If Thomas Jefferson played baseball: catcher, rated 78

Thomas Jefferson as a baseball player: scouting report

Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence at thirty three and designed his own home at Monticello, and a man who likes to draw up the plans himself belongs behind the plate. Catchers design the game: which pitch, which location, where the infield should stand. His eye is the best mark on his card, so he would read hitters well and call a smart, patient game.

His curiosity had no limit. He founded the University of Virginia and designed its central grounds, kept careful records of the weather and his gardens for decades, and devised a wheel cipher for encoding messages. A catcher who invented a cipher would have the most secure set of signs in the league. His contact is the second best mark on his card, so he puts the ball in play and moves runners along, and his fielding is solid enough to receive pitches cleanly and block balls in the dirt. He also played the violin, and a musician's sense of tempo helps a catcher keep his pitcher in rhythm.

His arm is the soft spot, so fast runners will try him, and his power is modest. Pair him with pitchers who are quick to the plate and a middle infield that handles throws at the bag cleanly, and the running game stays under control. Second base is his next best spot and first base is next, both of which hide the arm. Draft him in the middle rounds as a thinking catcher who hits near the top of the order and makes the whole staff smarter.

Plays like A cerebral catcher who designs the game plan himself

Put Thomas Jefferson in your lineup

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