Carson Benge made Mets’ history Monday night when he became the first player in the 65-year history of the franchise to have back-to-back outfield assists at home plate.
After Nolan McLean gave up back-to-back singles in the first inning against the San Diego Padres, Benge fired a dart 99.9 mph from right field on one hop home to get Jake Cronenworth by 10 feet.
When Jackson Merrill then barrelled another single to right, Benge let loose 103.9 mph strike to home and catcher Francisco Alvarez applied the tag to Manny Machado’s face.
This wasn’t his first assist at the plate.
In July, Benge nailed Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman at the plate with a throw measured at 100 mph, the fastest outfield assist by a Met in the Statcast Era (since 2015), according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
Per MLB.com: “Benge is the first player with two outfield assists at 99-plus mph in an inning since Statcast began tracking, and only the second to do so in a single game (Bradley Zimmer in 2017). He came into Monday ranked seventh in arm strength among outfielders at 95.5 mph...”
Asked after the Mets’ 2-1 victory by SNY’s Steve Gelb what has allowed him to be so effective throwing runners out, Benge didn’t hesitate.
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“You know, I think it all comes from being a pitcher,” Benge said. “I think that’s helped quite a bit and just throwing it through the cutoff man’s head as hard as I can.”
Benge, 23, pitched during his college career at Oklahoma State, where he played as a two-way star in the outfield and on the mound.
As SNY’s Anthony McCarron noted in a recent piece, “Benge had Tommy John surgery as a freshman at OSU and started playing the outfield. He still pitched in college, too, but it became clear his future was as a position player.”
“I think he could have pitched in the big leagues if that’s what he wanted to do,” McLean, Benge’s former Oklahoma State teammate, told SNY. “But I think he was too gifted a hitter to not stick with hitting.”
For the season, the left-handed hitting Benge is batting .273 with 14 homers and 49 RBI and a .750 OPS.
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On a historic night for Benge, A.J. Ewing also had an outfield assist in the second inning, giving the Mets three for the game.
“Without those kids in the corners, we don’t win that game,” Mets interim manager Andy Green told reporters. “Nolan McLean doesn’t get to settle in and pitch six strong innings for us. That game could have spun wildly differently without them playing the outfield so well.”
Asked by SNY if he was going to bust Ewing’s chops for only having one assist, Benge said, “No, he got one, so that’s good for him.”
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