A couple of nights ago one of my favorite TV shows of all time, Lost, ended. Over the past 6 years, I’ve spent countless hours trying to decifer plots and come up with theories to crack this ridiculously confusing show. Last week, a friend asked me how many hours a week I spend watching sports. I came up with the estimate of 25 hours a week. I then went on to question my life but that’s not relevant to this post. When combining the hours I’ve spent on Lost and sports, it’s safe to say that I’ve done little else.
But now Lost is over and in honor of the series finale (and in honor of the Sports Guy, who is also a Lost lover) I’m playing the match the “Mariner With the Lost Character” game. If you don’t know what this game is then read the title again and it should explain it. If you’re still lost (no pun intended) the game simply goes as this: I pick a character from Lost and then find the Seattle Mariner who fits the bill of that character. Here we go!
Jack Shepard – Franklin Gutierrez
When Oceanic flight 815 crashed on the mysterious island, Jack became the leader of the survivors. He didn’t do this by choice, he did this because it was the role assigned to him. He was younger than a good share of the survivors and probably wasn’t as wise as some, but when he did things people followed. We find that Jack is a lost man before and after he’s on the island; he feels empty, worthless as a spinal surgeon, and can never truly find peace. I disliked Jack because he was annoying a good share of the time and sometimes jumped the gun on decisions but in the end he did what was best for his friends on the island and was a good leader.
This one is difficult because the Mariners’ don’t have a clear cut leader that fits the demeanor of Jack Shepard. With that being said Franklin makes sense. Before Guti came to the Mariners’ he was a no-name right fielder who couldn’t really hit. He wasn’t given a starting position in Cleveland and was a fantastic defensive outfielder before defense became cool. Then he came here. He was given a chance and found himself to be one of the best players on the team. What we don’t realize is how much of a leader Franklin is. Sure, he’s not one of the outspoken guys in the clubhouse but on the field the team goes as he goes. When Guti was on his hot-streak early in the season the team was playing a ton better than they are right now (they were actually winning). Franklin is in the middle of the order because that’s where the team needs him to be. Like Jack, he’s young, still learning and makes mistakes from time to time but we’re sure glad he’s on our side. Guti is a lot less annoying than Jack. He’s the leader of the team on the field, and it wasn’t his choice to take that role. It just kind of happened much like a certain doctor became leader of the Lost cast.
Hurley (Hugo Reyes) – Mike Sweeney
This one is close to perfect. Off the island, Hurley won the lottery and then became cursed by a set of numbers. He had more bad luck than the bird I just watched my dog kill. But once he crashes on the island we find that Hugo is the most caring survivor of them all. He would do anything for any of his friends and he fills the role of caretaker of the island in the season finale. Hurley is just the all around nice guy that it’s hard to root against.
Mike Sweeney is the epitome of a nice guy. He cares more about his teammates than any other guy on the Mariners and would do just about anything for them. Sweeney isn’t without his bad luck though. His career was disrupted by never-ending injuries and he played for the Royals. Playing for the Royals is about as unlucky as you can get. Hurley and Sweeney are the type of guys who would smile and say hello to you as you walked by on the street. They care about their friends/teammates above everything else. Thankfully, the one that is real is hitting the ball really well right now.
To the jump and more comparisons!
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