August 20, 2002

Feature story: Mike Benjamin

There have been 33 players from Cerritos College to play professional baseball and hundreds that have played at various levels of the minor league system. Three have played in the World Series, but only one has their bat enshrined at Cooperstown, the home of Major League’s Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Mike Benjamin, who played for the Falcons in 1984-85, had his bat enshrined for what he did over a three-game span in 1995. The .230 lifetime major league hitter, who made his big league debut with the San Francisco Giants in 1989, collected 14 hits over the three games. Benjamin went 4-for-6 against Montreal and followed that game with a 4-for-5 performance against the Chicago Cubs two days later. He came back the next day and went 6-for-7 against the Cubs to establish a new major league record with his 14 hits. He also tied a Major League record with his 10 hits in consecutive games.

“That was a great time for me,” recalled Benjamin, who is in the final year of a four-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. “It was weird having them ask for my bat to put it in Cooperstown. Growing up, that was just a name to me. It was a place where they kept all of the great memorabilia and where Hall of Famers went. It’s really cool to have my name in there with all the other great names in the history of the game.”

Benjamin, versatile middle infielder, is close to setting yet another record. He has not committed an error at second base since June 6, 1998 when he played for the Boston Red Sox, a span of 110 games. Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs set the record of 123 games.

Mike Benjamin

It has been defense that has kept Benjamin in the major leagues for so long. Despite his offensive outburst in 1995, he is not known for his hitting exploits. However, he has been one of the most valuable players on each team he has played for during his career. A second baseman by nature, he was moved to shortstop at Arizona State and continued to play the position when he was drafted in the 3^rd Round by the Giants in the June 1987 free agent draft.

Benjamin attributes his skills defensively to the teaching he received at both Cerritos College and Arizona State University. He stated that while with the Falcons, the coaching staff took the time to teach him the ins and outs of the game.

“Being at Cerritos was a great learning experience for me,” said Benjamin, a two-time 2^nd Team All-South Coast Conference selection. “We played a lot of games every season, which helped all of us get better. Coach (George) Horton would teach us the rules of the game and taught us about situations in great detail. It really prepared me for the next level and in the pros.”

After playing for Gordie Douglas as a freshman in 1984, Benjamin and the rest of the Falcons were introduced to Horton, who was taking over his first team in 1985. That season, Cerritos went 39-5 and won the state championship, the seventh of nine in the school’s history. That team in 1985 went on to produce five major league players, while nine others played minor league baseball.

Benjamin at practice

“Here I was, thinking it was this young coach who would have these long, drawn out chalk talks about game situations and philosophy that helped us wins games,” stated Horton, now the head coach at Cal State Fullerton. “And it turned out to be that we had five eventual major league players on the roster.”

“But Mike was a key component to our success,” added Horton. “I have coached a lot of guys that have done some great things in this game, but I think Mike was the smartest player I have ever been around. I think that’s what separates him from all the others. I would diagram plays and talk about philosophy. After about 10 minutes, most guys lost focus, except Mike. But when it was game time, Mike would do exactly what we talked about in those meetings. That made him stand out over everyone else.”

Benjamin agrees that the teaching he received at Cerritos, and at Arizona State, helped him progress through the minor league system so quickly.

“I was amazed how much more I knew about the game when I got to both ASU and in the minors,” stated Benjamin. “What I learned at Cerritos was a big advantage for me and it helped me get noticed.”

Benjamin, who was an All-American selection as a senior at Arizona State, broke into the majors in 1989 when the Giants recalled him on July 1. He appeared in three games and collected his first major league hit before being sent back down. After another year of splitting time between the minors and the major league club, Benjamin was the team’s Opening Day shortstop in 1991, being just the second rookie in Giants history to start a season opener. He struggled at the plate and was eventually sent back down, but he made an impression with his defensive abilities.

It would be those natural abilities that would keep him around and become valuable to each team he played for. He realized that the game was also a business when he was traded just four months after his record-breaking hitting streak. He was sent to Philadelphia, where he injured his wrist in spring training and was limited to just 103 plate appearances. At the conclusion of the season, he was granted free agency and went on to sign a two-year contract with the Red Sox.

Benjamin enjoyed his best professional offensive season in Fenway Park the second year of his contract, although he had to work his way to the parent club after opening the first season in the minors. In 1998, Benjamin batted .272 with 23 doubles and 49 RBI in 349 at-bats, the most of his career

“By the time I got to Boston, I knew my career was that of a utility player,” said Benjamin. “When managers started asking me to take ground balls at second base and third base, that was a red flag as to how you are going to be utilized. But I knew it gave me versatility with the manager. When I was in Boston, (manager) Jimy Williams would put me in to run for Mo Vaughn and I would stay in the game and play first base. He knew that having me there wasn’t going to hurt the team, and I was more than happy to help out in any way possible. Now I spend most of the game thinking about situations and remaining prepared to go in and do whatever I am asked to do. I stay focused by trying to think like the manager would.”

Benjamin is interviewed

In addition to playing all four infield positions, Benjamin has also played two of the three outfield positions and even made his lone pitching appearance in 1997, retiring all three batters he faced.

While at Cerritos College, Benjamin had a great deal of pop in his bat. He still holds the school record for most grand slams in a career (3), while he and his two brothers, Rod and Marc, have combined to hit five. The 1985 team still holds the school’s single-season record for highest batting average (.349) and averaged 9.3 runs per game.

“That was a pretty impressive team,” said Horton. “We did play what I referred to as “little ball,” but we had some guys that could out-slug you when they wanted to. We knew that if we were down late in a game, we could put four or five runs on the board and win. It had a lot to do with basic fundamentals of the game.”

“But it wouldn’t have all worked out without a guy like Mike,” added Horton. “If you saw him one day, or even two days, you wouldn’t walk away thinking he knocked your socks off. He was very steady each and every day. He didn’t make any mistakes. It was his style. He was so smooth in how he did everything. You didn’t think he ran very fast, but he did because he was smooth. He was a great base stealer. You didn’t think he could get to a ball, but he did. He did everything necessary to be successful. And how smart was I? I had a major league shortstop playing second base for us. Tells you how much I knew.”

When Mike’s brothers came to Cerritos, Horton would test them during batting practice. He would give them a situation, and see how they handled the bat. Horton would like to tell them it was a bases loaded situation and almost every time, Rod or Marc would hit one over the fence. Horton would follow by saying, “Yeah, you’re a Benjamin. You can hit with the bases loaded”

With the last year of his contract coming at the end of the season, Benjamin is not sure what his future holds for him. He is sure that when it is time to retire from baseball, he is going to spend more time with his wife, Karen, and their three children. Benjamin stated he would like to coach a little league team and watch his children grow before considering a job in major league baseball.

He is however, interested in getting together a reunion of the 1985 state championship team. Benjamin thought having the other four guys that played in the major leagues off that team (Quinn Mack, Ever Magallanes, Al Osuna and Craig Worthington) along all of his other former teammates would make for a great time.

“I’d really like to meet up with everyone,” said Benjamin. “I think it would be great to talk about old times and what we are all doing now.”

It’s sure to be a hit.