Your Fraternity As A Baseball Team

Fraternities and the grand game of baseball are two time-honored American institutions. The parallels between the two go much further than what meets the eye. Imagine your house as a Major League Baseball team and how your 25-man roster would be constructed…

Batting Order

Leadoff Man
This is the guy you want leading the charge. He’ll get on base, steal a bag, and maybe hit for some pop. Just like a baseball team’s top of the order man sets the tone, your house’s leadoff man is likely the guy who cracks the first beer before everyone gets back from afternoon class. The leadoff man also must know plenty of girls to set the table for the heart of the order later on in the night. He scores more than anyone else, so make sure you pick him up when he sets you up for success.

#3 Hitter
On the diamond, this spot in the lineup is reserved for the best hitter on the team. In the fraternity house, your #3 hitter is the Alpha Male. Usually seen with gorgeous women under his arms and double fisting beers, the three-spot is a revered role in your house. He’s big in the clutch and there’s no one you’d rather go to in a must-score situation.

Cleanup Hitter
Once the #3 hitter has done his job, the cleanup man is tasked with feeding off the scraps left over by the #3 man or picking up the #3 hitter when he can’t close the deal. He swings for the fences every time. He might strike out more than anyone else, but he still pulls and intimidates anyone with his sheer presence in a room. Chicks dig the long ball.

The Designated Hitter
Talk about a guy who is pretty one dimensional, but he’s damn good at that one dimension. May not be the smoothest cat when sober, but give him a few beers and he turns into a vagina magnet. Women flock to him when he’s drunk, despite him being pretty worthless otherwise. But that’s his role and he embraces it. He’ll sit on the bench most of the game, but when it’s his time to shine, he rakes.

#9 Hitter
Pledges usually. Worst on the team. His job is to try and make the leadoff man’s job easier. Take pitches/hazing like a man. Don’t fuck it all up. Just be glad you’re on the team.

Bench

Utility Man
Versatile. Reliable. Consistent. Put him in any situation and you’ll be pleased with the results. He can lay down a bunt in a high-pressure late innings situation and understands his role. Everyone in the house appreciates him because he gets the job done. He has worked his way up through the system as a homegrown pledge and cracked exec in his junior year. The utility man is responsible and level-headed. He’s the glue that holds it all together despite the fact that he is not the most talented guy.

Backup Catcher
He’s in the swan song of his career. Lucky to still be around, this senior is still living in house, trying to squeeze the last ounce of fratting out of his dwindling career. He was great once, but his skills have noticeably faded as graduation approaches. He’s still respected throughout the clubhouse/fraternity and can still pick ‘em with the best. You can see where the value lies in his game as all the young bucks come to him for advice.

Pitching Staff

The Ace
This one speaks for itself. He’s the face guy of the house and is the one you can absolutely count on to get the job done in the most desperate of situations. He doesn’t appear as much as everyone else on the team, but when he does, it’s simply majestic. People would pay good money just to see him in action. His game is electric and his deadly control sets him apart from the pack. The minute he steps on the playing field, the game’s already over. Everyone else should just go home.

The Setup Man
Of all the roles on a team, the setup man’s job might be the most underappreciated. Get the ball to your best pitcher and set the squad up for a win. The Setup Man in a fraternity is the guy always looking one step ahead. Where are after bars gonna be? Where’s formal gonna be next semester? How many kegs will we need at tailgate next season? He might as well be the best damn player on the team, but he has accepted his role and knows his time will come, but for now, he’s helping his brothers out.

The Closer
Just like the last three outs of a baseball game are the toughest to get, the last three minutes before closing time are the toughest to get girls. But this guy knows how to work out of tight situations. He’s got a silver tongue and can tame even the wildest of women. Just as you sense victory is being snatched from your grasp, this guy can swoop in and talk you up before he makes his rounds to find his own lady to bed that night. He might get himself into trouble from time to time, but he always finds his way out of it in dazzling fashion.

***

    1. Tuco1855

      Leave it to the Cardinals fan to miss the reply button. Laps around that stupid arch.

      11 years ago at 3:49 pm
  1. The DENNIS System

    Tampa Bay Rays would be the house that makes the most out of fratting on a budget.

    11 years ago at 3:52 pm
    1. BuckNastyKA

      If you knew anything about baseball you would know that title belongs to the Oakland As.

      11 years ago at 5:40 pm
    2. Sclater House

      ^ If you knew anything about baseball you’d realize that the Rays actually advanced past the ALCS with a comparable budget.

      11 years ago at 12:05 pm
  2. The DENNIS System

    I feel this is missing the “Why the hell are we putting him in?” Reliever.

    11 years ago at 3:54 pm
    1. Southern boy

      The Chad Durbin of your chapter is that guy who hasn’t closed anything higher than a 3 in two years. He also has cock bloced too damn many members of your house, including preventing your number 3 hitter from having a three-some with those two blonde twins that won, and finished first runner up in your house’s charity beauty pageant last year. He picks fights with other houses, only to get his ass whipped, ruining your chapter’s reputation. He projectile vomited on the president of the hottest sorority on campus at a greek week mixer. Needless to say, fuck this guy, and the Geo Metro he rode in on.

      11 years ago at 8:39 am
  3. frathardandprosper

    Forgot how key a No. 2 and 7 batters are…gotta keep the lineup moving. And the innings-eater. Key man.

    11 years ago at 4:04 pm
    1. Big_Lockwood

      The #2 hitter is the small quick athletic guy in your house who hits consistently for average. The girls that this kid pulls are roughly in the same range of attractiveness, or he might possibly even have a girlfriend. He gets on base a lot, is patient, but for this player: when it’s show time, it’s go time.

      11 years ago at 4:28 pm
  4. Fratgineer

    The A-Rod guy would be the most worthless pile. Never pulls his weight, and not worth the extra effort.

    11 years ago at 4:05 pm
    1. Tuco1855

      A-Rod is like the brother who ran through girls in every house his first couple of years(power hitter) and had a lot of respect among his brothers and now all of the girls hate him, he can’t pull his weight, and he just makes your house look bad.

      11 years ago at 9:08 am