Andrew Benintende He changed teams, but he didn’t change hotels. As of Friday, he was still staying with the royal family, and the player and his former teammates abruptly stopped after they were defeated by his new club, the Yankees, on Thursday.
The scene was no stranger than in the immediate moments after the baseball world learned that Benintende had been traded to the Yankees on Wednesday night, on the eve of the start of a string of two clubs in the Bronx. He and a few of his colleagues agreed to meet in one room to play cards, but first withdrew to their individual rooms. Their phones started ringing.
“Benny told us how everything went wrong,” said Hunter Dozier, a Kansas City utility worker. The Yankees topped the Royals 11-5 Friday in the Bronx. “Then we just stopped and played cards as usual.”
According to former Benintendi, the Yankees took the gold medal in acquiring a defensive player with excellent communication skills in the midst of one of their best seasons.
The 28-year-old, who had an RBI on one song in the eighth inning for the Yankees and finished 1 for a 3-walk on Friday, averaged 0.320 and scored 0.387 on 93 points. Matches with Kansas City.
“We’d joke and say every day, Penny’s going to get two hits and walk at least,” Dozier said of his season-and-a-half teammate. “He has been very consistent this year. Finding hits, walking and playing really good defense. It was great to watch him play.”
One of the downsides of the Yankees is Benintendi Unvaccinated Case, which prevented him from playing a series in Toronto earlier this season. The left-wing hitter, who will primarily replace Joey Gallo, said Thursday He remains “open-minded” about the vaccine. The Yankees travel to Toronto for a series in September, and there is a possibility of a post-season series against the Blue Jays.
Another downside is Benintende’s lack of authority. He’s made three runs at home this season before the trade a year after hitting 17 shots.
According to Statcast, his total home runs would double to six if he played all of his games at The Bronx this year.
“He’s a guy who can do everything,” said Wyatt Merrifield, the Royals’ second base officer and right-hand man. “I know his strength numbers aren’t there, but he is [was] Play in the biggest and hardest park to hit home, in baseball.
“He can run, he can steal the rules [four with the Royals], he can hit on average, he can hit for strength. They’ve got a complete hitter, defender, defender and a great teammate. It’s a knockout for any team that went out and got it.”
Benintende spent his first five seasons in the league with the Red Sox, with whom he won the world championship in 2018. During that year’s post-season, he excelled against the Yankees at ALDS, posting 444th in the centenary base in the Boston Series winning four games.
In 21 career playoffs, Benintendi has a .729 OPS.
He knows what to expect on and off the field because there is a lot of media and things like that in the playoffs and tournament,” said Michael A. Taylor, a player for the Royals, who won the world championship with the national team in 2019. the scientist “.
The consensus from many who knew Benintende best was that he was a laid-back, off-the-field, stubborn competitor.
“He is a man who would fit into any club because he works hard. He is calm. He is a wonderful man.”
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
