Eastbound & Down

Kenny Powers, a brash former baseball pitcher whose career has fizzled out, returns to his hometown but immediately discovers that he is not as respected as he had hoped. He becomes a substitute gym teacher at his former middle school while planning his return to the majors. Power's former teenage flame, April Buchanon, is now teaching at the same school.

Kenny Powers tries to cash in by becoming the spokesman for a luxury car dealership. After an embarrassing scene at the dealership, Powers acquires a sidekick in the form of music teacher Stevie Janowski. Powers appears at a school dance and declares his love for April while high on ecstasy.

After Kenny sets Stevie up to take the rap for his own alcohol-fueled car crash, Kenny hires Stevie as his assistant. Thinking it's worth a lot of money, Kenny has his sister-in-law Cassie list memorabilia from his baseball career on eBay, and he begins training and using steroids again.

Stevie puts together a DVD of Kenny's greatest moments in the hopes that the major leagues will notice. Later, Kenny attends a barbecue with his "fuck buddy" Tracy at April and Terrence's house where his romantic feelings for April intensify, and she shows the first signs of reciprocation, but an awkward moment gives them pause. Tracy gets Terrence, April's fiance and Kenny's boss, drunk, and he calls Kenny out for being a has-been in front of Stevie, April, Tracy, and all of their friends.

Thanks largely to Terrence's words, Kenny decides to give up on his dream of returning to professional baseball. Meanwhile, arrogant car dealer Ashley comes back into the picture, along with the player who ended Kenny's career, Reg Mackworthy, whose own career has been sidelined thanks to gambling charges.

Kenny gets a contract offer from a member of Tampa's front office and in true Kenny Powers fashion, he subsequently burns a few bridges. The Tampa Bay Rays become the first MLB team to lend their official logo to the show; it appears on the 'black' credit card that the team representative presents as his credentials. Just before he leaves town to sign his contract, Powers receives a phone call from the team representative with bad news; he wasn't authorized to offer Powers a contract and did so only because he was high on cocaine. With his major league comeback over before it began, Powers is crushed. Too proud to tell April and his family, he leaves everyone with the assumption that his baseball career is still back on track. He dumps April at a gas stop and is last seen driving away with a troubled look on his face.