Indians’ Benjamin back in there swinging
A pair of 3-for-21 sequences defined Casey Benjamin’s initial summer with the Spokane Indians.
Benjamin batted 3 for 21 (.143) during his first seven games with last year’s Indians. After the slow start, he played just seven games for Spokane during the final 3 1/2 weeks of July.
Yet a pattern emerged whenever Benjamin earned a sporadic start in Spokane’s infield: The Indians won.
From July 10 through Aug. 30, the Indians lost just three of the 21 games in which Benjamin made an appearance. That’s the type of 3-for-21 showing any player will accept.
Many first-year professionals fall prey to the “gotta-prove- myself” syndrome. Despite hitting .418 during his senior season at Tennessee Tech University, Benjamin pressed while attempting to impress Spokane’s coaching staff.
“I started the season slowly, but that was just an adjustment (to professional baseball), I guess,” Benjamin said this week following an Indians practice at Avista Stadium. “I had to come out and learn how to relax myself, and play the game like I always have.”
Benjamin and first baseman Chris Alexander are the lone holdovers from last year’s Northwest League championship team. Alexander hit .252 in 55 games.
Benjamin earned the opportunity to continue his professional career by hitting 16 for 43 (.372) last August. That boosted his Indians season average to .272, a far cry from his shaky start.
For much of last August and early September, Benjamin played second base or third base.
Spokane’s early-stage roster for this season lists Benjamin as a shortstop. He played shortstop for his first 16 games with last year’s team, but Ian Kinsler became the club’s everyday shortstop for the last month of the season. Kinsler is leading the Midwest League this year with a .398 batting average.
Benjamin began this season at Clinton (Iowa), where Kinsler and many of the 2003 Indians are involved in a five-team pennant race. Benjamin played for a month at Clinton before a two-week stint at extended spring training in Surprise, Ariz.
Benjamin said he was surprised last year by the number of fans who attend NWL games. The Indians drew more than 170,000 while leading the league in attendance for the fourth consecutive season.
Playing in front of sizeable crowds and learning to hit with a wooden bat were two big adjustments Benjamin had to make. He grew up in North Dakota and played junior college ball in Iowa for one season before transferring to Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, a town one-eighth the size of Spokane.
Benjamin’s 209 career hits rank No. 2 in Tennessee Tech history. He wasn’t chosen in last year’s amateur draft, but he signed a free-agent contract with Evansville (Ind.) of the independent Frontier League before his contract was purchased by the Texas Rangers one year ago this Wednesday.
Benjamin primarily hit seventh, eighth or ninth in the batting order last season. His year ended on a high note, as he batted 8 for 19 in seven games the Indians won from Aug. 16-30.
After Spokane swept Salem-Keizer in the best-of-5 league playoffs, Benjamin relaxed for 1 1/2 months before returning to regular workouts.
“They had pretty much said to me, ‘See you in six months,’ ” Benjamin said.
He didn’t earn a permanent advancement, but Benjamin said there’s no shame in returning to Spokane.
“I’d like to be moving up, but this is a great place to play because of the fans and stadium,” he said.