- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Xander Bogaerts has been in Red Sox phenom Andrew Benintendi’s shoes
- Updated: August 3, 2016
11:11 PM ET
SEATTLE — It would be perfectly understandable if Andrew Benintendi was sleepless in Seattle.
Benintendi joined the Boston Red Sox in Seattle on Tuesday and is scheduled to make his major-league debut Wednesday night against the Seattle Mariners. Considering the 22-year-old left fielder was the Red Sox’s first-round draft pick last year and ranked No. 3 by ESPN in Keith Law’s midseason Top 50 prospects, it will be a stop-the-presses event.
“I’m extremely excited,” Benintendi said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid, and to finally be here, it’s an unreal feeling.”
If any Red Sox player knows the feeling of making his debut in the midst of a tightly contested pennant race, it’s shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
Three years ago, the Sox called up Bogaerts on Aug. 19. Like Benintendi, Bogaerts’ chance came during a West Coast trip and with the team fighting for first place in the AL East. Also, like Benintendi, Bogaerts wasn’t in the lineup on the day he arrived, as manager John Farrell preferring to ease him in by waiting until the following day to start him at shortstop against the San Francisco Giants.
“The best game, I would probably say, is to watch the first one. I’m not even joking with you,” Bogaerts said. “You’re more calmed down because you’re not worried about getting a hit or making a good play to help your team out. It definitely helped. I didn’t come in cold right away. I remember I took BP, took ground balls on a big-league field for the first time, but I didn’t play that game. It’s definitely much more easier like that.”
Xander Bogaerts (left) sees a lot of similarities between when he was called up and the recent call-up of Andrew Benintendi. Getty Images, AP Photos
Bogaerts went 0-for-3 with one strikeout in that first game, a 3-2 loss to the Giants. He started only 12 of the Red Sox’s final 34 games but was a major contributor in the playoffs after taking over at third base for Will Middlebrooks midway through the AL Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers.
Benintendi is expected to get …
continue reading in source espn.go.com
