Toony's meteoric rise and fall as a professional baseball player mimics the steroid scandals in Major League Baseball in the 2000s, including the congressional testimony. Many prominent baseball players were implicated in investigations to uncover the scope of illicit PED (performance-enhancing drug) use, and while no stars were banned from baseball (as Toony is for "juicing" on fish oil supplements), many players had their reputations tarnished, with some high-profile stars struggling to gain support on Hall of Fame ballots years after retirement.
Porky's Baseball Broadcast (1940) reuses animation and gags from Boulevardier from the Bronx (1936), Baseball Bugs (1946) adapts some gags from the earlier shorts, and Gone Batty (1954) reuses several gags from "Baseball Bugs". All four are Warner Bros. cartoons: Boulevardier from the Bronx (1936), Porky's Baseball Broadcast (1940), and Baseball Bugs (1946) were all directed by Friz Freleng, while Gone Batty (1954) was directed by Robert McKimson.
This baseball-themed episode introduces two new characters - The Owner ("'Gotham Nine' CEO") and The Broadcaster ("Sports Legend"). The Owner is inspired by the late George M. Steinbrenner III ("The Boss"), the longtime owner of the New York Yankees, who was known for signing star players as well as imposing strict grooming requirements on the team. The Broadcaster seems to be inspired in part by legendary Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray. This episode also sees the return of erstwhile down-home celebrity chef Trisha Brine, appearing here as Sen. Trisha Brine ("S. Carolina (Down-Home)"), the chair of a Senate subcommittee looking into the use of fish oil supplements in professional baseball.
At the time this episode aired, Boulevardier from the Bronx (1936) had not yet been released by Warner Bros. on DVD or Blu-ray, though it was available in a restored print on the HBO Max streaming service.