MASHANTUCKET, Conn. -- When Alex Cora went to Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi shortly after the World Series and informed them he wanted to flip them in the Red Sox batting order -- with Benintendi taking over the leadoff spot and Betts dropping to No. 2 -- both players were receptive to the change.
"I was all for it,'' said Benintendi. "It makes sense. I've hit leadoff before. I'm going to try to set the tone, like Mookie did last year. It will be fun. I'm looking forward to it.''
Despite the team's championship season and finishing first in most offensive categories, Benintendi wasn't surprised the Sox wanted to change things up.
"Not really,'' he said. "You've got the MVP (Betts) and he's capable of driving in 100-plus (runs) and maybe hitting me leadoff and him second will give him more RBI chances and more chances to drive in more runs.''
Benintendi vowed to not change his approach at the plate despite the new assignment.
"I hit leadoff my freshman year (at the University of Arkansas),'' he recalled, "and I tried to be that leadoff guy, hit it the other way and kind of be a singles hitter and use my speed. But I didn't have a great year that year. The next year, I switched it up. I think I'm going to stick with my normal approach. It's essentially the same thing (as hitting second); you're just hitting first. I'm just going to try set the tone and get on base.''
"Cora hasn't put us in the wrong position yet,'' said Betts, "so there's no reason to start questioning now. We'll just kind of see what happens.''
Betts said he was "initially'' a little surprised that Cora wouldn't to make the switch, but noted that the manager came with plenty of data to back up his proposed move.
"He was fully prepared to explain why,'' said Betts. "I didn't say much, but I was like, 'I gotcha.' I know it's a small change, but it's a change nonetheless from what we did last year. So going into spring training, I know exactly what to expect and I can be comfortable with it.''
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