Star Trek re-runs better than baseball

By Rob Ficiur
Star Trek re-runs have become more engaging to me than sports this summer.
My usual sports diet in July and August is baseball with a light helping of
the Canadian Football League. With the dismal play of the Toronto Blue
Jays I have changed the staple of my sports diet to Star Trek works better
for several reasons:
1. In Star Trek the good guys always win – In every episodes the Captain
and his crew save the galaxy from certain destruction at the very last
minute. How they save the world is different every episode, but at least I
am never left throwing something at the TV because the Star Trek crew
failed. This week Blue Jays all-star closer Roberto Osuna blew a three run
lead to lose his third game of the season. Since July 24 Osuna has lost
three of his six save opportunities. Why can’t he be like the Star Trek
guys and always come through in the end?
2. Baseball is more fictional than Star Trek – Now that I don’t watch baseball I have been watching the original Star Trek series. What looked like Science Fiction in the 1960’s is every day to people in 2017. WE all have cell phones that can do more than Captain Kirk’s communicator could do.
This season the Toronto Blue Jays have had too many injuries. I am not one
for conspiracy theories, but something has to be up for the team to put so
many key players on the disabled list. Perhaps the 2017 Blue Jays season is
the fiction this summer. Aaron Sanchez has been on the disabled list four
times because of blisters on his throwing finger. Prior to this season
Sanchez had never had a problem with blisters. Rookie outfielder Darrel
Ceceliani suffered a partial subluxation of his left shoulder during a home
run swing. He circled the bases holding his partially dislocated shoulder.
What is more believable the Star Trek people sending Face time like
communication across the universe to talk to headquarters or a mysterious
finger blister or unheard of should separation during a hit.
3. Good Jays Bad Jays in this Universe – One of my favorite Star Trek episodes is called Mirror Mirror. At the beginning of the episode, Captain Kirk and three others were beaming up to the Enterprise when a magnetic storm disrupted the transporter. The four were suddenly thrown into a parallel universe. In the parallel universe, all Star Trek Federation people were evil tyrants.
In this parallel universe when there was the slightest breach of policy
resulted physical torture was applied. One of the most effective tools in
the parallel universe was the agonizer. When Mr. Kyle did not beam the
captain up efficiently Bad Spock applied the agonizer to the transporter
worker.
There was Good Kirk and Bad Kirk; Good Spock and Bad Spock and so on for
every crew member. The good characters lived in our universe and the bad
ones lived in the parallel universe. When I watch baseball there are Good
Blue Jays and Bad Blue Jays. Perhaps our good all-star players are playing
in a parallel universe on a 75 game winning streak.
In this universe, the 2017 Jays sometimes remind us of the team that made
the playoffs the last two years when they beat the first place Houston
Astros 7-2. The next day when the Jays lose 15-1, we feel the pain of the
agonizer all over again.
4. Star Trek shows a better world ahead – In the Star Trek universe, the world is better (usually) than our modern time. War among humans has been done away – now we just fight aliens.
Money is rarely mentioned as humans focus on the good they can do to serve
the United Federation of Planets.
The positive Star Trek future gives Blue Jays fans a bit of hope. When
Steve Pierce hit two walk off grand slams in the same week he amazed fans of
what his future could be. Josh Donaldson has hit four home runs in six
August ball games. Can our near future (meaning August and September)
include a 2017 Blue Jays team that can hit and pitch and win the close
games? The undying hope of Blue Jays fans is probably more unrealistic than
a Star Trek ship with alien species working hand and hand with humans.

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