Right off the bat, (har, this episode is heavily baseball themed) I'd like to say the Charlie Brown actor in this one is particularly good. This one probably gets ignored because it sounds like boring late 80s educational Peanuts but is really funny. It deals with the sequence from the comics where Lucy planted a block garden on the baseball field unbeknownst to Charlie Brown. So the Arbor Day theme kind of fits, but is distracting. Interestingly, the kids name the field after Charlie Brown in this episode, something I don't think I've heard of before or since.

A well-meaning tree-planting scheme gets out of hand. Charlie Brown's baseball team plays against Peppermint Patty's team in a field that's been turned into a lush garden. Director Phil Roman, working from a typically sweet and witty script by Charles M. Schulz, ably crafts an easy'n'breezy laid-back quality which makes this good-natured affair a totally engaging delight to watch. Naturally, there are several amusing gags: Snoopy and Woodstock get out of a library for making too much noise, a smitten Sally pines for a disinterested Linus, Patty likewise hits on Charlie Brown, and Snoopy even briefly reprises his sunglasssed hipster supreme Joe Cool persona. The disastrous big game is an absolute hoot. Peppermint Patty is in real peak fiercely competitive form here as she continually brags about clobbering the opposing team. Moreover, there's a pleasingly ironic conclusion with said game being rained out just as it seems that Charlie Brown might win for once. Vince Guaraldi's neat jazzy score does the mellow trick; sadly this was his final score for a Peanuts special. A pleasant show.