Written by Chris Snelgrove | Published
Star Trek has often had a strange focus on baseball. Deep Space Ninefor example, shows that Captain Sisko has an intense passion for the ancient sport and keeps a baseball in his office as a reward. This spinoff gave us a hilarious baseball game pitting the DS9 crew against the swashbuckling Vulcans, and fans still love dressing up in costume by wearing the same baseball jerseys the Niners wear in the episode “Take Me Out To the Holosuite.” However, Star Trek most Arguably the most famous baseball game is the one referred to in The next generation The “Evolution” episode that references the 1951 National League playoff showdown between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants.
Star Trek writer loves baseball
If you’re one of the many Star Trek fans who don’t watch a lot of real-life baseball, one of the major plot points in “Evolution” might be confusing. This episode features an eccentric scientist who is passionate about baseball, and instead of recreating classic games in the holodeck, he recreates them in his mind as a sort of reward for himself. He demonstrates his ability to do this by reading “Lockman in first, Dark in second, Thomson at plate, Branca on mound,” which directly refers to the aforementioned matchup between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, although the recount makes some conclusive mistakes.
Star Trek: The Next Generation “Evolution” was written by showrunner Michael Piller, a huge baseball fan (more on that later), who chose this game because it’s so special. This clash of baseball giants led to the so-called “shot heard round the world.” That’s the cute nickname for New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thompson’s ninth-inning home run that allowed his team to win the National League pennant. That’s what made that 1951 game so memorable for sports fans, but Dr. Paul Stubbs, the huge baseball fan at the heart of Evolution, got key details wrong when recounting the game.
Despite Star Trek guru Michael Piller’s great love for baseball, he got some details wrong when he wrote to Stubbs saying “Lockman at first, Darke at second, Thompson at the plate, and Branca on the mound.” Due to the Giants replacing Clint Hartung, the lineup was a bit different. To be completely accurate, former genius Stubbs should have said “Lockman at second, Hartung at third, Thompson at the plate, and Branca on the mound.”
Although he may have gotten a few details wrong, we doubt the late, great Beller lost any sleep over the mistake… after all, it was that Star Trek script and its baseball references that helped him get the job as a manager View for The next generation. Before Beller, Michael Wagner was briefly the showrunner but soon left the production, and his “Evolution” script helped Beller win over executive producer Rick Berman. Biller later said that Berman “shared my love of baseball” and that Stubbs’ speech “hit him right between the eyes”, leading to a “partnership” in which Biller became director of this hugely popular science fiction show.
Here’s the thing, folks: if Star Trek: The Next Generation The “Evolution” episode wouldn’t have been much about baseball, Michael Piller probably wouldn’t have gotten the job of showrunner, and TNG would have continued to be something of a hot mess instead of “evolving” into one of the greatest shows in television history. And without Berman and Biller’s mutual love for America’s greatest pastime, we probably wouldn’t have had Captain Cisco’s obsession with baseball, let alone “Take Me Out To the Holosuite,” a nearly perfect episode of DS9.
As a franchise, Star Trek fans owe a lot to the creators’ passionate love of baseball, which is why we’re here to ask the big question: When will Trek baseball legend Buck Buckeye return? finally Get his own PicardSolo series style?