Left fielder Andrew Benintendi selected as Kansas City Royals’ All-Star representative
The Kansas City Royals’ most consistent hitter throughout this season and one of the premiere defensive left fielders in Major League Baseball, Andrew Benintendi earned the first All-Star selection of his career on Sunday.
The MLB All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, July 19, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Benintendi learned of his selection in a team meeting at noon prior to the Royals’ series-clinching win over the Cleveland Guardians at Kauffman Stadium.
“I was definitely excited,” Benintendi said of learning he’s an All-Star. “I’m glad I’ll be able to bring my family out there and experience it with them. That’s what I look forward to the most.”
Benintendi went 1 for 3 with a walk and an RBI single on Sunday and extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a fifth-inning single that drove in Nicky Lopez.
Benintendi has the longest active on-base streak in the majors. He joined Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Trea Turner as the only players in the majors this season with two on-base streaks of at least 19 games.
Benintendi entered Sunday having hit in 18 of his past 23 games, and he’s batted .369 with a .449 on-base percentage during that stretch.
At the start of play on Sunday, Benintendi ranked among American League leaders in hits (third, 97), batting average (third, .317) and on-base percentage (.387). His batting average ranked fifth in the majors among qualified hitters.
His 30 multi-hit games entering the day were tied for the third-most in the majors. He’d logged eight multi-hit performances in his previous 12 games.
A free agent at season’s end, Benintendi will likely be highly coveted in the trade market. The MLB trade deadline is Aug. 2.
Benintendi credited work he’d done with Royals coaches Terry Bradshaw and John Mabry last season and early this season for retooling his swing and approach at the plate. Bradshaw was let go as the team’s hitting coach in the middle of May.
Benintendi said he has also bounced things off interim Royals hitting coach Alex Zumwalt.
“I think this year, especially, my approach has been the best it has been,” Benintendi said. “Kind of knowing myself as a player now and playing in this big ballpark. Obviously, everyone wants to go up there and hit home runs. For me, I’ll run a few out — but running 30 out and 20 out a year is a little different.
“(It’s) just going back to hitting the ball all over the field and making it tough for them to know where to pitch me by spraying it all over the place.
The Royals acquired Benintendi in a three-team trade also involving the New York Mets in February 2021. At the time, Benintendi admitted he’d become too enamored with trying to hit for power and altering his swing to create more launch angle.
Benintendi had seen his offensive production drop off in his final two seasons with the Boston Red Sox in 2019 and 2020. He’d otherwise shown himself to be a disciplined hitter with a high on-base percentage who drew walks, had relatively low strikeout totals and posted an above-average batting average.
In 2018, he turned in the best season of his career, slashing .290/.366/.465 with 16 home runs, 71 walks and 106 strikeouts in 148 games.
In his final two seasons with the Red Sox (2019-2020), he slashed .255/.341/.410 with 13 home runs, 70 walks and 157 strikeouts in 152 games. He missed a large chunk of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season due to injury.
In 216 games with the Royals — playing in what’s typically one of the toughest ballparks to hit home runs — Benintendi has slashed .292/.349/.427 and with 20 home runs, 72 walks and 146 strikeouts.
So far this season, his strikeout rate (14.2%) is the lowest of his career and his walk rate (10.4%) is at its highest since 2018.
“Last year taught me how to use my legs and stay through pitches,” he said. “I think going into this year, going back to a bigger leg lift and an open stance, that’s helped my balance and not diving at the ball. Just having a good solid base, which makes me see the ball better.”
The AL Gold Glove winner in left field last season, Benintendi ranked first among major-league left fielders in ultimate zone rating (5.8) and third in defensive run saved (three) through 82 games played.
He has not been charged with an error in 146 chances this season. He’s the only left fielder in the majors without an error (minimum 100 chances).
Benintendi said the closest he’d come to taking part in any All-Star festivities was in 2016, when he played in the MLB All-Star Futures Game at Petco Park in San Diego. He was teammates in that game with current Royals players Hunter Dozier and Amir Garrett.
“It’s a game you want to play in, a game you grew up watching,” Benintendi said of the All-Star Game. “So to be a part of it will be fun. I’m definitely going to take it all in and just try to enjoy it as much as possible.”
This story was originally published July 10, 2022 at 5:27 PM.
