[2] The film is the first of three to pair stars Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson, followed by The Glenn Miller Story and Strategic Air Command.

With the help of Barney Wile, a retired catcher who is now a scout, he manages to arrange a tryout with the Chicago White Sox during the team's spring training in California.

He is called back up to the White Sox and returns to Chicago with his newlywed bride, and by the end of the season, they are expecting a child.

Warner Bros. contract player Ronald Reagan sought the title role, but the studio refused to lend him to MGM because it believed that the film would be a failure.

However, Stratton's MLB debut occurred on Saturday, June 2, 1934, in a White Sox home game at Comiskey Park versus the Detroit Tigers.

Detroit already held a 10–0 lead and had two runners on base when Stratton entered the game in relief with two outs in the sixth inning.