The Chicago White Sox and outfielder Andrew Benintendi agreed to a 5-year, 75-million-dollar deal on Friday, December 16, according to ESPN.
Prior to signing with the White Sox, Benintendi played for several teams. This included the Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees.
Benintendi played college baseball for the Arkansas Razorbacks at the University of Arkansas. The Red Sox selected Benintendi in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 2016. He was a part of the 2018 World Series champions and was traded to the Royals after the 2020 season.
In addition to winning a World Series ring, Benintendi won a Gold Glove Award in 2021 and was an All-Star in 2022. The Yankees acquired him from the Royals in 2022.
During his amateur career, Benintendi attended Madeira High School, in Madeira, Ohio. Playing for the school’s baseball team, he batted .564 with 12 home runs, 57 runs batted in (RBIs), and 38 stolen bases for the Mustangs baseball team in his senior year. Benintendi was the ABCA/Rawlings National High School Player of the Year and Ohio Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.
He finished his high school career with an Ohio-record 199 career runs scored. He also played high school basketball, earning 2011–12 Cincinnati Enquirer Division III Co-Player of the Year honors and setting school records in career points (1,753) and season points (638), career three-pointers (180), and points per game in a season (25.5).
The Cincinnati Reds selected Benintendi in the 31st round of the 2013 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, but he did not sign with the Reds. He enrolled at the University of Arkansas to play college baseball for the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team. As a true freshman, he played in 61 games, with 60 starts and hit .276/.368/.333 with one home run and 27 RBIs.
In 2015, his junior year, Benintendi led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in batting average (.380), home runs (19), on-base percentage (.489), slugging percentage (.715), and walks (47). He was named the SEC Player of the Year. He also won the Baseball America College Player of the Year Award, the Dick Howser Trophy, and the Golden Spikes Award.
Benintendi will be a part of a deep White Sox lineup featuring several of the top hitters in Major League Baseball.
(Information courtesy of Andrew Benintendi bio).
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
