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Originally Posted by dallaschiefsfan

For those with an Athletic subscription, this is a good read on Benintendi. Basically gives some context to his struggles the last year or so.

Great read. Loved this part.

Even before the trade, this 2020-21 offseason has been about returning to his fluid athletic self. He’s eaten differently. His body has returned to his natural weight, he said. His bat path is also where he wants it to be.

“He decided he’s going to go back to what he looked like when he was at his best,” Chris said, “and that was the guy who was 175 at his height. Be the athletic, bat-on-ball kind of guy.”

“Now I understand the player I am and want to be,” Andrew said.

“He’s a line-drive swing type of guy,” Barkett said. “Kauffman Stadium is a tough place to hit the ball out of the ballpark. So for him there it’s, ‘There’s gaps here; I just need to stay within myself and play my game.'”

Back to the journey.

Speaking this week after he’d been traded, Andrew mentioned 2015. He’d torn up college baseball that year and been drafted. Simultaneously, the Royals earned a trip to the World Series. He watched the games with friends in Fayetteville, marveling at the electricity within a Midwestern town — one that reminded him of home. Don’t take this the wrong way: He and his family loved Boston. There’s just a familiarity that comes with the Midwest.

Similarly, there’s a familiarity that comes with the body weight he’s long played with; that bat path he’s long worked with; the approach that made him who he is.

“He’s excited,” Chris Benintendi said. “We’re all excited.”