The Wink (Seinfeld)

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Wink
Series = Seinfeld


Caption = Another of George's infamous winks.
Season = 7
Episode = 114
Airdate = October 12, 1995
Production =
Writer = Tom Gammill & Max Pross
Director = Andy Ackerman
Guests = Paul O'Neill & Tom Wright
Episode list = List of "Seinfeld" episodes
Season list = Infobox Seinfeld season 7 episode list
Prev =
Next =

"The Wink" is the 114th episode of NBC sitcom "Seinfeld". This was the fourth episode in the seventh season. It aired on October 12, 1995.

Plot

Elaine dates the man from her wake-up service. A bit of grapefruit pulp, from Jerry's breakfast, gets into George's eye and causes problems for him when his winks keep getting misinterpreted. Jerry's healthy diet conflicts with his dating of Elaine's cousin, who expects him to eat meat. Kramer promises a sick boy that New York Yankee Paul O'Neill will hit two home runs for him, so he can get back a birthday card that he sold based on George's wink.

Trivia

* The storyline regarding Kramer's promise to a sick boy in the hospital was a parody of a scene from the 1942 Lou Gehrig biopic "The Pride of the Yankees", in which Gehrig promises to hit two home runs in a single game to cheer up a crippled boy whom he visits in the hospital. The event in the 1942 film was a takeoff on something that actually happened to Babe Ruth, not to Gehrig. Also, Babe Ruth only promised one home run and ended up hitting three.
* The kid in the hospital was the same kid for whom Mickey Abbott stands in during Season 5's "The Stand In." It ends with Paul O'Neill hitting a full home run and getting an inside-the-park home run which is scored a triple, not satisfying the deal between Kramer and the boy, but Kramer takes the plaque anyway.
* At the end of the episode, George Steinbrenner mentions all of the people he fired, with him saying Billy Martin four times. He also mentions then-current manager Buck Showalter, then quickly clams up about it. Though the show meant it as a joke, it turned out to be prophetic: just weeks after the episode aired, the real life Steinbrenner did not bring back Showalter as Yankees manager and replaced him with Joe Torre.
* Paul O'Neill's second 'near-home run' was actually scored a triple with an error on the throw home (according to the TV announcer). According to MLB Rules, errors can only occur on plays that are expected to be made by the defense. A play at the plate is never an out that is expected to be made. Thus the 'error on the throw' is inaccurate, and the play should have been scored a home run (inside-the-park) anyway. Obviously, this eliminates some of the comedy about Kramer's opinion of an HR versus the boy's opinion. In order to accurately make it a triple with an error, the writers should have made the error on the throw to third base, allowing O'Neill to go home on the error.

Quotes

*Holly: "Jerry, I'm thrilled you like my mutton. I was afraid you only ate . . . salad."
*Jerry: "Hey, Salad's got nothin' on this mutton."
*Elaine: [to Holly as she abruptly leaves] "Thanks for mutton!"