Commentary

Appreciation for a great player's great year

Andrew Benintendi hits a ball during a College World Series game against Virginia on Saturday, June 13, 2015, at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.

— A little more than a week removed from it ending, it's difficult to fully appreciate what Andrew Benintendi did in the 2015 season.

He just completed one of the greatest individual campaigns ever by an Arkansas athlete. He swept his sport's two most prestigious awards, joining the likes of future MVPs, Gold Glove and Cy Young award winners.

This was akin to Darren McFadden's 2007 season on the gridiron or Corliss Williamson's 1994 on the hardwood. It may take a generation of Razorbacks or longer to see its likes again.

It may never be replicated.

Perspective beyond only statistics is needed when reflecting on Benintendi's season. You won't find his name atop any Arkansas records because of the evolving changes in equipment.

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In college baseball, an era is defined by bat modifications. The composite bats of old have given way to BBCOR bats, which lowered the velocity at which a ball left the bat and decreased scoring by close to 50 percent in the first year of use.

It's impossible to know what Benintendi could have done at the height of the electric bat era in the 1990s. It's useless to compare his stats to those of that day.

What is known is that Benintendi had one of the most prolific seasons ever in the dead bat era, hitting .376 with a nation-leading 20 home runs. He hit many of those in big ballparks that favor pitchers and at a home stadium where left-handers are often hitting into the wind.

His average was a staggering .415 at the end of the regular season, but dropped after a four-day slump at the SEC Tournament and after the level of pitching raised in the NCAAs. In the postseason, the Razorbacks faced six pitchers taken in the top 10 rounds of the MLB Draft and two more who are projected to be first-rounders next year.

Some will point to the change in baseballs as a reason for Benintendi's success this season. It likely helped some, but not in whole. Home runs increased by about 40 percent across college baseball in 2015, while Benintendi raised his total by 1,900 percent.

Benintendi's increase in output was more the byproduct of a change in hitting stance and a rigorous off-season training program. He changed his diet and gained 15 pounds of muscle.

As someone close to the program told me last week, players are eager to implement the "Benny" summer workout schedule.

He was the first player since the 2011 bat modifications to hit at least 20 home runs and steal at least 20 bases. That, in conjunction with several highlights from his defensive position in center field, displayed the kind of versatility that led the Red Sox to draft him with the seventh overall pick.

Only seven Arkansas players - Jeff King, Dan Hampton, Darren McFadden, Billy Ray Smith Jr., Sidney Moncrief, Kevin McReynolds and Joe Kleine - have been drafted higher in America's three major professional drafts since 1960. All of those players have great legacies with the Razorbacks and it's likely Benintendi will, too, as time goes on.

The unfortunate nature of college baseball is that players don't have much time to build those legacies. MLB Draft procedures are such that most players never stay in college for more than three years. Because of where his birthday falls, Benintendi's time was even shorter.

But his season and the awards which have followed have helped to elevate the status of Razorbacks baseball. Arkansas is no longer just a program that makes it to Omaha every few years, but one which can develop high-level players.

Arkansas has had eight players on active MLB rosters since last season. Benintendi was the Razorbacks' fifth first-round selection since 2007, second to Vanderbilt among Southeastern Conference teams.

It seems a given more great players will one day call Baum Stadium home, but it's likely going to take a while before we see another the caliber of Benintendi.

Until we do, he'll be the standard by which they are all compared.