Just an idle thought I had contemplating Deep Space Nine's "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" the other night, Although this thread was inspired by the DS9 episode, I wanted to throw the question out to the general Trek fandom, since most every Trek fan has an opinion on Vulcans. Hence the thread's placement here.
Does it make sense for Vulcans to be into baseball? Baseball isn't decided on intelligence or logic. There's only a bit of strategy to it (batting order, deciding who plays what position, when to switch pitchers or take a player out of the game, etc.). And luck is a pretty huge factor. It just doesn't seem like a game that would appeal to Vulcans in general. Chess, poker, even football, I can see Vulcans developing an appreciation of. Those games are more technical and have a larger number of potential outcomes. But baseball? Not really.
I know that it was just a fun change of pace episode, and the Vulcans were the designated "evil team" because it made sense for the Niners to be underdogs in terms of physical strength and playing ability, but would Vulcans really get into baseball? I don't think so. What do you think, folks?
For a species that bases so much around logic and strict discipline, I can imagine them finding some appeal in this human game where only slight strategy and a lot of brute skill and a little luck are factors. Vulcans value control. Over emotions. Over logic. Human sports let them indulge other desires they normally can't, while still exercising their strategic, logical selves.
