Tom Brennan - Benge Hurting His Wrist on a Fearless Catch Reminds Me of My Article From June 8

So…the Mets won their 4th straight on Friday night. Red hot Carson Benge had 2 for and 2 RBIs, and we were thrilled the Mets drafted superbly.

Then, Benge made a super-aggressive (some would say reckless) sliding catch into the wall in the left field corner...injured his glove hand…got pulled.

I read this, exhaling a bit: “X-rays were encouraging, though Mets interim manager Andy Green said Benge could undergo further imaging if the wrist is still sore on Saturday morning.”

So…I thought I would rerun this post from June 8 on the downside risk of playing with (perhaps unduly) reckless abandon - it is a fine line between aggressive and reckless:

(PICTURED: AJ EWING)

THE METS HAVE TWO PSYCHO CYBORGS IN THE OUTFIELD

Do any of you remember a psycho defender of Mets years gone by…

….named Juan Lagares?

Gold Glover, eye-popping plays…and plenty of lengthy fielding-related injuries. 

Plenty of IL time, too.

The funny thing is, during the several long periods of time when he was on the IL, his and my WAR accumulation were IDENTICAL.  

ZERO.

Anthony DiComo recently wrote an article about the two sensational rookie Mets psychos in the outfield: 

Carson Benge and AJ Ewing. 

In it he noted the following, which I excerpted:

The Mets’ psychopathic brotherhood officially formed last Saturday at Citi Field, when Carson Benge robbed Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers of an extra-base hit, ran into the right-center-field fence, and splayed out on the warning track. 

…Ewing turned to Juan Soto and said, “Yo, that was psycho.”

…Soto (noted) that Ewing and Benge “call each other ‘psychopath’” for their defensive exploits. “Yeah, you are,’” Soto quipped.

In the eyes of both rookies, it’s the most flattering of epithets. A psychopathic outfielder is one who plays with a sort of controlled recklessness, sprinting, diving and, yes, crashing into fences from time to time.

“I feel like it’s just trying to make every play, whether that be running through a wall or standing easily,” Benge said. “Either way, I just want to make every play and not really care too much what happens to my body.” 

“I take a lot of pride in being able to play that way, just because I know there’s value in everything you do on the baseball field,” Ewing said. “Whether that’s in the box, on defense, running the bases, you’ve got to bring it all 100% of the time.”

So who’s more psycho? 

“Depends on the day,” Benge said.

In baseball scenarios, both players agreed, Ewing may be the crazier one due to his propensity for running into fences … not just during games, but before them, too. Prior to Monday’s series opener in Seattle, Ewing was shagging flies in the outfield when Bo Bichette hit one deep over his head. 

Rather than let the meaningless ball go, as most players would, Ewing sprinted backward, caught it and crashed into the fence. His cap and sunglasses went flying. “Bo hit the ball, I was like, ‘I need this one,’” Ewing said. “I don’t know why.”

Maybe it is just me.  “Psycho” makes me nervous.

I was around when Mike Baxter ended his career, essentially, crashing into the outfield wall to save Johan Santana’s successful no-hit bid.

I was around when Jason Bay got a few fence-crashing concussions that permanently and negatively altered his career.

I was around to see Juan Lagares hurt himself trying to make a reckless play in a lopsided game and miss months, more than a few times.

Mike Trout has had his share of injuries attacking walls.

Bo Jackson was other-worldly, until his hip bone died from brutal contact.

Brandon Nimmo crashing into a wall that caused a bulging disc and extended months of IL time.

You young lads are humans, not indestructible cyborgs.

I’m sure you readers can share your own exuberance injury examples.

That being said:

Man, I love the enthusiasm of Benge and Ewing. Who wouldn’t?

But I want to see them be long-term great. 3,000 hits apiece, and Ewing being the next HOF Pete Rose, who wasn’t extremely grass I’ve, but not psycho, and Carson Benge becoming the next HOF Carlos Beltran, who wasn’t an outfield psycho, but just a repeat Gold Glover.

So, I would recommend: 

Fellas, maybe you don’t don’t be kamikaze psychopath outfielders. 

Be real aggressive, for sure, but psychopathic actions in the outfield over time can damage the bodies that brung ya here. And possibly damage your careers long-term.

It would be your loss…and ours.

ESPECIALLY…

After Carson Benge went 5 for 5 on (that early June) Sunday. 

This team needs 162 games per season of THAT dude.

And after AJ Ewing’s first 25 MLB games have resulted in a very solid .340 OBP. This team needs 162 games per season of THAT dude, too.

They are making the Unwatchables watchable again.

BUT ONLY IF THEY STAY HEALTHY.

BASEBALL HAS CHANGED

I remember the season where Mets hitters in total hit fewer homers than Mari’s’ 61 in ‘61. Them days is GONE!

I noticed the median 2026 MLB team average is just .244, while the median team is averaging 1.2 homers per game, a roughly 195 HR pace. Guys with lesser power but other great skills like Benge and Ewing are less typical - but they sure are doing great - if they stay healthy.