This morning, the White Sox officially introduced Andrew Benintendi via a press conference with him and Pedro Grifol.
Below you can find a recap of some of the highlights from the press conference, including details on the team’s pursuit of Benintendi, why he chose to wear #23, how he believes he will be impacted by the shift, and much more!
Benintendi’s free agency pursuit
Given that the White Sox hired Pedro Grifol to be their manager, fans naturally started to look at the free agent cycle and who may be a good fit based on Grifol’s past. One name that stuck out for fans – assuming the price was right – was Andrew Benintendi.
Both Grifol and Benintendi made it clear that they were on each other’s radars very early on throughout this process, with the White Sox definitely standing out to Benintendi.
Grifol’s statement that Benintendi “fits perfectly in this park,” is certainly an interesting one, and one that we will get back to.
Why Benintendi chose to wear #23
After watching Benintendi’s press conference or initial welcome video, you may have been surprised by his choice to wear #23. With deep connections in this town to Michael Jordan and – to a lesser extent – Robin Ventura, Benintendi was naturally asked where the jersey number came from:
“I was afraid this would be asked. It’s not what you think. I am a Michael Jordan fan. I was growing up. The main numbers I usually would like to wear were all taken or retired. This presented itself and I thought ‘Why not?'”
Benintendi has worn #16 since his days at Arkansas. However, he does have a point here – #16 is retired for Ted Lyons, and while he wore #18 last season and is unclaimed, he does have a further narrative for the number:
“My sister, her senior year, was #32 so I can say I flipped that around in support of her. It’s a cool number. It’s obviously an iconic number in this city. I am by no means trying to say anything about that. Hopefully, it does me well.”
So, if you were looking for a fun story attached to this one, unfortunately, there isn’t too much here – outside of some humility from Benintendi.
But, don’t fear, however, as it does appear he did at least a *little* bit of Chicago homework.
Hopefully, Benintendi puts his own spin on #23 over the next five seasons.
How banning the shift will help Benintendi
Like many left-handed hitters, Andrew Benintendi has long fallen victim to the shift in previous seasons. Last season, Benintendi had a .318 wOBA when he was shifted upon. When he wasn’t shifted upon? That output rose all the way to a .363 wOBA. Based on this, it stands to reason that without the shift in 2023, Benintendi would see an increase in some of his output – including potentially even in the power department.
Benintendi himself even admitted that the shift ban will likely be one big driver in helping him post some higher power numbers in 2023:
While Benintendi did average about 16 home runs from 2017-2021 (not counting his shortened 2020 season), Benintendi is far from a true power hitter.
However, he did make it clear that part of his lack of power output in 2022 was a conscious decision.
With that, Benintendi and Grifol did make mention of one other factor that may make a big difference for Benintendi’s output in 2023 and beyond…
Why Benintendi is a “perfect fit” for the White Sox
Pedro Grifol made it pretty clear what he meant by saying Benintendi was a “perfect fit” for the White Sox:
“He’s a very versatile player. As far as where we hit him in the lineup, he’s done everything in the game. He’s hit for average. He’s hit for some power. He definitely runs the bases well. He fits really well into what we’re trying to do here.”
However, what did he mean when he said Benintendi was a “perfect fit” for Guaranteed Rate Field?
In 2021, Benintendi hit 17 home runs, and according to Baseball Savant, had Benintendi played all of his 2021 games at Guaranteed Rate Field, he would have hit 29 home runs. The White Sox in particular, then, might be a good fit for Benintendi’s contact profile when it comes to turning some of his deeper fly balls into home runs.
Perhaps this is part of the reason why the White Sox targeted Benintendi in the first place.
Benintendi himself made it clear that he was getting quite frustrated at times at Kauffman Stadium – one of the worst ballparks for home run power:
“In 2021, I got pretty frustrated just flying out. We joked about it all the time, these long fly outs. I’m not the biggest guy. It’s gonna take everything I can to hit a ball out of that stadium. So going into last year, I was thinking that let’s just hit for a higher average and higher on-base, and hopefully this works, or else I’m gonna be in a world of trouble. I’m just trying to become a complete hitter.”
Playing at Guaranteed Rate Field may not even require Benintendi to get away from that “complete player” mentality:
“I think playing in this stadium [Guaranteed Rate Field], a lot of those long flyouts will turn into doubles and home runs without even trying to change anything. Whatever the team needs me to do, whatever kind of player they need me to be, that’s what I’ll try to be.”
The power output in 2023 is definitely worth monitoring for Benintendi – it’s clear that the White Sox likely saw the ability to increase Benintendi’s power output in 2023 and beyond without even having to change the profile that made him so successful in 2022.
With Andrew Benintendi, the White Sox aren’t exactly getting the “star” that most fans would like to see them try to add to this team moving forward. However, they are getting a player who can complement a lineup that should already be full of power hitters while still supplying some of his own at times. Today’s press conference, while short, was a reminder to fans that this team, for better or worse, is still very intent on competing in the near future.
How Benintendi fits into this remains to be seen – however, the organization seems pretty happy with their newest player’s profile.
In addition to this recap, you can also watch the press conference HERE on Facebook.
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Featured Image: White Sox / Facebook
