fact that the Earthlings are now winning.