Minor Leagues Beat Writer
Chicago Sports Online
The Beloit Blue Sox have named outfielder Danny Bennett their Hitter of the year for 2042, after another outfielder – Ricardo Torres – politely declined the honor.
Danny Bennett
Riccardo Torres
Rather than see Torres, a promising hitter, warm the bench, the franchise sent him back to Beloit to work another season with the team’s outstanding batting instructor, Shamus Probyn.
The work paid off as Torres, 22, had another marvelous season, slashing .327/.441/.582 with 23 homers and 81 RBIs. The season was so good, in fact, that the Donaldo Sub-League awarded Torres his second consecutive Jorge Olivas Batter Award, which goes to the league’s best hitter. He also won a second consecutive Platinum Stick Award for the best hitting right fielder in the Donaldo league.
“That was all great, but I felt a little sheepish about then accepting another hitting award from the team,” Torres said. “There were other deserving guys, too, and I thought the award should go to one of them.”
And so, team coaches gave the 2042 award to Bennett, who slashed .295/.394/.590 with 31 home runs and 102 RBIs for the DNL Mid-Central Division-winning Sox.
“Danny absolutely is deserving of this honor – in fact, he and Ricardo were neck and neck as we were discussing who should win, anyway,” said manager Javier Montero. “The Sox were lucky to have them both.”
Now, Bennett and Torres likely will both move on to AAA next season – unless Torres breaks through to the big league club.
“Anything is possible,” said Sox General Manager Benny Vitale. “Mr. Torres and Mr. Bennett are both valued prospects in our organization, and we are confident that both will be playing in Black Sox Park in the near future.”
