F E A TUR E S TORY
Ben Cherrington:
Psi U G a m m a M a k e s i t t o Fe n w a y Pa r k
By Ron Ziemba, Gamma 1964
As Casey Stengel used to say, “You could look it up.” Yes, it’s right there, in the record books, in black and white: On the evening of October 27, 2004, the Boston Red Sox completed an unlikely but inevitable four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals to capture their first World Series championship since 1918. And exactly three years and one day later, the Sox replicated that amazing feat to become the first team in the 21st century to win two world championships.
Ben Cherington, Gamma ’96 (Amherst College)
For Red Sox Nation, the twin series sweeps – a first for Major League Baseball – were heady stuff indeed, following a mere 86 years of frustration. For Ben Cherington, Gamma ’96 (Amherst), World Series success didn’t take quite so long, but was arguably just as sweet. Ben joined the Red Sox in 1998 as a scout in the mid-Atlantic region at the age of 24 – youthful even for a baseball executive. Ben rose through the front-office ranks to his current position, vice president of player personnel for the World Champions. Now, he and his colleagues are enjoying the fruits of their labor.
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writing type of person, not oriented to the sciences. To be completely honest, I enjoyed the academic experience there, and I think I gained a lot in terms of how to write and think – skills I use a lot today.” Another aspect of Ben’s positive experience at Amherst was finding and joining the Gamma chapter of Psi Upsilon. “I got to know Psi U my freshman year. A handful of baseball players were brothers, and they invited me to a couple of gatherings” If the baseball team provided a sense of security at Amherst for this small-town guy, Psi U provided another. “I was pretty well prepared for Amherst, but there were times in class early on when I was probably a little intimidated,” he recalls. “The Psi U experience helped me keep my spirits up, and, frankly, helped me buy some time to adjust to the academic load.” Ben believes fraternities definitely have a place in higher education in the 21st century. “Certainly when there’s criticism, it’s centered around the social aspects, partying and the like. But I remember a lot of those parties fondly. And in addition, there are other important aspects of the Psi U experience.
Ben was playing Legion ball when he was spotted by Bill Thurston, Amherst’s legendary baseball coach. The summer after his junior year at Lebanon High, Ben was pitching for the Hartford, Vermont, Post 26 American Legion team.
Some say that the only students who major in English are really smart people who have no clue what they want to do with their lives. But that wasn’t the case with Ben. “By my junior year, I was pretty sure I wanted to work in baseball, in some capacity.”
Ben majored in English at Amherst, with a focus on British literature. “English fit my skill set and my comfort level at the time,” he says. “I am certainly a reading and
But not, as it happens, as a player. Following a good start in Amherst baseball, Ben hurt his shoulder toward the end of his sophomore year. That was the end of any remaining
