Red Sox: Five team members who need to take it up a notch in 2020
By Mike Towle
Left fielder (for now, at least) Andrew Benintendi was the American League’s Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2017. His follow-up 2018 season suggested that a star had been born. The University of Arkansas alum, drafted 7th overall by the Red Sox in 2015, finished 2018 with 16 home runs, 87 RBI’s and a .290/.366/.465/.830 line as well as a well-earned reputation as part of baseball’s best defensive outfield, joined by Jackie Bradley Jr. in center field and Mookie Betts in right.
It was clear in 2018 that Benintendi had successfully navigated his way around the dreaded Sophomore Jinx – only for the equally-dreaded Junior Jinx to catch up with him in 2019. His batting average dipped to .266 but more conspicuously his strikeouts jumped from the 112 and 106 he had notched in 2017 and 2018, respectively, to 140 whiffs in 2019 despite his having 30-plus fewer at-bats than he had in either 2017 or 2018.
Benintendi occasionally looked lost at the plate, mixing in clumsily checked swings with helpless waves at pitches in the dirt that sometimes missed his bat by a half-foot or more. It was ugly at times, nothing like the Fred Lynn-like, lefty-swinging smoothie he had shown himself to be the two years prior.
Part of the blame for Benintendi’s downturn in 2019 – he even appeared out of sorts on occasion with his play in left field – was being moved to the leadoff spot to begin the season. It was believed his ability to make solid contact, get on base, and flash his superior speed on the basepaths would make him an ideal table-setter for the likes of Betts, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez and, eventually, Rafael Devers hitting behind him.
Instead, the No. 1 spot apparently made Benintendi uncomfortable, making him press more than usual, and setting him on a path to inconsistency. After two months at leadoff producing a .257 batting average (including .081 when leading off games), Cora ended the experiment and moved Benintendi back to No. 2 behind Betts.
Benintendi’s moderately disappointing season (actually, his .774 OPS was just two points below his 2017 OPS) would seem to position him as a prime candidate for Red Sox Bounceback Player of the Year. Ironically, though, he might have to do so while back in the leadoff spot; that is, if Betts ends up getting traded.
Benintendi seems suited for that role better than any other player on the team, and it could motivate him to prove that his brief stint at the No. 1 spot in 2019 was just a fluke.