Part of my freelancing writing for the past year has been for a superhero film/TV news site called BamSmackPow (I review The Gifted each week).
Because of the World Series, there won't be an episode to review next week, and my mind working the way it does, began to speculate about what characters would be drafted if Marvel TV and the Arrowverse were to play a softball game against each other, powers being legal to use.
Villains are not allowed to play, due to trust issues, though antiheroes may with close supervision.
TEAM ARROWVERSE
First base: Kara Danvers/Supergirl, Supergirl
Reasoning: Kara can fly, which is useful for catching fly balls. She's very strong, which helps in throwing, and her cheerful attitude would be great for team chemistry. Plus her friendly demeanor would get baserunners involved in a conversation, thus keeping them distracted from the action.
Second base: Cisco Ramon/Vibe, The Flash
Reasoning: Cisco can teleport, which would be very useful when fielding, plus he already works closely with...
Shortstop: Barry Allen/The Flash, The Flash
Reasoning: Line drives require instant reactions, and who has a quicker reaction time than The Fastest Man Alive? Double plays would be a snap.
Third base: Sara Lance/White Canary, Legends of Tomorrow
Reasoning: Sara's an assassin, very skilled with weaponry of all sorts, but especially knives. She's never missing first base on those infield throws.
Left field: Jessie Quick, The Flash
Reasoning: Her genius-level intellect, combined with Speed Force powers, provides the outfield with a quarterback.
Center field: Firestorm (Jefferson Jackson & Martin Stein), Legends of Tomorrow
Reasoning: Jax was a star quarterback in high school, and with his athletic prowess combined with Stein's knowledge of physics and advanced math, Firestorm would be a great pick to have on your team. Plus they can fly, robbing sure home runs.
Right field: Joe West (The Flash) or John Diggle (Arrow)
Reasoning: There's no way you can leave Joe out of any important situation, and Joe would see this softball game as important. While his lack of superpowers would relegate him to right field, his strength would be useful at the plate and his teammates could always look to him for advice if needed.
Diggle would apply for many of the same reasons.
Catcher: Leonard Snart/Captain Cold, The Flash/Legends of Tomorrow
Reasoning: His presence is intimidating, which would spook opposing batters. Catchers are typically those players on the team who work as the glue, holding everything together, and Snart is an excellent and meticulous planner - he would forge the greatest strategic plots ever.to help his team succeed, even if he didn't especially care for most of his teammates.
Pitcher: Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow, Arrow
Reasoning: Oliver's determination, level of fitness and deadly projectile accuracy makes him an excellent choice for Team Arrowverse's pitcher. He commands respect, and his steely glare and fierce stubble alone would give him a mental edge, as they're already MLB-caliber, similar to John Smoltz.
Manager: Harry Wells (Earth-2), The Flash
Reasoning: He's maybe the smartest person in the multiverse, and his gruff manner and awful people skills cover over an awkward affection for his workplace proximity associates. With Felicity Smoak (Arrow) as assistant manager translating and using her techy wizardry for Moneyball-sih purposes, they make an unbeatable leadership duo for this project.
Team Doctor: Obviously it's Caitlin Snow (The Flash), who doesn't trust Killer Frost enough to allow herself to play, despite secretly being deceptively good at softball.
Fans - Ralph Dibney, whichever of Joe or Diggle isn't playing, Thea Queen, Kara's sister Alex, Winn Schott, Jimmy Olsen, Ray Palmer.
TEAM MARVEL
First base: Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Daredevil
Reasoning: Matt has great reflexes, which would be handy when fielding - no sight required. He would be the most reliable bet for snagging teammates' throws.
Second base: Clarice Fong/Blink, The Gifted
Reasoning: "They have a teleporter on second, we need one, too," she'd sum up everyone's thought process here. Plus her sarcastic wisecracks would keep everyone loose.
Shortstop: Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, Agents of SHIELD
Reasoning: Yo-Yo's quickness would be extremely useful in the infield, able to zip across the field to tag runners out.
Third base: Grant Ward, Agents of SHIELD
Reasoning: His discipline and military training would be a great asset to this team, and he would play nicely enough with his teammates to reluctantly be allowed to join in. His sense of dark humor might even rattle the other team. And I bet he would be a decent threat to get extra-base hits each time at bat.
Left field: Jessica Jones, Jessica Jones
Reasoning: She's super strong, and that's needed in the outfield. She's also mentally tough and used to working on her own, which is a necessity for the occupants stranded out in the pasture. At bat she'd be a good leadoff line-drive hitter.
Center field: Bobbi "Mockingbird" Morse or Melinda May, Agents of SHIELD
Reasoning: Bobbi and May can do everything - of course either of them could play softball adequately enough to join this game.
Right field: John Proudstar/Thunderbird, The Gifted
Reasoning: He's very strong, useful for those long throws to the plate, and great at tracking due to his enhanced senses, which would help at tracking fly balls. His personality would mesh well with these teammates, even though some of them he might not entirely like being around.
Catcher: Alphonso "Mack" McKenzie, Agents of SHIELD
Reasoning: Mack is enormous and strong, which are good traits in a catcher, and though his emotions might occasionally steer him wrong, he's generally a reliable leader to lean on, which his team would need. Plus he would be a home-run threat at the plate, and ensure great team chemistry.
Pitcher: Lauren Strucker, The Gifted
Reasoning: Lauren's powers allow her to manipulate air molecules, which would be very helpful in throwing unhittable curveballs, sliders and knuckleballs. And I bet she's played softball in the fairly recent past, as most girls do. Besides, she's incredibly stubborn, which is an admirable trait in pitchers.
Also, her dad Reed played Little League baseball growing up, so it might be in the Strucker genes.
Manager: Phil Coulson, Agents of SHIELD
Reasoning: Coulson is incredibly inspiring and passionate, and people believe in him. That's the confidence you want in your team's manager. His assistant manager would be Colleen Wing from Iron Fist, as Daisy Johnson would claim she knows nothing about softball in order to fangirl over Thunderbird and the Green Arrow.
Team Doctor: Jemma Simmons and Caitlin Strucker would team up to fill this role when they weren't running the concession stand.
Fans - Lorna Dane/Polaris, Reed and Andy Strucker, Leo Fitz, Foggy Nelson, Lance Hunter, Karen Page, Marcos Diaz/Eclipse, Daisy "Quake" Johnson, Danny Rand.
Team Arrowverse is much more skilled, but Team Marvel would work better together. The outcome's a tossup, but I would love to see this happen.
