Todd Benzinger

Todd Eric Benzinger
(Mercedes)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• High School New Richmond (OH) High School
• Debut June 21, 1987
• Final Game May 14, 1995
• Born February 11, 1963 in Dayton, KY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Benzinger as manager of the Dragons in 2010.

Todd Benzinger was a first team All-American as a senior in high school. He was signed as a 4th round pick in the 1981 amateur draft by the Boston Red Sox and scout Larry Thomas.

After debuting on the summer solstice in 1987, he went through a minor surge after the All-Star break in 1988. Before the break, he had hit .238 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI. After the break, he hit .264 with 9 home runs and 48 RBI. He hit .394 with runners on third base that year as the Boston Red Sox won an unexpected division title. He was included in a major trade to the Cincinnati Reds for Nick Esasky after the season. Benzinger was one of the few constants for the Reds in 1989, despite hitting only .245. He played in 161 games, 158 at first base, for a team that was plagued with an unending string of injuries that hobbled every other regular. He achieved career-highs that season with 17 home runs and 76 RBI and led the National League in both at bats and outs.

Benzinger's batting average went up slightly in 1990, to .253, but the rest of his offensive numbers plummeted (his OPS+ was a paltry 71). The Reds won the NL West title handily, and Benzinger was used in all but one of their postseason games, recording the final out of the Fall Classic, a four game sweep for Cincy. He stuck around for a number of years thereafter, in spite of poor hitting statistics that were obscured by somewhat respectable batting averages: he played 121 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992, and was the regular first baseman for the 1994 San Francisco Giants. His OPS+ was 76 in 1992, and 86 in 1994. In his books published in those years, Bill James criticized the excessive amount of playing time given to such an unproductive hitter.

Todd has coached girls basketball since 1999 and was announced as the hitting coach for the 2009 Dayton Dragons. However, Jamie Dismuke, who was announced as the manager of the Dragons, subsequently left the Reds' organization to be the hitting coach of the Gwinnett Braves, so Benzinger was then named manager of the Dragons, reigning in 2009 and 2010.

He is the nephew of Don Gross. His son, Grant Benzinger, is also an elite athlete, although his sport of choice is basketball. He was part of the Wright State University basketball team that qualified for the NCAA Division I tournament in 2018 and was named MVP of the Horizon League tournament that earned Wright State only their third Big Dance berth in school history. Grant has played professionally in Germany since.

Notable Achievements

• NL At Bats Leader (1989)
• Won a World Series with the Cincinnati Reds in 1990

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
2009	Dayton Dragons	Midwest League	59-80	11th	Cincinnati Reds
2010	Dayton Dragons	Midwest League	53-85	15th	Cincinnati Reds

Related Sites

• Todd Benzinger at the SABR Bio Project