If Marlon Brando played baseball: first base, rated 82

Marlon Brando as a baseball player: scouting report

Marlon Brando changed screen acting by refusing to rush. He would let a pause sit until the whole audience leaned forward, and that is precisely how he would hit. He belongs at first base, the slugger's position, and his eye is the best mark on his card. He takes close pitches, works the count and waits for the one mistake he can drive, the kind of hitter pitchers dread because he never gives anything away.

He trained with Stella Adler in New York, where the idea was to understand a character from the inside out, and he would study pitchers the same way, learning what each one does when he gets nervous. His power is the second best mark on his card, so when the mistake comes it leaves the yard. He won the Academy Award for On the Waterfront and again for The Godfather, two performances built on quiet menace, and a slugger with that reputation draws walks simply by standing in the box. His contact is solid, which keeps his average respectable between the home runs.

His arm is the soft spot, which is why first base fits so well: the long throws belong to other people. Designated hitter is his next best spot and lets him focus entirely on hitting, and third base is possible, though the throw across the diamond would expose that arm. His speed is below average as well, so he is a station to station runner. Draft him in the middle rounds as a cleanup hitter, put speed at the top of the order in front of him and let him make pitchers an offer they would rather refuse.

Plays like A brooding slugger who waits all day for his pitch

Put Marlon Brando in your lineup

12 rolls, nine hitters and a rotation, 162 games. Can you win 117? Free, no account.