Red Sox: Does Andrew Benintendi injury mean left field is cursed?
By Sean Penney
The Boston Red Sox have suffered a serious of misfortunes from their left fielders ever since Manny Ramirez was traded in 2008.
Another one bites the dust. Another left fielder for the Boston Red Sox, that is.
Andrew Benintendi became the latest in the revolving door of left fielders that the Red Sox have churned through this season to succumb to the injury imp. The 22-year old phenom twisted his knee awkwardly attempting to retreat back to second base on what turned out to be a double-play in the 7th inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Manager John Farrell told reporters this morning that doctors are still evaluating the MRI on Benintendi’s knee, so it’s too early to tell if the injury is season-ending. Nonetheless, watching the young outfielder be helped off the field was not an encouraging sign.
What’s the deal with Red Sox left fielders getting hurt? Benintendi is the fourth Red Sox left fielder to land on the disabled list this season, following in the footsteps of Blake Swihart, Brock Holt and Chris Young. The latter two have since returned, so the recently activated Young will handle the bulk of the left field duties for now, with Holt spelling him on occasion in his super-utility role. Swihart has already been ruled out for the season and Benintendi may soon join him.
This is more than mere bad luck. One might be inclined to go as far as to say that Red Sox left fielders are… cursed!
Next: Banishing Manny