Hard Ball

"**Hard Ball**"
"Hard Ball"
30 Rock episode
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 15
Directed by	Don Scardino
Written by	Matt Hubbard
Cinematography by	Vanja Černjul
Production code	115
Original air date	February 22, 2007
Guest appearances
	David Alan Basche as Alan; Gregg Bello as The Daily Show Producer; Katrina Bowden as Cerie Xerox; Kevin Brown as Dot Com Slattery; Tucker Carlson as Himself; Grizz Chapman as Gris Griswold; Rachel Dratch as Martha Blanch; Chris Matthews as Himself; Keith Powell as Toofer Spurlock; Lonny Ross as Josh Girard; Gregory Wooddell as Mike;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The C Word"	Next →; "The Source Awards"
	30 Rock season 1
	List of episodes

"Hard Ball" (also known as "Negotiation")^[1]^[2] is the fifteenth episode of NBC's first season of 30 Rock. It was written by one of the season's co-producers, Matt Hubbard, and directed by one of the season's supervising producers, Don Scardino.^[3] It aired on February 22, 2007 in the United States. Guest stars who appeared in the episode were David Alan Basche, Gregg Bello, Katrina Bowden, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Rachel Dratch, Keith Powell, Lonny Ross and Gregory Wooddell. Tucker Carlson and Chris Matthews also appear as themselves in the episode.

The episode focuses on Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) trying to clear her name after being misquoted in an interview for Maxim Magazine. Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) begins negotiations to Josh Girard's (Lonny Ross) new contract. Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) becomes the newest member of Tracy Jordan's (Tracy Morgan) entourage.

^ "Negotiation". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
^ "Writers Guild Awards". Writers Guild of America, West. Archived from the original on 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
^ "30 Rock: Episodes". London: Screenrush (AlloCiné). Archived from the original on 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2010-04-27.