Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 2 - "Disengage"The inclusion of a surprising Easter egg in a scene from Star Trek universe, and where she runs afoul of a Ferengi gangster called Sneed (Aaron Stanford).
Unsatisfied with Starfleet Intelligence shutting down the investigation into the Star Trek: Lower Decks visited Deep Space Nine in season 3, episode 6, "Hear All, Trust Nothing". Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) had the baseball sitting on her desk, in honor of the baseball's previous owner Captain Benjamin Sisko.
Is Sisko's Baseball In Picard Season 3?
Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas has said that season 3 will also reference DS9 and Star Trek: Voyager so it's entirely possible that it's Benjamin Sisko's baseball on display. The scene between Raffi and Sneed serves to reveal the identity of Raffi's handler as Captain Worf (Michael Dorn), who storms into the club and swiftly dispatches Sneed and his henchmen. The brief pan past the baseball was likely intended as a subtle visual clue to plant the seed of DS9 in the mind of the audience ahead of the return of Deep Space Nine's former Tactical Officer.
If it is Sisko's baseball, then it begs the question of how Sneed came into possession of it. It's revealed in Lower Decks that Quark (Armin Shimerman) is profiting from the legends of DS9, so perhaps he's been selling replicas of Sisko's baseball. Alternatively, iral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) made a reference to the decommissioned Deep Space Four in error, so perhaps DS9 has gone the same way in the early 25th century. If so, such a historic location from DS9's Dominion War would attract all manner of souvenir hunters so perhaps one of them acquired Sisko's baseball and sold it to Sneed.
What Sneed's Baseball Means For Sisko In Star Trek's Future
If Sneed had acquired the genuine DS9 baseball, then it's a worrying sign for the future of Captain Benjamin Sisko. In the DS9 season 5 finale, the Federation was forced to abandon the station, leaving it to be retaken by the Cardassian Union. When Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) entered Sisko's office, he realized that the baseball was still on the desk. Dukat took this as a sign that Sisko would be back, so if the ball has wound up in the collection of a seedy Ferengi gangster it means that Sisko never fulfilled his promise to return from the Celestial Temple.
As this is the final season of Star Trek: Picard, attention is predictably turning toward which other Star Trek captains can reprise their roles for a live-action sequel show. The return of Sisko is at the top of many fans' lists of desires, but the fate of the baseball hints that the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Captain is in no hurry to return. Hopefully, Worf noticed the baseball when he was rescuing Raffi, and has taken it back to the La Sirena with him, intending to return it to his former captain whenever Ben Sisko returns.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.