One era is ending while another is just beginning in Boston.
Red Sox superstar David Ortiz hopes to play in one more World Series before he ends his sure-fire Hall of Fame career. Rookie sensation Andrew Benintendi hopes to help him get there.
“He’s going to be superstar. He has all the tools. I can see it,” Ortiz recently told the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham.
Benitendi, the former national player of the year at Arkansas, has turned everyone’s head since being called up from Double-A on Aug. 2. He has hit .500 in six games and could soon be the Red Sox every day left fielder.
"He's handled the environment probably as good as you could," Red Sox manager John Farrell said, via Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. "He's got a beautiful swing. That's evident by the way he approaches each at-bat. He's more than impressed in the games he's played so far."
It was just a little more than a year ago that Benitendi finished his Razorbacks career at the College World Series. Arkansas fans shouldn’t be surprised by the meteoric rise. They witnessed Benintendi mustering great power from his small frame with a sweet swing while making clutch plays in the outfield.
His sophomore season, Benintendi blossomed into a special player and helped power a slightly-better-than-average Hogs team to a College World Series run. After leading the SEC in batting average (.380), home runs (19), on-base percentage (.489), slugging (.715) and walks (47), it seemed fitting to compare Benitendi to Chicago Cubs second-year star, Kris Bryant, or Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout, both of whom made the fast track from the minors.
Benintendi impressively picked up where he left off in college in the minors last summer. He immediately played well at Class A-Short Season Lowell (Mass.) last season and dominated in Double-A this season. He’s got a plate presence and eye that some longtime Major League players don’t have.
He also has that rare combination of being able to hit for power while still keeping a high average. He’s a pure hitter, and it’s been evident since he stepped on campus.
Now, it looks like he is in Boston to stay, and with the Red Sox in contention with Toronto, there is buzz about the rookie being the difference in a playoff push. It is wishful thinking to hope Benitendi can keep up his torrid pace. He will cool off, and soon opposing pitchers will get more familiar with him.
Still, if Kyle Schwarber, with the Cubs, and Michael Conforto, with the New York Mets, can make a postseason impact as rookies, so can Benintendi. Like both of those players and Bryant, playing college baseball has made a difference.
Benitendi has played in big games and understands pressure. That’s what October baseball is about. Like Bryant and Trout, Benitendi seems to be able to put outside distractions to the side and just play.
Play a College World Series game like it is a March nonconference game and play a playoff game like it's April. The great ones don’t clam up just because it’s the playoffs. They continue to do what they do well.
They are disciplined at the plate, run the bases intelligently and make the fundamental plays in the field.
Since he made his pro debut, Benintendi has been steady. He hasn’t changed his swing or his approach. He’s adapted to the change and continues to do that in the MLB.
If he is the everyday left fielder it won’t faze him, and if he’s playing in October expect him to make plays.
He is a superstar in the making, and he began to make that impression as a freshman in Fayetteville. Whether or not he plays in the postseason, baseball fans will enjoy following the 22-year-old to superstardom for years to come.